The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1876-03-30

pirate figure of my eloquent friend from
New York, Mr.. Townsend the terri
bic tribunal before which we carried the
question of the existence of this nation
and the ineslimable decision, finally rem
dered at Apponattox, gave to our gov
eminent baptism of fire guaranteeingi
perpetui,y and place among the ma
tious. The trial cost US halt q million
Of lives and bctwcen'five and six billions
Of dollars. That enormous sum, which
we can compute in il cures but hardly re-
alze has been more than half paid al
ready.
With some limitations, agree with
the gentleman from Maine when he says
that the ''specic standards Of the world
rule US to day, and have ruled US through
all the legai-tender period : ana add
that they have ruled US ever since we
had a government. They ruled US in
the days of Continental money; they
ruled us the day of .debased silver com I;
they ruled Us in the day of lrredeemable
State and private bank paper; they ruled
us in the terrible trial Of war, and they
have ruled rs since peace came with its
blessing on the wings CT Code angel Of
mercy. But the law which governs the
standards OF value rises above the legal
tender act, and 1t rises above the matrice
and the de with which by law we pro-
nounce so much gold ten dollars aud
stamp nisty cents worth Of silver as one
dollar.
The gentlemcn's mode of stating the
case has tendency To lead the public
mind into grave misconcep;ion. At the
present moment the advocates of forced
contraction represent our promises 10
pay, which have The property Of circuat
ING as money in lieu OF interest, as lies and
frauds, IS something which derives its
value only from law. Oar legal-lendcr
act never regulated the value of our le-
BARTENDER 1t sunk when our credit
sunk and rose when our credit rose. 1t
was not abe il enacted" that brought
it up from two cighty-fve to the pres
cnt price. If the legal-tender act had
fixed IT. standard Of value it would al
ways have been worth dollar in gold.
1t did not do that, it could not do
that.
If today, with gold at sl14!, we
should by taxation or selling bonds can
eel our mon-inIerest- bearing debt, it
would take Sky millions. 1t would
make every debtor pay II per cent. more
than he owes, and give that much to
every creditor 1t would confuse and
PROSTATE business and the conversion
Of four hundred and twenty millions OF
government notes into interest bearing
bonds would place an additional mort
gage on the bones and SHOWS Of millions
yet unborn.
To show that | do not overstate the
case, quote the propagation of the New
York Chamber Of Commerce, laid on my
desk
"l3. IN the mean time it appears to
be essential to reduce The value of de
gaI-tcnders" in one OF two ways: Either
10y funding the excess of three hundred
millions into or II per cent. bonds, or
by the imposition Ola duty on tea and
coffee, (undcr special enactment for
this special purpose tire whole yield OF
which shall be applied forthwith to the
cancellation OF legal.tcnders the law TO
continue IN force I'll all are destroyed"
They deliberately propose tax on
tea and coffee, the Injuries of the poor,
which shall be continued until.the whole
four hundred and twenty millions il
wrung from an already too highly taxed
people. They propose to devote ,h"sc
funds as a special provision to AID the
moneycd interest and ! am amazed
that they should have the eifronter to
propose moro of such legation. Let the
moneydealer stand like the other crcdi-
tors of the Government.
Let it be known and understood that
no 'orced efforts for contraction can be
maintained. TO provide by desperate ex
peGieutS 10 resume on certain day is n
proposition eoomcd TO confusion and
defeat. Until our natural prosperity
carries rs there we cannot stay there.
Gold, which has thus no proper relation
to the real values of The country, would
be driven from il, and after, by improp-
er sacrifices, forcing orr paper to par it
would Immediately decline again, rs
would all cur credit. Business would
be fearfuliy injured by the transaction,
and all our Industries raralyzed for
want of proper circulating me-
dunn.
do not underestimate the great diff
culiics involved in the question. must
confess that approach them with pro-
found diflidence. spoke briefly on the
subject in the tirsi session OF last Con
crest / prepared myself with many
facts a; It's second session, Lut withheld
them and remained silent, deeply i'm
pressed with the magnitude OF the sub
joct. | should prefer now 10 listen to
elder legislators, but have listened in
vain for an impartial and unbiased state
mcnt OF the question on the other side.
do not doubt the integrity of any speak.
or, nor would detract from the cvi.
dence of the great ability of some of the
speeches themselves. Nv estimate OF
party bias and the lcarinrS o, local and
narrow interests may he incorrect. This
Is problc1 which involves the happi-
ness and prosperity Of forty millions of
people. and ii implores Us 20 rise If we
can out of the pool og party politics to
the plano OF statesmen. Ii j. in no sense
a party measure. Neither Democrats
nor RcDnblirans have inscribed 81 N /"