The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1877-08-15
The GreenbacIS Question.
Evansville Courier.

(ENansVllIc Courier.
Senator Beck delivered grand speech
at Maysville, Kentuck, last Saturday, in
winch he placed himself squarely on the
grrenback platform, even to the payment
OF the government debt in greenbacks.
We make no excuse for publishing the
following extract, as it accords so entire
ly with the views entertained by the
Western Democracy upon the money
question. lie said
"Other men in and out of Congress de-
uounce the demand of the Shylocks to
have their interests paid in gold, but the
money power was too strong to be resist
ed then and has so continued until now,
and gold interest was allowed. No man
supposed, nobody suggested that it ever
could he claimed that the principal. OF
tthosc bonds Che 5-20s) could be demands
ed in gold or silver coin but to make as
surance doubly sure, Congress caused to
he written on the back of each legal
tender note that it was receivable at its
face value for all debts, public and pri-
yate. except interest on the bonds and
custom dues No man will deny that
the principal of the bonds is q public
debt being so, it was OF course payable
in legal tender notes. 1t is SIMPLY nom
sense for anybody now to contend other
wise. Yet the first act OF General Grants
administration was the act declaring that
the principal OF all these bonds was pay
able in coin. The act was voted for by
nearly every Radical in the House and
Senate, and did not receive a single DEM
ocratic vote in either. That was the
most Infamous act ever passed by any
Congress. 1t converted domestic debt
which could then be paid in currency
which would remain here, as five years
had run from the issue of most of the
bonds, into a foreign one; it added with>
out consideration, and against law and
Justice, at least $500, 900, coo to the debt
OF the country, sum larger than the
whole cost of maintaining all the Depart
ments of the Government and paying all
its debts entire for the first twenty-eight
years of its existence, or from the first
Inauguration of Mr.. Monroe, including
all the expenditures of the war with
Great Britain, from l7l2 to 1915. 1t
was rushed through with all the evidences
of carefully preconcerted conspiracy,
before the Speaker had appointed any OF
the committees; under the gag, no man
being allowed to open his mouth in the
House of Representatives, and 1t passed
both Houses, aud was signed by General
Grant in less than week after the time
it was fret suggested 1t was simply an
act of plumber, worse than highway rob
berry: there the victim has some chance
to resist; in this case we had none. 1t
ought to have hurled Grants administers
ton and all connected with it from place
and power. The acquiescence Of the
people in it emboldened them to pass the
subsequent acts of a like nature, which
have brought us TO our present condition.
In 1869 the bondholders of Europe and
America knew they had Congress that
belonged to them. body of men known
as carpet-baggers had been placed in
Congress by Congress under Reconstruc-
ton acts, which reduced eleven States to
the most abjact satrapies. They were
called representatives of the Southern
States and people, but were not so in
any proper sense they were the most
malignant enemies and the most unscru~
pulous yillifers of the people for whom
they professed to act--simply the agents
OF the Eastern monopolsts and the hired
tools of capitalists. BY their presence in
Congress New England and the Eastern
monopoles had double representation,
and the South was forced to aid in her
own degradation and in the destruction of
the interest Of the general Taxpayers, es-
pccially in the great agricultural regions
west of the Alleghanies and south of
Mason and DiXons line. Thank God
they are almost extinct in American poll
itics. May we never see the like again.
believe that the act of March Is, 1869,
is unconstitutional, and therefore null
and void Congress, in 1869, had no
power to declare the meaning of previous
acts. All declaratory legislation is void.
1t is the prerogative of the courts 10 de
termine and declare the meaning Of lcgis~
lative acts, and it was clearly outside OF
the Constitutional power of Congress to
take from the people either $500, OO0,O 900
or any other amount of money, and give
it, without pretense OF consideration, to
the bondholder | have introduced sew
eral bills for it's repeal, but have been
always met with the cry that the faith OF
the nation was pledged by that act to the
payment Of the bonds in coin. | deny
that any Congress can pledge any future
Congress by an act, and | especially deny
that the representatives of the people are
under any sort of obligation to anybody
Ito maintain such measure as that
passed, as it was, by Congress filled
with bogus representatives-an act con-
ceived in sin and brought forth in in.
EQUITY"
1t is to be hoped that the Democrats
OF Ohio will secure the aid of Senator
Beck in the campaign about to open in
that State. He is bold and fearless, ag-
gressive, and is the peer of the best de-
baters in the land. The greenback cause
was never so strong as it is to-day.
81 say, fellows, remarked Yankee
loafer to some of his companions, "let
us see who can tell the biggest lie." "Al