Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1877-09-22
THOSE BLESSED RONDS.
Some sharp shots at the SOPhistries
of John sherman.

AN JOllll
man, the Secretary of the Treasury,
made a notable speech at Mansfield,
o., on Friday, Aug. IL, a speech
which will be read over more than
once by men who are interested in
financial discussions. 1t is a most
ingenious preSentment of his views
and is well calculated by its tone
and the smooth assumptions of its
author TO impose its policy upon his
hearers and readers. The air of
frankness and easy confidence in his
infallibility of Judgment on the mat
ter he discusses is well calculated to
impress very sensibly, if not to con-
vince.
1t (the SPECIFY abOunds with the
most naive sOphisticatiOns TO cut
short the approach to the real grit of
the facts, he hides the beneficiaries
of his policy from the public view
while relating his proceeding toward
specie payment that may and do,
from his standpoint, appear very
satisfactory.
He is content to feel that a bonded
debt is a blessing to the United
States. He feels that this bonded
debt can be made to bear four per
cent. interest, and, when it reaches
that happy climacteric, sit will be-
come the greatest depository of the
savings of labor, the trustee of the
widow and orphan, the safe rest Of
capital not employed n dctice indus
tries"
The widows and orphans here al
luded to, we Opine, will be those of
II -
men, must yield to the grim mon
ster. The real pudding" in Mr..
Sherman's "bag" is the "safe rest of
capital not employed in active in
dustries." Aye, there's the rub. 1t
is the very "safe rest of capital not
employed i'm active industries" that
has reduced and is still shrinking all
values and smothering all industries.
What is the use of trying to prove
TO the people of the United States
that it is happier thing to pay in
terest, even low interest, four per
cent, on bonds which We're invented
To swallow up the greenback treas
ury notes of the people, than to keep
the treasury note itself?
1t is more pertinent to the peoples
interests to inquire into the crooked
transactions of the past twelve years,
by which everybody has been bank
rupted or brought to the verge of
bankruptcy i'm spite of unparalleled
crops, save the favored twelve or
fifteen thousand people interested in
holding public bonds and banking
thereon.
1t is vain for the brigands who
have captured Congress and the
Treasury officials in the past to hope
an escape from the inevitable resti-
tutiOns demanded by freemen. Mr..
Sherman may state in smooth, nom
chalant manner, as though he drew
upon the four Gospels, "In 1869 Con-
gresS pledged the public faith that
the United States would pay gold or
silver dollars for United States
notes." Again, in January, 1879,
after more than years debate,
Congress declared that by the LIST
of January, 1879, the United States
would pay its notes i'm coin" The
declaration alluded to, he knows,
and everybody believes, to be the
result of base conspiracy to rob the
people of this country, and that the
vote was carried by the men inter
cSted i'm national banks, then mem-
6erS Of Congress in the in
tereSt of private individuals, and
not even pretended for the benefit
of the public at large, whom they
fiattered with magnificent promises
made in their name, while they de-
liberately swindled them.
The scheme for enhancing the
plundered riches of men who had
.,.s,g,,-.ng,V .-,,,.,Irn n,,I
of our civil strife laden with SpOilS
gathered from contracts with quar-
termaSters and cOmmiSSarieS; WreSt-
eel by unreasonable loans to the
Government staggering with every
embarrassment, without a drop of
blood ON their dainty apparel, was
as gigantic i'm intendment and effect,
as it was hitherto unparalleled in
any age or country. They have
funded the public debt in gold inter
est and promised to redeem in coin
the principal, and have made their
securities the basis of currency is
sued by private corporations, only
$3.50, 900, 600 of 8, POO, 700, 900 are I'M
funded. This operation improved,
of course, the ability to pay by sad
ding gold interest on the people,
and final resumption in coin of the
principal. 1t has been asserted, and
| have not seen any denial, that the
bonds We're refunded with gold,
bearing interest at par value, when
the greenback currency was at the
average depreciation of 100. Grant
the ACCESSIBILITY of funding, to fix
on gold interest instead of pay
ing il i'm the same currency re-
mitted to the prOfane vulgar, was a
base fraud, and it had the effect to
make IL the interest of the bond
holder to appreciate gold and depre-
ciate greenbackss eseNt they de-
monefized silver to construe coin to
gnean g011. and IN silver NJ tabroed
10 the rich bondh0ltler. u may be
dehased To 50 cents Ia the dollar,
and the plea 0f keeping An NV home
slfIlces the vulgar even the coIn-
clipping tnals will have IT'D profits
n sue1tfng Il. Make u unla Ei'1I
10 naN Aarga creditor IA
z liver ff ts IA rood fniEN. too VIVID N3iAt