Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-10-24
The Wasted Fragrance of May
Flower.

speak at the court house last Friday
evening. The Wall street fatista
have Rev. Col May on the tramp
through this county. May asked
and obtained from Judge Mills per.
mission to occupy half the evening
to speak in favor of the Wall street
money. May has been at the BUSH
ness two or three years and has
much OF the Pomeroy and Cary clap
trap by heart. lie begun by claim
ing that the greenback had saved
the nation ard his party wants 10
save the greenback. But not one
word did be or does any one in his
party say for tho Greenback. 1t is
not the greenback they want. What
they want is "fiat" The Greonback
Is note which on its face says "Tbe
United States ,oill pay money! The
fiat" is piece of paper which is 0
say "This Is money" The party
the Reverend Colonel Represents has
Ia lts last conventions abandoned
the greenback even to the lame. 1t
now calls itself the "National' 1t
wants to destroy greonbacks which
are as good as gold and silver and
substitute for them paper which, as
soon as the Wall Street gamblers get
it distributed among the people in
exchange for their property, will be
worth nothing.
The Rev. Col. said his fats would
be as good as gold because they
would be legal tender for every thing.
We bad demand notes, he said, and
they were equal to gold all through
the war "because they paid import
Duties" 1t seems to us man of or
binary intellect should understand
the power of those notes by their
name. They were demand notes.
That is, whoever took one of them
to the United States Treasury recei-
we'd coin for it. 1t was that quality
kept them as good as gold. What is
their history? They were first issued
in 1862. June Both, 1862, there were
800, 100000 of them out, and in less
than year from that date over $50
100000 of them were presented to
the United States and the coin de-
manded. At the close of She war
there was not half million dollars
of them in existence. Any man who
has q thinker in his head knows that
had there been more of them issued
than the Treasury could redeem in
coin they would have deprecated to
the market value of other paper cur
rency.
The Rev. Col. continues to below
from his fog-horn that our circula-
ton has been reduced 81, 800, 900, 900
since the war. To prove that there
ever was so much money in circula-
ton they call the $40 loan which
drew interest at seven and three.
tenths per cent. currency or money,
and to prove that it is money they
quote letter of Treasurer Spinner
in which he is reputed 10 have said
the five-twenties were used az mon
ey. The Government has never is.
sued bond but what has been used
as money. Whenever the soldiers
desired it the Governm ent paid them
with bonds. That was using the
bonds as money. Treasurer Spinner
in 1870 made report going over his
whole official work of nine years. In
that report he gives what he cells
"The total amount of United States
currency outstanding at the close of
each fiscal year" The highest amt
given is at the close of the fiscal
year 1865, which amount was $685.
918,800.25. He did not include dol
lar of The five-twenties, and the sum
here given is the largest amount of
United States currency ever out at
one time.
The Rev. Col. repeats on every
stump the statement of Brick Pom
eroy and Blatherskite Cary, that the
New York Times advocated the plan
for capitalists to get possession of all
the landed property of the country
and then for the farmers to be their
tenants. The intent of the Times ar.
ticle referred to was to show that the
policy or schemes of the Nationals, If
successful, would result in making
orr farmers all tenants on the estates
of lordly capitalists. Any man who
quotes the article believing the Times
meant that il should be done exposes
his own ignorance of the use of Ian.
guage In irony. LII the Raw. Col May
believes it. Pomeroy and Cary have
made fool of him.
The Rev. Col. quoted from Spin.
ner's report Message and Doc.
Abridgement p. 1859 to show that
since 1861 over two billions of the
peoples money bad been destroyed.
Taking the table he quoted from he
might as well have said over four
billions as over two billions. 1t is
enough to make one ashamed of his
race to think that in this country of
schools and churches a man can be
made 80 great knave as to use
those figures in the manner the Rev.
Col. did,if be knows what they are,
or that he should pretend TO be a
teacher Of the people and SO great
fool as not to know what they are.
We assume that in this case the
speaker played the knave and meant
his hearers should be the fools If
not so he would have said four bill
lions instead of two billions for at the
end of the table it reads in plain
words, Total amount destroyed up