Union and American. [volume] (Greeneville, Tenn.) 1875-1877, 1876-06-15

was limited in its circulation to
the territory Of the North and
West, but when the war closed the
currency of the South being totally
destroyed the currency before
restricted to the North and West
flowed out over the South. Both
armies being disbanded and return:
ing to the arts of peace absorbed
in their business and employments
a large part of the volume of cur
rency. The negroes as slaves,
needed no currency, but as freed
man currency became q necessity
to them, and they participated 10
the partition of it. These causes
operated to contract the per capita
yelume of the currency at least
ons-balf, and altboug the effect of
it was a rapid approximation of
the debt to gold, yet the money
power was not content with this
contraction, but at once began to
struggle to have its non>interest
bearing debt converted into a gold
bearing interest debt. The object
was two fold. The first was to
get interest upon a debt which
bore none, and the second, by a
further contraction to appreciate
the value of the remainder. The
effort Of the money power was
successful and the great bulk Of
tho currency was funded and with.
drawn from circulation. But this
TRANSACTION did not satisfy the
rapacity Of the money power. The
currency converted into gold bear.
ing bonds was deprecated and
consequently they only asked for
bonds in lieu Of it which were dis
chargeable in currency, and inter
est in gold only was to be paid by
was to be paid by the contract.
This left the people an oppOrtun'
ity to discharge the bonds i'll cur
rency and avoid the gold interest.
This alarmed the money power
and to provide against it they pro.
cured Congress TO declare that the
principal of the bonds should be
paid 10 gold also. Thus far the
money power had manipulated the
legislative and executive branches
Of the Government only, but fear
ing q decision Of the Supreme
Court adverse to the legal tender
quality of their currency debt,
the Supreme Bench was openly
packet and thereby an affirmative
ce,islon procured. But as a dec
ission that Congress had the un-
qualified powcr to give a legal
tender quality to paper issue
would open the door to further
issue of like paper which would
have the effect to depreeiate tn ir
debt, they had the Court to rest
its decision upon the absurd
ground that the Constitution
meant one thing in war and
another in peace the result was
they had a decision declaring that
and evidence Of debt payable to
the money power could be made q
legal tender, but payable to any
one else nc such power exited.
With the solo view of taking
care of their debt and animated
by a fear the people Of the South
would not view with favor the
effort to appreciate the debt at the
expence of the people, the money
power took care, at the close Of
the war, that the people Ct the
South should have no voice in the
State or Federal Governments.
How well it succeeded and the
means it employed / need not res
late. 1t is enough to say that
thereby it had its ~deprecinted pa,
per converted into gold bonds ;
that it had amendment to the cons
stituticn declaring its debt should
never be questioned. and follow
Ing upon all this a law was pro
cured declaring that the remain
der of Its debt should be paid in
gold by the filsto of January, 1892
This money power, TO coerce the
payment of the interest due it,
has laid under contribution all
import and many of our hone pro-
duction and manufactured articles
as well. his money power by
these pratices denied us the use of
its currency, and refuses us the
opportunity to create o currency
for ourselves. 1t tells as we may
have banks if we will accept their
banks. What does this mean :?
Simply this that our citizens may
gather up $155,000 in currency
and 60 to New York and buy
100000 in bonds ; take the