Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1878-07-10
Cen. Weaver's Financial Platform
In his speech at Newton, Iowa, on
the evening of June Goth, 1873, Gen,
Weaver said:
Now | will tell Won
WHAT AMIN FAVOR OF.

WHAT AMIN FAVOR OF
The greenbackera are in favor OF
gold, silver, aud legal tender paper, a
trinity in finance, to be issued by the
government, and not by the banks.
and which shall be full legal tender.
We shan't have any money in this
country that is not legal tender.
Any thing that is not legal tender il
not money at all. 1t depends on the
contract whether you take il. We are
in favor OF three kinds OF money.
The republicans are in favor Of gold
and silver, and national bank mone,,
aud the little greenbacks that the treas-
urer is willing 10 pay out. We are in
favor OF that money which shall 60 to
the people, and which shall be all le-
gal tender. But how are you going
TO redeem il? The question has been,
and every body has thought, il a man
got two dollars how was he going to
redeem IL? l have always thought
the main idea of redemption was cir
cula,ion. and not redemption.
But, say you, Il want to go to Eur
ope." SO you want TO 60 to Europe !!
| used to want to go there, but l come
to the conclusion under this contrac.
ton system that will never get there
l thought would go across the ocean
and across the Caspian Sea, and sec
where the human family originsted-
where Adam aud Eve went out from
the garden, and where they were told
to multiply and replenish the earth,
but where their Creator for
got to tell them not to produce too
much or they might bring on q PANEL !!
l have thought il could 60 there |
would be the best man in the world,
bit under the resumption act, and
contraction, it is impossible for me to
60 there. Bat perhaps some Of you
would want to 90 to Palestine. II l
could just go there to where that SER
mon was preached by Jesus, on the
Mount, that sermon which underlies
all the structure OF our civilization
but tell you under this financial sys-
TEN you will never get there.
But l will make q provision in the
law by which you can get the gold il
you want it, to go to Europe, or for
any other purpose. Here is in the law
q provision that gold and silver and
paper shall be convertible at the OPP
tion OF the government instead of.at
the option OF the holder. Ii the gov
erument has got the specie, 1t shall pay
il out to you, but it should be CONVEX
tible in way 80 that the government
has the option, and not the individu al,
not Wall street, nor the ring! You
want to let Europe alone. You want
to get shoes and stockings for your
children, rather than go TO Europe.
You want all three kinds OF money
in circulation, that is what you want.
Now how much do you want-how
much do you want in circulation? /
will tell you how much. We are 60
ing to put in circulation enough to
meet the business demands of the
country. There cannot DE any objec-
ton TO that. Cries of "No. no, no!"]
The national banks have the right
now to determine how much the bust
ness demands of the country want.
| We say it is for the congress to deter
mine that, aud not these corporations.
But how are you going to get it 10
circuiation? Well. my friends, will
tell you several ways-very good
ways. In the first place we have
about seven hundred millions OF $40
bonds. We had the right, say Nor
ton, Sherman. aud the bonds ray go
themselves. The bonds were payable
in greenbacks. Now put that into the
hands of the men who hold the bonds,
and "a II matter OF course, they will go
ont into circulation. Then we shall
have free coinage of silver. That ia
the way it was in this country for
eighty year,. Let men have free
coinage on private account; ii the
greenbscks-seven hundred millions
are not enough. just stop the taxes
for couple of years and put out
greenbaeks for couple Of years in
place ofthem, and pay the expenses of
running the government. When the
soldiers went into the army they had
contract--you had n gold contract
with the experimentation pay ment 10
gold and the government repudiated
lite contract and paid you in a depre-
GATED circulation, while there was q
premium on gold. l vii! tell you
how 10 get il in circulation. Take the
| quotations of the gold market and
pay the soldiers the difference in the
gold that they got, and the gold they
never got. Ii should be given
to them, or to their heirs, aud It would
60 into every village and hamlet in
this country. A voice, 'Pay of the
bounties and pensions on the same
basis!"l Yes, settle them perhaps
you will have got enough before you
get that far.
Now, we don't want an unlimited
issue OF legal tender paper. No man
does; any man who doee, simply il
making an ga double s of himself"
The above was taken by an old and
experienced reporter and is yerba-
tim report.
The General wants a trinity of mon-
ey. Is there anything in this but a
senseless play of words? Is it any,
thing but an al cdi1t00,tl,tm expression,
a jingling rhetorical flourish intended
to tickle the public ear? Does not ev-
cry man know the history of the
last seventeen years shows that while
from necessity, necessity involving
the life Of the nation, we gave the le-
gal tender quality to paper money,
the other two factors of the Cen
eral's trinity disappeared from circu-