Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-03-21

4
OF establishing United States bank, that
great Secretary uses these words:
The emitting of paper money by the authority of
the Government Is wisely prohibited to the individual
States BY the CONSTITUTIONS and the spirit of that
prohibition ought be disregarded by the Gov
ernm ent of the United States, Though paper ennis
sions, under general authority, might have adj
vantages not applicable and be free from dsad-
yantages which are applicable to the like omissions
by the States separately, yet they of nature
liable to abuse--and it may be affirmed, so cer
tain ofbeing abused-that the wisdom the Govern
ment viii i" shown in never trusting itself with the
times OF aAquilty it might have i'll consequence.
This is not the opinion Of a paper money
man.
The gentleman sough. to mako il appear
that Thomas Jefferson favored paper curren-
cy not redeemable in coin, and he commends
me to the sixth volume of Jeilerson's works.
will read him a passage from one of the
three long letters to Eppes, volume 3, page
239:
lated by economy, but jugglers will only propose to
create It by iegerdeInan tricks with paper
Laughter and applause.
Mr.. TUCKER. What is the date OF that?
Mr.. GARFIELD. Eighteen hundred and thir-
teen.
single fact will explain all the quotations
from Jefferson made by the gentleman. When
States was at war with England, with no
friendly nation from whom to obtain loans
| ana our treasury was empty. Mr.. Jefferson
mad long been opposed TO the State banks and
he saw that by suppressing them and issuing
| treasury notes, with or without interest, the
Government could accomplish twoithings, de-
stroy State-bank currency and obtain forced
loan In circulating notes. And so he said in
MS letter to Eppes OF June "a, 1873:
You will soon be at the bottom of the loan bag
There is one and only resource for loans That
will always be sufficient and in the pow of an hon.
est government punctua in the preservation of it's
| faith The fund mean is the mass Of eireuIating
coin. Every knows that although not literally
1t nearly true that every paper dollar emitted ban
| ishes a silver one from the circulation. A nation
therefore, making its purchases and payments with
bills htted for circulation, thrusts equal sum OF
coin out OF circulation Thisis equivalent to Dor
without hope that this great this sole resource for
loans in an agricultural country might yet be reeoy
| tanned IN pe'petiam, it would always be sufficient
TO carry us through any provided that in the in
ter'al between war and war all the outstanding pa.
per should be called in, coin permitted to flow aga
and to hold the field of circulation until another war
should require its yielding place again to the national
| medium.
| From this it appears that Jefferson favored
| the issue OF Treasury notes TO help us through
a war; but he insisted that they should be
wholly retired on the return of peace.
| MADISON.
The gentleman has made quotations from
Madison. refer him to a letter addressed
to Jefferson, dated August IL, 1886, in which
the evils of irredeemable paper money are
strlkingly stated, closing with these words:
| The value of money consists in the uses it will
serve Specie will serve all the uses of paper paper
| Madison's Works, volume ], page 243.
| BUCHANAN.
| Here is the testimony of James Buchanan
| The evils of redundant paper circulation are now
manifest to every eye 1t alternately rai SEES and
sinks the value of every mans property 1t makes
| beggar Of the man tomorrow who IS indulging in
dreams OF wealth to day. 1t the bushes of
society into mere lottery while those who distrib
ute the prizes wholly irresponsible to the people
When the collapse comes come it must, it casts
iaborers out Of employment, brushes manuac turers
and merchants and ruins thousands fhonest and in
dusrious citizens Buchanan; Debates in Congress,
volume Ia, part l, 1881, page 355.
The records of our Secretaries of the Treas
ury are equally full and explicit.
They concur with Secretary Guthrie, who
said in one of his annual reports:
The Constitution of the United States was framed
by the men who had felt all the evils thereof and
when provisions were inserted in that instrument
that state should emit bills OF cred it, nor max
anything but gold and silver tender in payment of
dspts, and the coinage of money given to the
General government they believed they had provid,
ed for hard money currency and against the evils
of deprecated one
statement that the legal tender law was pass.
ed with. reluctance under the pressure Of
overwhelming necessity, and that the men
who enacted II, from Stevens to the hum
blest member Of the House, and from Fessen-
den TO the humblest Senator, were at that
lime in favor of returning to specie payments
as soon as possible, and that the law Great
ing greenbacks provided for their redemption.
