Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1877-11-28

annot be reasonably expected to pro-
tide, this extraordinary means may
20 resorted to. That It was cxtraor-
linary we need only to refer to the
'act that the Government existed un-
Ter the Constitution for scvcnty-two
years and passed through several
wars without resorting to it. But
who can say, as legislator bound to
obey the Constitution, that to-day
when the ordinary taxation pays all
the current expenses of the Govern
ment, all the interest on the public
debt and large sum on the principal
when we can borrow mon
ey on forty years time at per cent,
can renew our Indebtedness as often
as it becomes due, that it is necessary
or proper or legitimate or conducive
to the ends for which the Govern
ment was established to force new
loan from the people in order to raise
money; or can we say it is necessary
TO legislate values away from the peo-
pie in order to give them circlIlat-
ing medium?
it may be asked will not this reas-
oning apply equally to reissues, and
can they be constiutionally reissued
after once received by the govern
ment for dues or redeemed in coin.--
To this / answer there is broad dis
distinction; SO long as they are re-
deemed under law reserving the
right to reissue, it is but the continu-
alton of tho old debt. The original
issue is the creation of the debt, the
reissue is but its continuation. And
if convertible into coin at the pleasure
of the holder, it would be but con-
tinuation of the debt at the will OF
him who was entitled to demand pay.
can but regard this as the first re-
al contest in the national halls of leg
islation between the new school of fl.
nanciers who believe in fiat money, as
it is termed by the honorable moneta.
ry commission, whose report was sub.
mitted this session, and those who
believe with the founders Of the gov.
ernmentin actual money, or money
of intrinsic worth as the true stan
dard of values.
All admit that it is the great and
sudden fluctuations in the volume o.
! money-increase or decrease-tha
work the injustice. 1t is the putting
up and grinding.down process tina
brushes out the middle and poorer
classes. Who wins in sthese opera
tons? Great increase gives Immature
rise in prices, and decrease unnatura
decline. lie who can command larg
quantities of money can buy and sci
property on rising market ant
make money. He can hold his mon
ey on falling one and make none,
by its appreciation in value. Thu
the sudden ebbing or flowing tide o
money rolls wealth into the laps o
the rich; but he who has not snfii
y Gent wealth to command none.
makes nothing by speculation. Wha
the shrewd, the sharp and the rich
. make by these fluctuations, the poor
, the plodding, the industrious, the rea
creators of wealth, lose.
Which of the two systems is tn
, more liable to lead to these f1uctua
lions? BY the one, the law-maR
ing power has but to blow its sover
eign breath on paper, and 10! it i
money, actual money; and it ma
breathe upon il again and it wither
!. away as suddenly as it appeared
The material is limitless, the onl
bounds to quantity lis lcgislativ
will. BY the other, every dollar is
, fair index of the toll and labor it ha
! taken in some period of the world
history to produce il. The materis
!. is such that is not susceptible of rap
id increase, and Its use SO universe
, that change Of q national law or of
government itself will not destroy il
value. Who can doubt that tho spe
2 Gle basis is the more just and soil
> foundation on which to rest our stand
; ard of values?
Mr.. Speaker, / wish to avail mysel
of this opportunity to express my ad
miration for the glowing eulogie
pronounced on the greenback so elo
quently and earnestly by the gentle
man from Pennsylvania Mr.. Kelley
and the gentleman from Indiana MI
Hannal on this floor, yesterday, W he
been IL b bSM grsat and manifold ha
ing therefrom against its redemption
appeared to me somewhat strange
1t is singular way of honoring pa
lper. 1t seems to me very much sucl
q performance as this would be: A
individual, finding himself in desti
tute circumstances, in great want @
the necessaries of life, is fortunat
enough to discover friend. Tha
friend loans him money and take
his note, He, from this means, feed
and clothes himself and gets along i
the world. After the note has bee
overdue about ten years, the holde
presents it. The maker looks at il
and breaks forth in the fullness OF hi
, soul, from the recollections it awak
ems. "Oh, what glorious note!
is the instrument that clothed m
when ] was naked, fed me when
was ] hungry, sheltered me from tn
chilling storms. i could fall dow
and worship it." "Pugh!" said tn
holder, IL don't want you to worshi
it. l want to suggest--perhaps 70
can make some arrangements to pre-
vide for it." "Provide for it? Pa
it? My dear sir, it has done me to
much good to think Of ever proyidin
tor it in any other way than just lei
ting it float" Now, sir, after tn
same manner that this individual
honoring his paper these gentleme
are honoring the greenback.
Mr.. Speaker, a few words on tn
silver bill and / have done. This d.
bate has been made the occasion TO
} denunciations Of this bill. Some Z
our eastern friends are not backwar
in letting lis know that they regar'
this as dishonorable attempt to ar
ply the scaling process to the redut
ton of our indebtedness, an attemI
to change the contract. How ca
these gentlemen, who justify the leg
islation of 1873, have the hardihoo
TO even whisper "change of contract
If to drop from our coin the silve
dollar, which was legal tender for al
amounts, when $l,5OO,OOO,OO0 of on
coin bonds, bonds now outstanding
were issued, was not an unwarranta
BILE change of contract, then to restor
this dollar to its old place, notwith
,, standing $200,OO0,2OO of bonds hav
since been issued in rcfunding OH
!, debt, is not such a change.
! Again, there never has been a lay
!, on our statute-books, as I understan,
it, that authorized the issuing of
bond payable in gold alone. And Al
bonds issued since 1873 have been is
sued under the authority of the &C
!, for refunding the public debt, ap
proved July Ia, 1870, which uses thi
language in specifying in what kim
of money the bonds shall be redeem
ed: "redeemable in coin Of the pres
!, ent standard value"
II And it further says: "And the SAT-
bonds shall have set forth and ex
! pressed upon their face the abov
specified conditions"
Now, sir. it seems to me the legis
) lation of 1878 did not repeal or chang
! these provisions, and all bonds issue,
: under this law should have specific,
: that which the law provided the
! should; and it may be that such
. the fact; that is, that they should b
= redeemable in the coin of the stand
: ard value Of 1870. And the only ct
> feet of the act of 1873 was to limit tn
I means of the United States to com
: ply with the contract, and ever
purchaser Of bond ought to hay
realized that Congress had the sam