Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1878-10-25

10 sums ranging from 50 to 800 At one time
these amounts reached s., 500 and yet everv dol
| lar of these sums has been paid excepting 500.
Now, q new party has arisen in this country
composed of many elements. The first OF these
| is the Commu nist,c element, which believes that
government should supply each individusi WIN
| everything he needs, he the common landlord and
husbandmah. II is foreign element and nope
will not take much root here. Some Will deny
that this is feature of the greenhack party, but
Brick Pomeroy. the head and front OF this new
| party, who boasts that he has organized 45OO
| eenback clubs, is an open advocate OF Commun-
| ism.
| Another element is that of labor reform. Ia
| Dor reformer is a man who thinks that something
| is wrong. that there has been something done
| against the poor man. but he don: know what.
| lie is mistaken. lie has had friendly legislation.
| and let ne see who enacted it-whst party nss
been its friend for the past Is years The republl
can party struck the shackles OF slavery from -
100000 of working people and made them Tree, IL
| has given to laborers free homesteads. IL has
erected public buildings and constructed public
works and made public improvements, giving en-
ployment 10 vast numbers of laborers. II Won
| want to Join the true lsboripg mans party, JON
| the republican party. That has been, and is to-
day, the real promoter of the welfare OF laborlng
men.
| Still another element is the pure greenbacker
Whenever a man calls himself a preenbsck man.
| I question his right to the title When the green
back was born was there | acted as drv-nurse
for the baby for years At the opening of the wal
we had but very little money, but we managed to
pay the soldiers in coin for time. We soon were
without money and credit. In this dire extremity
something must be done. We appealed to the
people TO trust us, to give their property, and
we would give them our evidences of indebted
ness, 10 be paid soon could get the mon
ey. They, patriots thev were, said. Take our
property, give us vour evidence of debit and we
will stand by YOU" We then issued the first $500
| 00o, 900 Of greenbacks. redeemable in 6 per cent
| bonds. When this was exhausted 100000 900
more issued. and on, as the necessities for
more money came upon Every dollar
of this was issued. however, with the solemn
pledge of payment, and we will redeem that
pledge. We pledged ourselves, also, in conven
tons, that they should be paid in coin What we
must do and and what we shall do is to keep that
pledge. We shall have an honest dollars dollar
that is worth 100 cents-as good dollar for the
aborer as for the bondholder. When a man sells
a days work. or bushel of wheat for dollar
he wants a good square dollar. just as good as il
paid to anybody else. and that he must have. If
you are a true greenbscker. then go with the re
pubcans, the original greepbackers, for honest
greenbacks, equal 10 coin.
am surprised that here in Michigan there are
people who demand an rredeemable paper cur
re ncy after the experience the State has had with
it. l was in husnes s, as probable some Of you
know, in 1887. You remember that Michigan
borrowed largely, and projected a system of rail-
roads, but q crash came, and with it the cry for
number OF banks, but they failed to meet the en-
tire demand, aud the State began to issue its
scrip-fat money, which have repeatedly sold for
81 cents on the dollar. | have sold the Detroit
scrip also at only SO cents the dollar. Follow
ing these came the wildcat banking law, and
money was plenty, but the currency OF hardly
any two banks bore the same market price. This
bubble finally hurst without dollar of this money
ever being paid. The bulk of this money was
finally found in the hands of the poor men, who
will alwavs he the lospr in thia plasa IF cas Nv
entire losses by the wild cat currency will not ex
| coed $500. So disguised the people with
the experiment they had made, that in their const
tuition they provided that no bank should be char
tered by the legislature. When you CRY for mon
ey, let it he for good money. The republican
party stands sacredly pledged to the redemption
of its currency, and We are within one-quarter of
cent Of redeem ing pledge.
When the law creating our present national
banks was passed. there were no banks Of issue 10
Michigan, aud when the bill came up 10 tie Sen
| ate resolved to make the security absolute for
the b-holder, and to do so based the bills on
United States coin bonds, the best basis a paper
currency ever had. We might have made land.
or mortgages and notes the securities, but we de-
| termined that the holders should be absolutely Sc
| cure. The law was meant too to aft, ord market
for United States bonds. which was needed Yon
don't care now where bill comes from, 1t is just
as good as any other one, and the mas does moi
live who ever suffered TO the value of a cent from
depreciation of national bank notes. Some o You
may cry. down with the banks If you should do
away with them you would have to pay the in
terest on the bonds they hold, and you would be
deprived Of the tax now levied them, which
amounted last year, to over Sl6.000.000. For one
| am proud of nv work in giving the country
this banking system.
To prove that there has been contraction of the
currency to great extent, these greenbackers re-
sort to very strange calculation. They figure
thus Unhed States notes in circulation
Jan. 80. 1854, $42l 900 900
Jan. 30, 1865. 499, 900 900
October. 1865. AIS. 900, 600
January, 1868. APO, 600, 900
Making a total of cl 76S 0O0 OOO