The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1878-10-17
The Currency Question, and Thurman
Proposition.

&~AS~>~>>s'~~
Proposition.
EXTRACTS from the Speech of Hon. James G.
Blaine, in Boston, September 24th.]
The first Congress that assembled on the
4th Of July, 1861, upon the call of Presi-
Dent Lincoln, had for its first and highest
duty to provide the means of carrying on the
war. The very first measure to this end
was a loan bill authorizing the Secretary OF
the Treasury to borrow two hundred and
fifty millions Of dollars, and they gave him
the right to issue, for the purpose OF circu'
lation, Treasury notes payable on demand
in coin to the extent of fifty millions OF dol
lars. These notes were issued; they were
among the people; the loan was negotiated !;
its avails were expended. The military Sit
uation developed unfavorably. During the
year 1861, in addition to the unfavorable re-
suits in the military field, we were threat
ened with complication with Great Britain,
growing out of the Mason and Slidell arrest.
During this complication the business of the
country suspended, the banks suspended
The next day the Government followed suit,
and suspended also. In New York three mill
lions Of dollars of these demand notes went
to protest in single day. The Government
Of the United States found itself in precisely
the same position that you and are liable
to be in if you give note and cannot pay it,
for it goes to protest. When Congress met
in January, 1862, after the Christmas holi-
days, they again confronted an empty Treas
ury, discredited currency, land a discredted
Government, because these notes were thrown
out of all the banks and in my own State,
where we had large number Of soldiers at
that time encamped, just ready to move for
ward to the field, when the paymaster came
down to pay those troops in United States
demand notes, they were SO uncurrent that
the Legislature stepped forward and gave its
notes on the State OF Maine Bank and allow
ed the State Treasurer to hold those demand
notes for what he could get from them in the
future. The situation was thus very serious,
and on the 25th of February, after fully con-
sdering the matter, Congress took that step
which had never been taken in this country
before-a step which had never been taken
by any country before, to issue paper money
ON the faith of the Government, and declared
it to be legal tender in all transactions
between man and man. Yet, in looking back
over that history, think there is no man
who will canddly examine the condition as
it then stood but will say it was then an alb
Int iuoo hon IN
consider whether we had the constitutional
power to issue paper money or not. We were
taking men by thousands and tens of thous-
ands, and putting them in the forefront of
battle. Men were called upon to offer life
and limb to protect the Government. Of
course, it would have been mere squeamish-
ness for the Government to hesitate at the
use of this power. When man is arrested
upon the highway by the robber, he is not
apt to read the habeas corpus or the Riot
Act, but he takes the nearest club at hand
and that is what the Government did. Jap
plause.] Those one hundred and fifty mil
lions of notes were issued, and in few
months they were exhausted, and the Gov
eminent was again compelled to issue three
hundred and fifty millions more. That en-
tire three hundred millions was soon con.
sumed, and the Government didn't have a
dollar in the Treasury and when Congress
met year after, in the month of December,
in 1868, the same serious situation was con-
fronted again. The Government was yet
without means, its power to borrow money
was taxed and tested to the uttermost, and
it stood precisely, as anybody who will take
the trouble to refer to the report OF Secreta'
ry Chase of that year will see, in this EN-
barrassing attitude: That, if we issued more
money in the shape of greenbacks. we .des
troycd our power for borrowing, and the de
mand for the ready cash was so great-with
four millions Of unpaid acquisitions laying
upon the Secretary's desk, and thirty mil
lions due the army-the demand was so grea
that compromise was effected. TIE bes
literature upon this subject is the laws ther
passed. 1t was then agreed that the .Secre
tary OF the Treasury should be empowered
| /.
on the faith of the Government. and that W
should have the right to issue another hun
dred millions OF United States notes, CON
monty called greenbacks, with fifty addi
! sional millions to take mp the temporar.
loan. But Congress, when they came to tina
point of Issuing that extra money, which ha
already been so vastly deprecated, in con
; sidering the loan bills Of the campaign 9
, 1S63-'64, the very estimates for which wer
for one thousand and seventy-nine million
. mark you, thousand millions of dollars
and seventy.nine millions on top Of that
were the estimates fer the expenses OF tina
year-and When the Secretary Of the Treas
;. ury was empowered to borrow that money
the act, an official copy Of which 1 hold j
my hand-a bill which connects itself wit
the second independence of this country O
closely as the Declaration OF independent
connects itself with the first independent
Of the country. [Applause.] And whe
: that loan Yves under consideration, taken il
= to account this embarrassment in busine
e and the trouble in ready cash, there cam
: out of it compromise, which is embodie
a a in this act, and that compr omise was tn
the Secretary should 60 forward and borro
what was needed on the faith and credit
:. the Government, and that, for these pres
ing needs, he might issue three addition
hundreds of millions of dollars and the
was inserted a proviso, standing in 20
- statutes to-day, inserted by the unanimo
vote of the Senate and House of Represe
tatives, voted on by Republicans and Den
. ocrats; decided, not on party grounds, b
/. voted ON by every Republican and Den
cratic Senator and Representative in b.
branches of Congress- proviso which
to-day as binding on the honor, and fai
IS, and conscience of the American people
he the last words Of dying mother are up
he the .filial affections Of son. [Applaus
That provlso was that when this Cover
ment appealed to the whole world for
means to carry on the war, and the wo
stood ready waiting to lend its money, 81