Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-07-10

ion that either of them lays claim to any
striking intellectual superiority.
Both of them will draw their pay with great
ability. Neither of them possesses
The order of civil abilities necessary to dis
5inguished career in Congress. i So
Far as the national public are concerned,
both would sink out of sight in the general
mob of mediocre congressman.
RESUMPTION.
Speech. of General Thomas E,cing, Delir-
cred In the House of Representatives,
Thursday, June -, 1878.
On the substitute of the Senate for the bill
a. r. No. sO5) to repeal the third section
of an act entitled can act to provide for
the resumption of specie payments
Mr.. Ewing-Mr. Spea ker: on the oath of
November last the House passed the bill to
repeal all that part of the act of January IA,
treasury to increase the bonded debt or use
surplus reve nues to provide for redemption
in coin of United Sta tes notes on and after
January /, 1879. The Senate sends the bill
back to US with all after the enacting clause
stricken out and with two wholly different
provisions inserted. They are first, pro-
vision to, make greenbacks receivable in pay
ment for four per cent. coin bonds: and, Sec
ond, provision to make greenbacks receiv-
able for customs after October /, 1873.
On Friday last, when the bill was received
back from the Senate with these amend
ments, moved to non-concur, and asked
committee of conference. The motion was
defeated by nearly tie vote. The gentle.
man from Illinois (Mr. Fort) now moves to
concur in the amendments. / have word
or two to say why, in my opinion, that mo-
ton should not prevail.
We are told we can get no moro than the
Senate now offers, and if we fail to take this
we shall get nothing. Sir, that's not the spirit
with which we should maintain the rights of
the people. If we are ready to accept
slight concession in lieu of a great right, we
will henceforth be expected to sacrifice
important measures by compromises. The
Senate offers nothing desirable in these
amendments except to make greenbacks re-
ceivable for customs. A separate bill for that
single purpose, now in the hands of my col
league (Mr. Southard will pass the House
| to-day or tomorrow. Let the Senate pass
that bill by itself, and not offer US this "nub-
Olu DIS COuultlOu VI dCHulcSCSuCo III Iuo
gigantic wrong of forced resumption.
The only other proposition in the Senate
amendments is device of the secretary of
the treasury to promote resumption. That
is the provision giving him power to sell
four per cent. bonds for greenbacks at his
discretion. There are two methods by
which he hopes to maintain resumption.
One is by boarding coin to pay the green
backs as they are presented for redemption;
the other is to collect greenbacks 'front.' taxes
or sales of bonds and withhold them from
circulation, so as to make them scarce, and
thus stop their flow to the treasury for re-
demption. To the extent of all the surplus
moneys in the treasury, the greenbacks SO
received are appropriated by the resumption
law to the uses of resumption.
The secretary does not cons rue the act
passed this session stopping the further de-
struction of greenbacks and requiring their
reissue as at all limiting the sweeping pro-
vision of the resumption law appropriating
all surplus moneys to resumption purposes,
as his telegram of to-day to my friend from
Kansas (Mr. Phillips) very plainly shows.
That appropriation applies to proceeds of
sales of bonds as we'll as to surplus revenues.
AS the law now stands, he can only sell
bonds for coin. Give him the power to sell
them for greenbacks also, and you enable
him to take legal tenders out of circulation
and hoard them in the treasury without any
limit, except the limit of the popular
demand for the bonds. The green
backs now in private vaults kthrough-
out the country, awaiting revival of bust
ness, would go largely into these bonds and
be boarded in the treasury, to be paid out
again only when, in the language of Mr.
Sherman, 'they can be maintained at pal
with coin.'' Hence, no matter how great the
business demand for the reissue of green.
backs boarded by the secretary might be.
come, the people could only get them in cir
culation again when tn If reissue, in his
opinion, would not endanger resumption.
We have already increased our bonded debt
$4,000 900 to aid resumption. The Sen
ate amendment gives the secretary new
power and facilities to increase it Indefinitely
for that purpose. We have already con
tracted our currency 1915, 000,O 900 for resump.
ton. This amendment gives him now power
and facilities to contract it. 1t is, therefore
only a dangerous and pernicious enlarge
ment of the powers for mischief conferred
n-the secretary by the resumption law.
But there is still further objection to this
amendment. If resumption shall break
down, as l am thoroughly convinced it will
gold will mount to high premium.
would not be surprised to see it go to 90 pei
cent. above par in greenbacks. Suppose it
does, then we will be selling per cent. coin
bonds for greenbacks worth but sixty-siz
and two-thirds cents on the dollar in coin
thus repeating in effect the $50 bono
swindle.
/ If we concur in the amendment striking
out all of our bill after the enacting clause
we abandon our demand for the repeal OF
the resumption scheme. That demand was
not made first by US, but by the people; and
whatever changes may have recently come
over this House, the people still demand il
more unmistakably and vehemently than
ever. The eight months during which this
bill slept in the hostile hands of the Senate
have been the most calmitous ever endured
by the American people. Their busl-
ness is being ruined, their fortunes
swept away, their very means Of subsistence
stolen by the cunning deviltry of this scheme
of resumption, scheme which not one in
ten of its intelligent promoters believes can
result in permanent specie payments, and
| the only certain effect of which is the robbery
of the many and the enrichment of the few
through an enormous decrease in the prices
of the commodities and increase in the pur-
chasing power of money. Let us accept no
substitute for the repeal of this most i'm
practicable and destructive law. Let US
stand for repeal until the Senate and
the President yield to the voice of the PEG
| pie.