The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1878-02-08
DAN. toanMaEs anRAr AFaEe...

Hon. d. w. Voorhees, great speech
in the Senate on the 18th ultimo, Oh
tho financial question, was the winters
sensation in that body, and its discus
sion is now occupying the columns of
the leading Eastern papers II ia nc
knowledged to have been the most log
ical, comprehensive and eloquent speeeh-
es ever delivered on that subject, and
the enthusiastic reception with which
its premises have been met by the peo-
Pile have struck terror 20 the hearts of
the hard money sharks and bloated
bondholders. In the course of his
speech Mr. Voorhees, said that mon
eyed aristocraoy, naughty and imperious,
is dominant, seeking to maintain con
troll and denouncing all who believe as
the speaker does, that to great extent
our whole financial system is organized
crime against the laboring, taxpaying
men and women of the country. The
plea of good faith now invoked has been
that invoked in overy wickedness that
ever cursed the world. Mr.. Voorhees,
then reviewed the financial situation
since 1862, and said experience had
shown legal tenders to be the best mon
ey that ever circulated Every govern
ment bond which did not expressly
stipulate payment in coin was made
payable in express words into legal ten
ders. Three-fourths of the national
debt could thus be paid in legal tenders.
1t was the law of the contract when
1900 millions of fiva-twonties were paid
for in this currency at par when it was
40 TO Go below par at that time. The
great struggle was whether even the
interest on the bonds mentioned should
be paid in coin. During seven event
full years that followed not platform
of either political party in any State as
serted that the principal was to be paid
in coin. Mr.. Voorhees, alluded to Sec
retary Sherman's letter of 1868, favor
ing payment of bonds in the same kind
of money as bought them, and his sub
sequent action in procuring the passage
of the act for the payment of the bonds
in coin. He also quoted Morton's ut
terances in 1869, which favored the
speakers position. He next took up
the refunding act of 1870, charging
thatit was the offspring of apprehension
that the work of repudiating the con
tract for the payment of the 5 90 bonds
might not be quite complete. Thus it
was provided to issue new coin bonds in
place of the original ones The amount
saved in interest is hifling, when COM
pared with the loss by the whole trans
action. Mr.. Voorhees, then argued that
the bonds were thus made payable in
coin, either gold or silver. He quoted
Sherman as explicitly favoring this
view. The speaker argued that the sill
yer dollar was covertly eliminated from
our money system. He spoke at length
of the favorable position silver occupied
in the world There are two classes on
the question of money-those who la
Dor and those who have retired from
labsr with wealth. Silver was demon
etized in 1873 in the interest of the lat.
ter He discussed the resumption act
as intended for the destruction of all /
money except gold, and portrayed the
fearful effects of such legislation upon
business and labor Mr. Voorhees, ar
gued that it would be impossible to re-
sumo in year, as gold could not be OBJ
tanned. The national debt was con-
tracted on the basis of imitation, and
was now to be paid on the narrowest
basis, the most merciless contraction.
A vast shrinkage of values has been
caused by shrinkage of money. Dur
ing the years when the volume of cur
rency averaged over 900 millions, the
business failures numbered 2,I67 in the
country, less number than occurred in
any quarter of 1877. The national
banking system is most elaborate
scheme for making people pay tribute
to wealth to obtain circulating me
dunn. The bondholder has been made
the banker of the country. Mr.. Voor-
hees said he represented those who de-
manded lst, Full restoration of the sill
yer dollar with unlimited coinage and
full legal tender value I'd, Uncondi-
tional repeal of the resumption act Sd,
Removal of the national banking sys-
tenn; 4th, The currency shall be legal
tender for all debts; 9TH, That they
shall not be Disseminated against in fu-
ture legislation.
In conclusion Mr. Voorhees, said: Sir,
have no word of menace to utter on
this fosr but in behalf of every la
borer and every owner of the soil whom
L represent, 1 warn all such as value
their investments that when these doc
trines of depotism are sought to be en-
forced, this fair land will again be con