The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1878-01-24

| trauuB ana uWafunB Jnem III COHlpAlleon
with its own vast propensties. 1t will
bear the names of those who enacted 1t
to the distant generations amidst groans,
curses and lamentations of those who toll
on land and on sea, and more deeply en-.
craven than any other name will be for
ever found that of the Secretary of the
Treasury, as author Of what he himself
said constituted the two fold crime of re-
pudiation and extortion.
Mr.. Voorhees,, in support Of his posi-.
ton quoted the language of Senator Nor
ton in 1869, as follows: "a combination
of stock jobbers, as destitute of conscience
as pirates, and inspired alone by greed
for money, successfully thundered at
these doors, and finally drove this gov
eminent into the most stupendous act Of
bad faith and LOCALIZED robbery ever
practiCed upon any people since the dawn
of history" He next took up the fund
ing act of 1870, charging it was the of
spring Of apprehension that the work OF
repudiating the act for the payment of
5 20 bonds might not be quite complete.
Thus 1t was provided, aud the issue of
new coin bonds in place of the original
ones was made. The amount saved in
interest is tIihing when compared with
the loss by the whole transaction.
Mr. Voorhees, then argued that by the
laws of March, 1869 and July, 1870, bonds
outstanding and afterwards to be issued
were payable in coin, not in gold alone
nor in silver alone, but in coin. He
quoted Sherman in 1869 as explicitly "a
yoring this view. Voorhees, commented
at some length on the passage of the law
of February IL, 1873, which, he said
doomed the dollar of our fathers, and its
enactment was as completely unknown to
the people, and indeed to four ffths of
Congress itself, as the presence Of burg
lar in house at midnight to its sleeping
inmates. The silver dollar was eIiminat'
ed from our money system under the Gov
er Of false pretense.
SILVER GENERALLY ADOPTED BY MER'
CHANTS.
Mr.. Voorhees, proceeded to show that,
of the entire trading and commercial pop
ulation of the earth, more than four times
as many people have chosen silver as
have chosen gold, and more than five
times as many have chosen silver as have
chosen gold and silver together. The
laboring classes desire money TO b9 plen-
tiful, while those who wish to iasten
their idle wealth on the productions of
labor Clamor for scarce and dear money.
1t was in the interest Of the latter power.
ful class that silver was demonetized. He
referred to the act Of Januarp II, 1874, |
tor the resumption of specie payments,
and said the law of February, 1873, TAX
ing away silver money from the people, |
and the law of January, 1875, fixing a
date, now less than a year in advance,
when greenbaCks shall also perish, are |
twin monsters of evil, born Of the same |
parentage and linked together for the de-
struction Of all money save gold. He
vividly portrayed the effect of such legis-
lation upon business and labor.
THE POLICY OF CONTRACTION THE CAUSE OF
GENERAL DISTRESS.
He spoke of the impossibility of resum-
ing on January |, 1879, and attributed the
vast shrinkage in the value of property
and also universal distress to the policy
of contraction, and said, during the four
years when the volume of currency aver
aged one thousand millions, business fail.
nres of the entire country reached only
2, ,l67 less innumber than occurred in any
three months of the year just closed.
During the period which is now stigma.
tized as one of inhations, the windows of
business houses were not darkened and
business men did not go as mourners
about the streets. The laborer did not
go home without bread to his family.
millions did not cover and
tremble at the approach of winter for
lack of food and shelter. The public
peace was not broken by riots in resist s
ance to starvation wages The courts
were not principally occupied in enforc-
ing collections, ioreclosing mortgages, or.
1ering sheriffs sales, or in Furnishing the {
destitute and outcast. The speaker next /
,urned his attention to National Banks,
and said the system of national banking
now in use is the most elaborate and CON.
1lete scheme for making the people pay
ribute to wealth in order to obtain cir
'uIating medium ever known in the Fl
lanCial history of the world, There i
rot dollar in the hands of the people on G
which they have not paid tax for
he privilege of having it put in circula- :
ion by the government. The National
Bank is middleman between the govern. ]
nent and the people, and is enormously
,aid for doing what the government \
'ught directly to do itself On October a
st, 1877 there were 2 $50 National Banks
With resources of Sl,74l ,0O0 900, and on +
hese resources the interest paid by the g
Oeople was one hundred and thirty mil '
ion per annum. q
WHAT THE PEOPLE DEMAND. 8
Mr.. Voorhees, said he represented those q
Who demanded,
First, The restoration of the silver dol. T
ar exactly as it stood before it was touch-
ID by the act of February, 1873. They y
lesire that it shall have unlimited coin v
re, not fearing it will become too lgnty e
or their wants, and that it be made fnll il
egal tender, believing that it is as GOOD
low nth which to pay all debts, public !,
nd private, as it was during eighty.one :,
ears of American history.
Sec0nd,-The repeal, uncopditionally, a
# ihe act OF January l4th, 1875, compel t.
ng the resumption of specie payments in r
January, 1879, holding that the question
# a return to a specie basis for our cur =
ency should he controlled entirely by h
he business interests of the country +
They do not believe that the country 4
hould be dragged through the depths of q
uin, wretchedness and degradation in y
rider to reach a gold standard for the n
'enedt Of the income classes J
I'LL ~ =
EN- bo removed and circulating medium
'royided by the government for the peo- h
'le without taxing them for the privilege +
# obtaining it, and then that the amount h
hus placed in circulation shall bear ;,
easonable and judicious proportion to ,
he business transactions and population
i the United States. p
FOurth-That the currency authorized y
nd circulated on the authority of the
overnment shall be made legal tender ?
= of al / Y