He declared that my statement is disc-edit- |
whole m ha hat Tic
speech burned with special indignation be-
cause mentioned Thaddeus Stevens as one
OF the distinguished men who in 1862 beliey-
ed in a coin standard. Let the read sem
tence of Thaddeus Stephens, uttered in the
the midst of that debate
The bill is measure ofnecessity not of choice No
one would willingly issue paper currency not redeem
able on demand and make it legal to nder 1t is new
or desirable to depart from the crcula ting medium
which by the common consent of civilized nations |
forms the sfannard OF value.
Let Mr.. Stephens word answer the gentle |
man. l mentioned Mr.. Fessenden, chairman
of the Senate Committee on Finance now
quote from his speech of February IL 1862. |
on the legal tender bill. He said
1t proposes something utterly unknown in this |
government from its foundation resort to measure
OF doubtful censtitutionality, to say the least of it,
which has always been denounced ruinous to the
credit of any government which has recourse to il
measure which when 1t has been tried |
by other countries, as it often has been has ALWAYS
proved disastrous failure
With exit eme reluctance he supported the BILL but
said the committee bound that an assurance |
should be given to the country that it to be re
sorted to as policy that it was what it professed
to be but temporary have not heard any
man express contrary opinion, at least any man
who has spoken on the subject in Congress.
All the gentlemen who have written on the subject |
except some wild spectators currency have de-
cared that as policy it would be ruinous to any
peo pie; and kds been defended, as haze stated
simply and solely upon the ground that tits 10 be
measure Ste5tGtkg
Its put upon the ground of absolute, |
overwhelming necessity.
Mr.. Sumner who supported the bill said, "Surely
we must all be against paper money, insist
upon maintaining the integrity of the Government
and we must all set faces again st any PROPOSE
tion like the present except temporary erpedent
rendered imperative by the exigency of the hour
remedy which at another moment you |
would reject is now proposed Whatever may be the
national resources, they not in reach except
by summary process Reluctantly painfully, con
sent that the process should issue. And yeti
not give such vote without warning the Govern
ment against the damages from such an experime MT
The nseaicfe Of the Constitution become its
daily bread.
And so said they all it was the voice of |
Congress. The legal-tender clause passed |
the Senate by but 5 majority, with such re :.
luetance did the men Of 1862 consent to make |
anything legal tender but gold and silver.
the recognized money of the world. Their
speeches are full of the purpose to return 10 |
that money as soon as the necessities of war |
would allow.
But the gentleman denies this. Listen TO
the declaration of Secretary Chase, in his let
Ter of January. 20, 1862, to Thaddeus Stevens
when he said:
II s not unknown to the Committee that have
felt, nor do wish to conceal that now feel great
aversion to making anything but coin legal tender
in payment Of debts. It has been my anxious wish
to avoid the necessity of such legislation. =
Then speaking Of the necessity of passing |
the bill, be points out that its saving clause is
found in ssthe provisions for funding these |
notes In Understanding bonds,'' ana then |
adds:
Such legislation it may I've hoped will iiyest the
legal tender clause OF the bill of injurious tendencies
and secure the earliest possible return to sound
currency OF coin and promptly convertible notes.
In his annual report Of December 4, 1862. |
he argues against the plan of increasing the |
volume of legd-tendef notes, asserting that |
direct issues by the Government are always |
| dangerous. He recommends the establish |
ment of the national banks and then saws on /
page 2l:
The Secretary recommends therefore, no mara |
paper money scheme but. on the contrary series
OF measures looking to safe and gradual return 10
gold and silver as the only permanent basis stasS
ard and measure Of values recognized by the ron.t
i tAkxr 1..~L-