Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1877-12-06

without dread of the consequences
The voice of Wall-street is not the
voice of this country; nor is it in the
interest Of the people. Daily it is
said, in this hall and in the New York
journals, that the law should be MAIN
tanned; that we should stand by the
honor of the country, the faith of the
Government.
There are two sides to this propo-
lsition, and in our eagerness to serve
| the one we should not overlook the
ether. The welfare of the people
that great mass of sovereign power
should be consulted and protected at
the same time that we are defending
the honor of the Government.
aThere is q faith due the people as
well as the holders of our securi-
ties. -
In the language of Edmund Burke:
SIT is to the property Of the citi-
zens, and not to the demands of the
creditors of the State, that the origi-
nal faith of society is pledged. The
claim of the citizen is prior in time,
paramount in title, superior in equi-
ty."
WHAT HAS BEEN THE EFFECT
of this resumption law upon the f.
nances and business of the country?
1t was passed at time when the
country was in distress, as measure
of relief. 1t was said by its friends
that it would not contract, but under
the free coinage and free banking
sections it would gradually increase
the currency. Has this been SO?
Let us see. On the 14th of january,
1875, the date of the passage of the
resumption act, there were outstand-
ing in legal tender notes, 1882, ,oo0,-
600; in national bank notes, S349,-
S94, 1872; total s731, 1894, 1882. On
the Sd of November, 1877, there
were outstanding in legal tender notes,
$3.50, ,490. .992 of national bank notes,
1915, 775, Ill; total, s671, ,266, 1903;
being reduction in legal tender notes
of S27, 500, 10S; in national bank
notes, S35, o86, 339; total, s62, ,595,-
447.
And this is not all the promised
blessings of that law. Besides the
contractions above mentioned, others
have followed in their track. Nine
millions of dollars of legal tenders
have been held in the Treasury De-
partmept for the consummation of the
wfpfdl avail vf ..s.tio.~l b-..is- ,,a.asl
now in the process Of retirement; to
which also add $22, 144, 900 of frac-
tional currency which has been retir-
ed and its place not filed by the sub
sidiary silver coins of fifty, twenty
five, twenty, ten and five-cent pieces,
making in the aggregate, in round
numbers, S107, 100000 of absolute
contraction, and, too, at time mo-
ney is in great demand.
Since the resumption law went into
operation in 1875, this country, North,
South, East and West, has been
blessed with the most prolific crops, |
exporting annually over 100, 900, 900
bushels of wheat alone. Europe has
been more or less in disturbed GEN.
dition, two of its grand powers actu-
ally engaged in armed hostility, one
of which being the only formidable
competitor that our country has had
in wheat in the markets of the world,
our exports annually exceeding our
imports by 5000, 100000. And yet
in the midst of all this we are in
THE MIDST OF BANKRUPTCY,
sorrow and maddening distress. 1t
8 an anomaly that sets ut defionce all
theories of contractionists, all fine
spun ideas of these latter day finan-
cial saints. Millions of idle men,
women and children, in the presence
of the most stupendeus crops of ce-
reals, cotton, hay and tobacco that
ever loaded and graced any soul un-r
der the SUM-. With the enactment of
this resumption law and such crops,
ssthese wise men of the East said
peace and prosperity would abound.
In the language of one of old l say to
them:
sssYe are all forgeis of lies, ye are
all physicians of no value
One days practical experience is
of more accuracy and of more value
to us as people than all the lessons
of the financiers and bullionists from
Sir Robert Peel down to Sir John
Sherman. AS question of results,
am in favor of the repeal of this
law. What if our foreign indebted
ness, our bonds abroad were thrown
back upon our market, our people
1t would be better for ms as awhole,
as people. Then legislation would
be had for our people in the interest
of our own people, not those of Eng
land, Germany, or Holland. More
has been heard from the Republican
side of this House for the last ten
years in behalf of foreign bondliold-t
ers than in behalf of our own people 4
and more has been done by that side
to uphold and protect the interests
Of those foreign bondholders than to
uphold and protect the interests of