The daily gazette., 1878-02-18


| by the Senator from Connecticut, it
would have been much better for the tax
payers of the country If the credit Of the
Government had not been so good or
had not been used so freely. There is no
doubt that the exigencies of war justified
q proper use of the public credit, and
there Is as little doubt that it was used
unwisely. A much heavier debt was
incurred than there was any necessity
for, and the burden of which will remain
to tax the energies and industry of the
| country for long years to come. l5 .i,i.
| Still l would do no act that could by
possibility impair the credit of the coun-
try, and do not believe that the passage
OF this bill can have that effect. The
credit Of a government depends upon its
| ability and Willingness to pay the obliga-
hons which it incnrs; and may not ask
where il the country on the face of the
| earth with such nnbounded resources as
our own? We have an extent of terrific
ry almost unequaled, with a rapidly in
creasing population Of energetic, enter
prising, and industrious people. We are
free from the complications which en-
barrass European nations, and by wise
and prudent action on our own part are
secure from the Affections entailed by
foreign or domestic wars.
Our soils fertile and produces almost
everything necessary for subsistence and
| comfortofman. .Onrgrain-growingf field are
capable of supplying large part of the
world with breadstuffs, and the spindles
and looms of Europe are dependent on
the productions of our Southern States
The very bowels of the earth in every
section of our country are filed with
mineral wealth, while our gold and sill
yer mines are the richest in the world.
With such resources, our ability to pay
our liabilities will not be questioned in
any garter of the globe, nor can our will
ingness to do so be doubted. The hold
ers Of the Government securities at least
will not question our willingness to pay
our debts. They well remember that
after they had bought our bonds with le-
gal tender notes, greatly depreci ated,
we voluntarily in 1869 proclaimed our
purpose to pay the bonds which they
held, not in greenbacks, as we might
fave done, but in coin; thus increasing
the value of their bonds at that time 20
per cent. Sir, the credit of this Govern
ment will not suffer by the RECOMMENDATION
of silver.I have no suchfear andam alarm
ed,by no such prediction.
Nor will the passage of this bill be re-
| garded as indicative of a disposition on
the part Of the American people or of
Congress, to repudiate or scale down any
part of the public debt. However much
we may have been divided in reference
to the propriety. or necessity of creati ng
so large debt the time will never come
when any large part of our people would
willingly see the American name dishon-
ored by refusal of their Government to
pay to the uttermost farthing every dol
lar which il owes either to foreign or do
nestle creditors. There may be an agra
rian spirit-a communistic sentiment
entertained by few persons in every
communicable such spirit is of for
Ion, x.,;Il An1 I I.
little sympathy on American soil. Sir,
the debt was created to sustain war
waged against our Southern brethren,
but know enough of southern honor to
feel justified in saying in'the presence of
southern Senators that no feelings of re-
7 isentment for wrongs suffered during or
since the war can ever prompt the South
to wish dishonor or assist in bringing
reproach upon the American name. Our
people have already .cheerfully borne
heavy burden of taxation to sustain the
credit of the Government, and will SUBJ
init to whatever eXactions may be neces-
sary for that purpose hereafter. The
world has witnessed their sacrifices and
will be slow to question their honesty or
distrust their Government Senators
who oppose this bill under the apprehen-
sion that it will touch the honor or harm
the credit of the Government may Danish
their fears no such results will fol-
low.
Mr.. President, I cannot in the short
time propose to occupy, hope to answer
all the objections which have been raised
to the recoinage of the silver dollar, but
/ there are one or two others to which
beg to refer. 1t has been urged as i'm
polite and unwise to establish double
standard in this country because England
and Germany and one or twoother coun-
tries have only a gold standard. In my
opinion, Mr.President,w we cannot follow
acknowledgements this smatterwithany
more propriety than we could adopt any
| other line of their domestic policy. The
governments of those two countries in
the decentralization of their silver coin
wsre governed by economic consideaa-
tions which have no application to U.S.
| Their circumStanceSand ours are entirely
different. Their financial policy as well
as their political action is doubtless con-
trolled to some extent by their complca-
| tiOns with other powers. To what extent
it may have thus been controlled in the
establishment of single standard it is
impossible to say, but this we know,
that scarcely any step is taken by any
| European government that has not some
relation and is not designed to have a
direct bearing upon European affairs gen.
orally. Happily, as l have already said
we are free from those complications
which surround the governments of the
Old World and may shape very largely
our financial policy as w ell as our polit-
cal institutions without regard to them.
We are and of right ought to be free and
independent States, free and independ-
ent in the exercise of that policy finan-
cial and political, which will promote
our own interest and is best adapted to
the circumstances which surround us. We
are debtor nation owing large debt TO
people of other countries, the interest of
which will require every dollar of gold
which this country can produce or which
it can command from importations of
gold, while England and Germany, and
especially the latter country, are annual
ly in receipt of the very gold with which
we part for the payment of interest
abroad. With but single standard in
this country and the payment of our in
terest exclusively in gold, we shall be
deprived of that metal as a part of the
circulating medium because it must be
reserved for our foreign creditors. Such,
however, is not the ease with England
or Germany. Whatever debt either of
them may owe, is a domestic debt, and
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