The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1877-12-07
ENvING's GREAT SPEECH.
The Resumption Act, HIS
Meaning and Hts Goa.
sequences.
a bondage AmPendHag Worse
than that Imposed on
tEe Jews In EgyPH. 4
And MeaacIng the Very Foun-
daIiOns Of Order and
Property.


attention and interest to one great
question until IL is thoroughly set
tied. For six years preceding the
war nothing of public interest was
generally considered but the slave
ry question. During the war the
means of its successful prosecution
absorbed all attention. Since its
close the status of the negro race
as oompOnents of our political life,
and the terms of rehabilitation OF
the revolted states have been the
controlling questions in every. cam
paign. Now that the last of the
Southern questions is happily set
tied by the triumph of the Demo
cratic principle OF local self-govern-
ment, there looms up as paramount
in Importance and interest the ques-
lions OF the debt and the currency.
Happy would it have been for the
people had they considered these
questions twelve years ago. SeThey
would have been saved the infiic-
ton OF five gigantic wrongs in their
finance policy. They would have
had a paper currency composed
solely of greenbscks aud have
avoided S350,000.000 of unnecessary
bonded debt caused 10y dividing the
circulation OF the national banks
a saving which would bv this date
have sQnsled one-third of our ma
tional burden. They would not
have suffered the maladroit and
mischievous funding In long bonds
of the $l,2O0,OO0,OOO of interest
notes, large part of which were
legal tenders and performed the
double Office of investment and cur
rency; which were dispersed
throughout the country and were
little felt az q burden because OF
the ebb and flow of payments from
the Treasury TO the people as inter-
est, and from the people back to the
Treasury in taxes. The funding OF
those notes largely contracted the
effective currency just as our bust
ness wants were immensely in
creased by the return of the South
to our industrial life, and substitu
ted for them q credit system which
made food for the panic of 1873.
So, too, If the people had been
awake on these questions the act 81
reputation and extoriion in l86
would never have become a law, by
which S5O0,OOO,O00 were in effe CT
taken from the people and. given to
the bondholders without consider
alton; nor the silver swindle oil
1873 and 1874, by which we were
deprived of the power to pay our
public debts in the coin of the con-
tract, the metal of which America
is the great producer; nor the
vi I0I NJ hn Of
by which about ten thousand mil
lions of currency debts were made
payable in gold, by which the great
wealth-producing classes are being
robbed of their accumula'ions for
the benefit of usurers, and our land
in the midst of the abundance OF
Gods bounties is filledwith the cries
of hunger and despair.
Mr.. Speaker, in closing the de-
bate on this bill 1 wish it to be uu-
derstood as having no connection
with the question whether the sys-
tenn of free banking established by
the resumption law shall stand Oh
fall. The third section of that act
repealed all the provisions of the
national bank act which limited the
aggregate bank circulation to 1854,
0OO,0OO, and which provided for the
withdrawal and redistribution of
BANK currency. The repeal of thai
section now will not revive those
provisions of Limitation, wIthdra w.
81, and redistribution, but will leave
the bank system just where it now
is, open TO all in any locality whC
may choose to establish banks of is
sue. This measure will merelS
stop the redemption and destruc
ton of greenbacks, and the pur
chase and accumulation of coin TO
that purpose. When it shall hav,
been acted on by the House it will
be for Congress 10 determine wheth
er the sovereign prerogative of fur
nishlng the money of the people
shall be exercised by the peopl
alone or divided with private cor.
porations.
do not wish to confound tw,
wholly separate questions, one o
which is before us and the othel
not, and therefore shall not attemp
in the discussion OF this bill to pre-
sent the reasons which ten year
ago led me to the conviction tina
bank Issues should be Suppressed
and the whole paper clrculation res
tored to the nation, to whom its ad
vantages belong. That issue wi
undoubtedly be presented by O.
appropriate bill at an early day.
EFeEcTs OF CONTRACTION AND En-
PANsIoN CoNTRA-LED.
Mr.. Speaker, no greater calamit
can be inflicted on people bV GOV
eminent than contraction of III
volume of currency to which thei
values are adjusted. The prices @
commodities, whc'her land, pro
duct, or labor, are determined absC
lutely by the effective volume {
the currency. An increase of th
volume, If not carried beyond th
wants of legitimate business, raise
the price ofall commodities, wheth
er land, labor, or product, but doe
injury to only q comparativel
small class, whose wealth or de
pendence is chiefly in money secuI
tiles, fixed rents, annuities, or sals
ries. But while 1t injuries them
one way 1t helps them in another
promotes industry, stimulates ez
OhAuScs, HlulIlpilSS OppOrNuDlIle
for safe and profitable Investment
and thus indirectly compensate
them for the diminution of the re
alive value of their money. Thu
during the war of the rebellion 8
great were the general benefits froI
The Increased volume of the curreI
cy and 80 many the new opportU
mites for successful Investment tbs
even the small creditor class suffel
ed but little by the decrease of II
purchasing power of money.
On the other hand, contractio
of the currency, by diminishing III
price of land, labor, and commod
ties, spreads ruin among tie masse,
1t Expresses debtors by reducin
the price CT those commodities b
the sale of which money is raise
to pay debts. 1t in like name
lays increased burdens on taxpaN
ers. 1t checks all successful bus
ness of production and exchangu
because neither the maker nor e,
changer of values can do busine
probably on q falling market, sT
by arresting business forces wa,
men into idienees and starvation.