Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-03-21
PUNCTuRES OF THE GREEN
BACK BUBBLE.
Hon. James A. Garfield's Re-
ply to hon. VIM D. Kelley.
In tie House Of Representatives.
March 6, 1873.
Mr.. GARFIELD said :

MdTch g, 1873.
Mr.. GARFIELD said
Mr. chairman: 1t is not of nv seeking ar
ae cording to my desire that any interrunt;on
Vi WORK on the appropriation bills is made nv
general debate; but the House by unanimous
consent allowed the gentleman from Pennsyl-
wanna, Nj. Kelley two hours and a half vas-
terday, which he devoted to the criticism of n
speech which made one hundred and nine
days ago against the repeal of the resumntion
act, and If take an hour to reply I can hard !.
y DE charged with wauton delay cf the puh-
lie business po-
Mr. HARRIS. OF Virginia. interrupt the gem
s'e'lal ior the purpose of asking if it is the
purpose OF the Committee on Appropriations
70 allow The gentleman from Pennsylvania
ht' heieyI 70 reJoin to the gentleman from
oi'io, ana let the discussion 60 on indefinite,
~ Ii so the House must interpose.
Mr.. ADKINS The House has already made
us order, and it is not in the power of the
Committee on Appropriations to change that
order,nor does the Committee desire to do 40
The CHAIRMAN. The House has limited 10.
pate 10 two hours ana twenty minutes and
one hour is allotted to the gentleman from
Ohio. i'o'i
Mr.. GARFIELD. There was not in nv sneeoh
delivered on the 10Th of November the slioht,
est touch of personality. replied to argn.
ments and criticised opinions. but was not
conscious OF saying anything to wound the
sehsloiiitles OF any gentleman The gentle
man from pennsylvania Mr.. Kelleyl has been
sometimes my antagonist but often nv com
fade on many a field of debate. We have
served together in the same committee near
~ hve years. and though on few subjects
our differences have been marked and dec;s
I've, yet, so far as remember. the courtesies
oil debate have always been observed and the
ooigatlons of friendship have been unyiola-
Ied' during the past month we have spent
Almost Two hours day together in committee
Work, consulting on public question. Nothing
therefore, could excite my surprise more than
10 ma that after nearly four months of wait
iua' mat gentleman should have delivered
speech OF two hours and halt, which from
VIC beginning to the end of it was filed with
:he spin. Oh sneering, unkind personality, clos
us nHaIiy with statement coarsely irrever,
en', not proiane, branding me as especially
arrogant, conceited and egotistical in NV
bearing toward my brother members. To All
that | shall make no reply, except simnlv to
say this, that to charge like that from q Gan.
tieman whose colossal selfconceit has been
the theme OF pleasant popularity among all his
associates during the seventeen wears of his
service, no man on this floor need make re-
ply.
but 1t is OF consequence not only to me Init
10 all those who have an interest in these
SUBJECTS to know whether the main statements
concerning the financial facts on which nv
speech was based are trustworthy and the
conclusions warranted by the facts. To these
"iohe shali invite the attention of the House.
am iaooring under the same embarrass.
ment was on the 10Th of November when 7
replied W some points made by the gentleman
from Pennsylvania. His speech then was
from the Record, and was COM
peled to reply to it as remembered. And
now, after the speech, which was mostly If
not all in manuscript and for aught know has
oeen many weeks ready for delivery, was read
deliberately to the House, it does not appear
IN the Record of this morning and am again
compelled to trust to my memory of it, to the
few notes l made while he read it. and to the
bret notice contained in the morning papers.
Ii shaii IN any way misrepresent his state
ments the fault is mainly his own.
am also embarrassed now. as was in No
vember, by the fact that the gentleman him
self is not here, for l dislike to make refer
ence to member in his absence. Bnt he sat
Ill the Committee room of WAYS and Means
for two hours this morning, and he knew that
L had the floor and that must sneak now if
at all.
Inc hrst forty minutes of his two hour-and
a-half speech were devoted to overturninc a
proposition OF mine which was incidental and
not vitality essential to my argument. The
line OF my argument was this that it was gen
orally conceded that 1860 was a time of peace
and OF general prosperity in this country: that
there was falr employment for labor and fair
remuneration for the laborer; that it was an
era of free banking and the volume of the enr
rency was, S207, 000, 900 the largest which the
country had ever had except for brief per
iod in the panic year of 1851 On that state
ment drew the conclusion that,it was due
to gentlemen who said that we had not now
enough currency to show how, after all that
mas occurred to us in years past, the present
depression OF prices, which are nearly if not
altogether as low as in 1850, and the present
of laborers three times as
hluch currency now as we had in 1860 was
still insufficient.
That was the drift of my argument and
upon the preliminary declaration that the wear
1869 was one of peace and fair prosperity
throughout the country the gentleman snent
forty minutes to show that 1860 was one of
our most dstressful years, except nerhans the
present, that the country has known. In the
first place he denied that it was a wear Of
peace, and for three very curious reasons
FIRST, because during the previous year seven
teen men had invaded Virginia at Harper's
Ferry Second, because it was the wear of
the presidential election. Third, because the
year aiterward we had a war Well if these
three facts prove that 1860 was not year of
peace then the gentleman is entitled to saw
that our currency was adjusted to war basis
during that year. But he denies nv state
ment that the year 1860 was year of general
and asserts that it was a year of
great business depression. And be bases this
opinion upon the fact that in 1859 there was A
destructive frost in some of the grain-grov
ing sections OF the country that some iron
men say it was a disastrous year to the pro-
ducers and manufacturers of iron that there
were large sheriff's sal in PHILADELPHIA /: and
that the National Government was compelled
to negotiate loan to meet its expenditures
These and the opinion of Mr.. Carey are. be-
lieve, the main grounds on which he relies for
overturnlng my position.
For the purpose of my November speech I
might have taken the whole decade from 1880
to 1850 as the base-line from which to meas
ure the relative amount of currency needed
before the war and now but chose the wear
1860 as the last year of peace preceding
the period of war and imitation. considered
ii fact, admitted by almost everyone, that
1850 was year of very general prosperity,
but as the gentleman denies it, / viii enun,-
crate briefly few of the grounds on which
made my statement.
In 1860 the burdens OF national taxation
were light. All our revenues, including loans,
amounted only to SIC, 100000 Our expendt.
ures we're S75,000,o00, and our whole public
debt but Sos, 1000, 900. In the year 1860 the
tonnage of our ships upon the seas was $3.50,
SOS tons which was more by 100000 tons than
in any other year of our history before or
since. Two-thirds OF our imports were then
carried in American bottoms, as were also two.
thirds of our exports.
Our exports that year reached the aggre-
gate value of $500, 900, 600, which vas forty
three and a half millions more than during any
previous year. Our imports were 1862 600.
600, decidedly more than any other year.
And make this statement on the authority of
David A. Wells, that in 1860 we were export.
ing to foreign countries more American man
ufactures than in any other year of our his.
tory In table printed on page 10 OF the re-
port of the special commissioner of the reven-
ne for lS69,it appears that in 1860 there came
to this country $4,000 emigrants, 5000
more than during the preceding year.
As an exhibit of the activity and industry
OF our people, forty-eight hundred and