The weekly Oskaloosa herald. [volume] (Oskaloosa, Iowa) 1855-1885, 1876-10-19

| llou VI Tetlre Ii precisely as anY man car
do as a storekeeper or a farmer. This
simple provision destroyed all the illusions
about banking. We hear no more abont
excessive profits. What any man can dc
at any time he is not so anxious to do
Under free banking more banks have beer
discontinued than organized, more circu
lating notes retired than issued. This i.
regulated by what our Democratic friends
call the wants and demands of trade anG
business" This provision is so eminently
just that he would be bold man who
would propose to repeal it and restore the
monopoly of banking.
PREPARATIONS FOR RESUMPTION
Another provision of the Resumption
Act was that as new bank notes were is,
sued, United States notes should be re-
tired until the amount was reduced to
$300,0oO,OOo. This provision has been
criticized, but in practical execution has
proved its wisdom. The volume of Unit
ed States notes is diminished without di.
minishing the aggregate of circulating
notes. The only contraction of the cur
rency is in the voluntary payment and re-
tirement of the bank notes by the banks
that issue them, and this is the necessa-
ry result Of free banking. Under these
provisions the United States and the
banks are gradually preparing for resump-
tlon, and these notes approaching the gold
standard. United States notes are now
redeemable in silver coin, and could, if
Congress would permit it, be redeemed
in the old silver dollar. We have al
ready, two years before the Resumption
Act takes full effect, reached resumption
in silver coin.
The next provision of this act is that we
will pay in coin such United States notes
as may be presented on and after January
l, 1870, mere than two years hence.
Now, that we ought to do that, that we
can do it, and that when we do it, prosper
lty will at once revive, are matters of
opinion about which there is great diver
sity. You know my opinion, that not only
public honor but the interest of every cit
izen demands that the promise be faith
fully kept, that if we adhere firmly to it,
resumption in gold and silver coin will
come as quickly, surely, and impercepti-
bly, as resumption in silver coin has come.
No doubt it is expedient for Congress to
pass acts in aid of resumption. l have
often urged it. 1t may be that Congress
will have to postpone the day of resump-
ton, and if so, it is to be presumed that
Congress will do its duty; but the obli-
cation to make our notes equal 10 gold
and silver coin, and steadily to pursue a
policy to that end, is an obligation of Ma
tional honor to which the Republican par
ty is committed, and from which it can
not depart.
Another, and the only remaining pro-
vision of the Resumption act, is the au-
thority granted to the Secretary of the
Treasury to issue United States bonds to
enable him to prepare for and maintain
resumption. | do not believe it will be
necessary to use this power further than
it has been used, for the surplus revenue
and the. sinking fund, now available for
this purpose, will, [ believe, be sufficient;
but, at all events, the interest on the
bonds that are needed for this purpose is
insignificant, compared with the great OBJ
ject that will be accomplished by the re.
sumption of specie payments in this coun-
try.
THE SILVER QUESTION.
do not now, fellow citizens, enter fully
upon the great question of the restoration
of the old silver dollar, as the money of
account, for it has not yet assumed a par
ty aspect. [ have given the matter the
most careful consideration, and was the
first to propose the recoining of the old
silver dollar. That it will and ought to
aid us greatly in the problem of resump-
ton, / have no doubt. But there are
connected with the issue Of this dollar de,
tails about which there is and will be di
versity of opinion-how rapidly it can be
coined; how far it shall be made legaI
tender; the purpose to which it shall be
applied, whether to the redemption of the
greenbacks or the increase Of our curren
cy; the effect to demonetize gold and its
true relation to gold. ALI these are ques
tions a wise man will consider fully be-
fore deciding.
| was member of the Conferenc.
Committee of the two Houses on the sill
yer bill. | am not at liberty to state what
occurred, except as is shown by the ac
ton of the two Houses. Both House.
were in favor of issuing the old dollar
the dollar in legal existence since 1892
containing 412 $40 grains, and only de
nonetized in 1873, when it was worth TIVE
per cent. more than the gold dollar. It wa
then, and for twenty years had been onl.
issued for export and was not in cireula
ton. Still, it was legal standard of value
as we'll as gold, always had been, and i
was the right of any debtor to pay in sill
yer dollars as well as gold dollars. 1t wa
his. legal obtion. The relative value o.
the two metals had often varied before
and still the right remained to the debto
to pay in either dollar, and, therefore, il
the cheaper dollar The mere disuse o
the coinage of the silver dollar could moi
and ought not to effect pre-existing con
tracts. And new, when all our domesti
contracts have been based upon depreciat
ed paper money, made legal tender fo
all debts, public and private, except Gus
toms and duties and interest of the pub
lie debt, it would seem not only legal, bu
right, in the broadest sense Of the tern
that we should avail ourselves of the rar
id and remarkable fall of silver bullion t
recoin the old silver coins, including tn
old silver dollar, the oldest of our coin
and with them pay our deprecated note.
and thus restore the old coin STANDARD
| believe decided majority of Repul
licans in both Houses were in fave
of this policy, but its execution is
work of time. There is limit to OF
ability to coin silver and mints cannc
be improvised in year. We ther
fore provided for all the silver col
that by possibility can be coined at Il
mints of the United States, driven
their utmost capacity, until July, 1877
So far we agreed And we could ha,
agreed upon recoining the old silver dc
lar; but whether it ought to be receive
for custom duties, now payable in gol
or be paid out for interest on the publ
debt, we could not agree. We CO..
cluded, therefore, that as it could NJ
be coined for more than a year,
organize a commission, composed I
members of both Houses, and of e
perts in coinage and exchange, vii
view to collect and report the fullest i
formation possible, Thus the question
the old silver dollar is postponed UNI
: next winter when it will be decided vii
all the lights that discussion may thro
upon it. l know that it can be and ougl
to be made an instrument of resunptic
as well as q vast relief to all our indust
al classac These nueStinna will ha 4