The Portland daily press., 1877-11-17

tions of this sort. He appealed from the ebb
and flow OF public opinion of to-day to the
general Judgment OF mankind on the question
of currency. He referred to 1860 as a wear of
universal general prosperity in the Uaited
States. and said if anything was then settled
in public opinion, it was that the only safe,
trustworthy standard of value was coin of an
ascertained weight aud fineness or paper
currency convertible into coin at the will of the
holder. That was then and had been for
long time the unanimous opinion of the
American people. Here and there had been
dreamers who looked upon paper money as the
fetch of their idolatry. but these dreamers
were then so few in number that thew made no
ripple on the current of public thought and
formed no part of public opinion That
opinion was the aggregate result of the oninions
of the foremost Americans whoever thonoht
and wrote on that subject. No man had nSar
sat in the Presidential chair and left on record
any word on subject which spoke of safety in
finance except in coin or paper convertible into
coin. No man ever sat in the chair of the
Secretary of the Treasury, and lhad spoken at
all on the subject, who had not left on record
an opinion equally strong, from Hamilton
down to the father of his distinguished col
league, Ewing and down to the present day.
1t seemed to him that the general judgment of
all who deserved to be called leaders of Ameri-
can thought ought to be considered worth
something in the American House of Repre-
sentatives in the discussion of great topic like
this. What had happened to produce the
change from the general level of public opinion
in 1852 Every man knew the history of the
war. The over-masterDg necessities of that
war led the men of 1861 to depart from the doc
trine ofsthe fathers, bet they had not departed
from it as matter of sentiment, but as a mat
ter OF overwhelming necessity. All who voted
for the greenback law in the House and Senate
did SO under protest, and with a declaration
that atthe earliest possible moment the coun-
try should be brought back to the old safe es-
tabished doctrine of the fathers. Like the
companion of Ulysses, they had dashed them.
selves to the mast OF public credit when they
embarked on a stormy and hazardous sea Of
paper money, so that they might not be be-
guiled by the syren songs which might be sung
to them when they were on the wild waves.
But times were changed. New men were on
deck. Only twelve years had passed since the
House with only six dissenting votes resolved
to stand again by the old ways to bring the
country to sound money, and now what was
found? A group OF schoolmen and doctrin-
aires. The latter, unknown twelve years ago.
was found in favor of what they called abso-
lnte money. declaring that piece of paper
stamped one COLLAR twas a dollar, and that
gold and silver were part of the barbarism of
the past, which ought forever to be abandoned;
that resumption should never take place. and
that the eras of prosperity were the proper
eras.' Coming back to the prosperous era of
1860 he asserted that although banking was
Free but POI, 100000 of paper money was In cir
cution and about 5000, 00O,0 900 in coin. How
dred and twenty-seven millions in greenbacks,
fractional currency and silver and about
900 in coppers; in all 1886 000 900, exclu-
s1ge of the gold circulation on the Pacific
coast. He put it 10 the Judgment of the House
how it was that while in 1860 under free bank
ing with no restrictions, $407, 100000, was the
limit of currency in circulation, almost twice
that amount was needed and hardly enough in
1877. He proceeded to critic that part of
| Mr.. Kelley's speech of Yesterday which COM
mapdad the financial noliov of nd
pressed wish that that gentleman be in
structed by il. He admitted that France had
always more currency than England or the
United States. but said the modes of business
| in France are quite different. All their BUSH
ness Is done in cash or drafts, while 10 Eng
land 50 per cent. of all the great commercial
transactions was done by checks and draft and
only per cent. by cash. An experiment he
had made ten years ago showed that in fifty
| two banks, one-third in the great cities. one
| third in the secondary cities and one.third in
the rural districts, the business done over their
counters was So per. cent in checks and drafts
and IL per cent. in cash. France, like the
United States issued paper money during the
war, but as soon as the war was over she began
| to reduce the paper circulation and increase
the metallic currency, and France was now
within fifty days OF resumption. He, there
fore commended the example of France to the
gentleman of Pennsylvania. He proceeded to
criticize the authority of Sir Archibald Alison
and Mr.. Doubleday (who had been quoted by
| Mr.. Kelley on financial subjects) and said the
former had no credit whatever in England as a
writer on finance, and that the latter had writ
ten nothing cut the vereet twaddle on that
subject.
Referring to the English troubles of 1919, he
declared that the overwhelming and fixed
opinion of England was that the cash resump-
ton act OF 1919 was blessing and not a curse
and that the evils which had surrounded Eng
land did not arise from the resumption of coin
payment, but from causes entirely distinct. 1t
was the coin law of England which produced
the great evils from which England suffered.
In 1922 and 1928 committee of Parliament
was appointed to inquire into all causes of dis
tress and in its report there was not word
which attributed particle of distress to the
resumption act of 1919. He put himself in the
same category in which the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Kelley) had placed the late Sec
rotary OF the Treasury, Hugh McCulloch. lie
(Kelley) had read yesterday three lines from an
article written by that gentleman, and declared
that the statement made in those lines showed
either nnexampled ignorance or unexampled
mandacity What was that statement? 1t
was that every great financial crisis in this
country had been preceded by an enormous en-
laTgement of paper circulation. He tGarfed)
affirmed that it was true and he challenged
any one to prove the contrary. 1t had been as
sumed that specie payments would injure the
debtor class and therefore help the rich. He
denied that proposition 10 toto. He affirmed
that vast majority Of the creditors of the
CouHtIy WeI6 poor men anu tEaG q vast MAJOR
lty of the debtors belonged to the rich classes
1t was the laboriDg man who placed his sur
plus money in savings banks, and it was the
rich man who borrowed from the savings
banks. Thus did the poor lend to the rich. In
tho name of the laboring man therefore he de-
nounced the attempt to repeal the resumption
law. There were three reasons why the re-
sumption act should be retained; first public
faith demanded it; second, all the great public
interests demanded it; third, the future pros
fu of fhn mi IL.
manent basis. one on which confidence could
again be established and business revived
The elements were all now 10 favor of resump-
ton. The report of the Secretary of the Treas
ury yesterday showed that he had $50, 900, 900
IN coin unpledged for any other purpose, wait
ing as reserve for the day of resumption and
that he was adding to that stock at the rate of
S., 100000 month. The balance of trade was
IN fay u of this country to the extent of nearly
$2OO.00O.OO0 year, exchange was flowing this
way. The harvest had been bounteous. The
nation was awakening to new enterprises, bus
mess everywhere reyiving. There was no dan
ger except from the Congress of the United
States.
In conclusion he said: The moment your
greenback is equal to gold it is better than gold
for it Is more convenient, and as long as the
people desire it to be in circulation SO long it
will be, until the business of the country de-
mands its removal. If any of the amendments
proposes to make the resumption act more SAFE
more certain, more careful of the interests of
the country. shall cheerfally join in voting for
it, bui anything that takes back the promise,
anything that gives up what we have gained,
anything that sets US a1oat again on the wild
waves from which we have merely escaped, L
will oppose if it costs me all the political future
that can be offered to an American. General
applause on the Republican side of the cham
ber.)
Mr.. Buckner followed in advocacy of the
bill.
Debate was continued through an evening
session.