The daily gazette., 1878-01-17

conflict at once arose. Both Mr.. Spald- |
Ing of New York and Mr.. Stevens Of !
the leading members of !
the Committee on Ways and Means, and
one its Chairman, commended In, stern aud
language that even the pay |
ment of interest in coin was an odious and |
unjust discrimination in favor Of the
and agai nst the soldier, the |
sailor, and the citizen, who were COM |
PEELED to Irecetve the legal tender cur
rency greatly idepreciated by this very
scrimination. No one, by a single |
word, in that entire debate made, the
slightest pressnse or iutimation that the
principal Of the bonds, was payable In
COIN. Durlng the seven eventful years
that followed there iis nota platform of
either political party in any State which
makes such am assertion. In many
States, and notably in Ohio, the domin-
ant party In 1868 expressed its deli berate
"cenvistion that, according 70 the, laws
under which the Ave-twenty bonds were
issued, SAID bonds shonld be paid In the
currency of the country winch may be
legal tenders when the Government shall
be- prepared to redeem such bonds" On
this doctrine the present Chief Magis,
trate and his Secretary took their stand
only nine years ago. Mr.. Sherman wrote
on March 20, 1868: ~ think the bond
holder violates his promise when he re-
fuses TO take the same Kind of money he
paid for the bonds" When it In remem-
bered that the bondhold never paid a
dollar In coin for bond of any deserip-
ton, but purchased them all with Gov
ernment currency, which the Govern
ment itself had deprecated by refusing
to take it Tor customs dues and interest,
the dull meaning of this letter becomes
verv plain and very forcible. By the
light here thrown upon the subject we
may see the exact beginning of repudia-
ton, and behold the furtive and raven
ous movements OF the actual regulators
as they hurry up aud down the precincts
of legislation during the last nine years.
| In less than ten months after this letter
was written the Hon. John Sherman pro-
/, cured the passage Of the act Of March,
1869, for the payment Of all the bonds in
coin, thereby establishment an open re-
pudiation or q solemn aud binding con-
tract, and fastening an extortion of not
less than five hundred millions of dollars
on the staggering industries of the ooun-
| try as the speculative profits of the
operation. In the whole financial his
tory of the civilized world no parallel can
De found to this audacious deed of broken
faith, deliberate treachery to the people,
and national dishonesty. Senator Morton,
In 1863, pointed out in the plainest and
most explicit manner four distinct acts of
Congress under which the people had
acquired q vested right to pay the $40
bonds In legaltender notes. He has
passed away; his voice is silent; but his
accusation hurled against criminal wrong
doing survives. Five hundred millions
made by the great operators, and five
hundred millions lost to the ploughman
and the mechanic, who have il all to pay
And yet the authors, the instigators, the
abettors of this crime and the participa
tors In its proceeds fill the air with raul.
Ing on the subject of repudiation, anti
point their fingers, stained with plumber,
at honest men as repudiators, -
Il The next step in the systematic viola
ton of It's Obligations to its own citizens
by the American Government was taken
IN the enactment OF the law of July Il.
1870, known as the act for refunding the
matt onal debt. The motive which prompt
ed this legislation has never yet been
iully exposed. 1t was, in, fact, the of
spring of an apprehensiveqr remaining IN
certain minds even after the act of March
t1868, that the work OF repudiating the
contract for the payment of the five
l twenty bonds might not be quite COM
plete and fnal. This act of. j uly IA, 1879,
was brought in as supplemental 70 That
of Mach, 1869, aud In aid of its false as
sertion that our whole bonded debt was
payable 10 coin. By sort of moral fof
gerry on the American people, the refund
Ing act provides for the issue of new
bonds to the amount of fifteen hundred
dred millions of dollars, with an agree
ment fer coin, payment written on their
face, and then further provides that
these new coin bonds shall be substituted
for the original $40 bonds-hrst, a false
construction of the contract, aud next
direct change OF its most vital terms
The bondholders were for the time-beine
content, but they did not remain 80 q
lmoment longer than a new, opportunity
ipresented itself for another encroach
ment upon the industries OF the country
By both acts the bonds were payable II
coin-not in gold alone, but in coin
Here Mr V0orohes quoted John Sher
man and other authorities.) The max
ed fact cOnfronts us at every step that ne
pledge, howe yer high, solemn or binding
In law and morals, has been strong
enough to compel the authors Of our d
nancial legislation to obey 1t. The silve
dollar came to us with the birth of ou
Government. (Here Mt. Voorhees, en-
logized the silver dollar) The enactmen
of the demonetizing law of Feb 10, 187;
was as completely unknown 90 the peo
Pile, and indeed, to four-fifths Of Congress
itself, as the presence of a burglar in |
.
mates. The silver dollar was eliminate.
! from our money system under cover o
false pretences. .,,,,s go
The law of February, 1873 taking ava,
silver money from the people, aud tht
law of January. 1875, fixing she day, no v
less than a year in advance, when tn.
greenbacks shall also perish, are twin
monsters. of evil, born of the same paren
a tage, and linked together for the destruc
ton of all money save gold. In the on
tire catalogue of crimes against human
society, not one can be found so awfu
In all It's consequences, both immediaue
and remote, as a Government com init.
when nitdeliberately destroys the money
of Its own citizens, No shrinkage in the
amount of money no contraction of the
currency in hands of people was ever
enforced BY law to any considerable ex-
tent, except amid broken lives, ruined
hopes, despair, lost honor, and all the
vices springing from the lowest depths
poverty aud human misery. Itis said
that atthis hour there are three millions oi
our own people unemployed, who have
Il no other dependence for food aud shelter
than the labor oftheir hands, and one
half of whom are new tramping from
/ place to place for crumbs of charity.
After deductng the amount due as in
terest on the bonds, there are not this
day fifty millions of gold in the United
States Treasury and in all the nationa