The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1878-08-29
gnltttca1.
GREENBACK GLORIFIED,
GEN. BUTLER SPEAKING OF OUR
PAST AND PRESENT FINAN-
CIAL ILLS.
Taking Credit to Himself FOR his Course In Con
gress and ChOslng an Epitaph for
His Monument.


CITIZENS OF CONNECTICUT Your ap
pearance here is evidence Of your inter
est in the subject propose to speak on
Questions Of finance and industry are al
ways inseparably connected when {
country is prosperous aud always when
it is in adversely. First in behalf of oul
legal tender notes, which fought our bat
ties in the war and gave us prosperity in
peace until interfered with by the char
latans of finance; of the greenback
which is the eq livalent Of the blood OF
your sons, brothers and fathers. speak
for the currency which the country's
universal voice has said is good enough
to pay pensions but not good enough to
pay the bondholders' and capitalists in
terest. All ask in currency and govern.
ment is an equality of rights, burdens
and privileges and power. When our
country began to feel the effects of the
war capital hid itself, banks suspended
specie payment and specie was locked up
or converted into exchange on England
When the soldiers wanted pay the Gov
ernment issued 5000, 900 oflegal.tender
notes, receivable for all debts, public or
private, and convertible into bonds.
These were never less than par, though
fnanCiers, who want to make the rich
richer and the poor poorer, say they can't
be kept at par. But when our credit be-
gan to be doubted and the struggle was
the greatest, they were at par because the
Government did not dishonor them.
Time passed on and more were wanted.
In February, 1862, the House passed
bill issuing more, but Wall street went
to the Senate and said, "NO; these must
be fundable in bonds whose interest is
payable in gold" We had 100000 SOL
diers, the contract with whom was thus
proposed to violate. That glorious old
patriot, Thaddeus Stevens, fought against
this in the conference committee for
weeks, and against the provision that the
greenbaCk should not be received for du.
ties and that a portion of the customs
revenues should be pledged to redeem
bonds into which the capitalist should
find greenbacks. When he failed he
came out of the room with tears stream
ing down his cheeks, saying, "Oh, what
curse upon my country Ihave agreed
for paper currency for one class and a
gold currency for another" He foresaw,
as did, what would come. The green
backs went down until thirty FIVE cents
in gold would buy a dollar, and then they |
were funded in bonds in which per |
cent. interest in gold would be paid upon
35 cents as if it were one dollar. Cont,
mental money never did usany harm but
did good. Without it the battles of the
Revolution would never have been
fought. True it went down, but so was
the wars cost distributed among the peo-
pie of all classes. Oar fathers knew
enough to let it go out of sight after it
got down to thirty. But the Shylocks of
our day when it got to thirty put it into
bonds at par with interest in gold, and
then, after the war, passed a law that the
bonds should be paid, principal and in.
terest, in gold or silver. Last year the
refused to takesiver for-what?
For interest on $1,000 bond that cost
him only $3.50, and on which he has al
ready received SS40 in interest. (Ap-
plause) And then in 1869 the bond was
made worth more than gold, so that he
has S84O and 81 900, on which our chill.
dren's children must pay his interest, all
Of which cost him only $3.50. These are
the exact results of the law.
In 1869, in Congress, denounced that
aw which made the bonds payable in
gold a5 a swindle. | said if anybody
should be paid in gold it was the soldiers
Let these men of the Ninth, Twelfth and
Thirteenth G. v, who were fighting with :
ne, give their opinions on this. (Ap. :
1lause) never expect a monument, =
lut If any one puts up one after l am
lead let him put on it, "Here lies the
Ishes of a man who denounced the act of ;
1863, which robbed the people, as a swim. :
lle." This is not new doctrine to me, !
10 scales have fallen from my eyes re. :
emily by miracle or otherwise. | said :
hen what say now, this crippled and q
handicapped greenbaCk has done well. =
congress said it must keep its contract :
With the bondholders. l said keep your -
ontraCt with your million of soldiers y
ut the soldiers had few representatives y
nd the bondholders many. introduc. :,
d resolution seven years ago, that one :
bird of the duties should be paid in
reenbacks, but was beaten by sixty .
ank presidents and directors elected by o
you had rallied tor them. .
len are alike. Occasionally a man who y
ant read and write steals little and u
cts punished, and some times one who "
ead5 and writes steals a good deal and !.
ont get punished. You will use the -
over if you get it, and capitalists are y
fraid that you will get it. tits proposed "
ow to substitute for that currency which II
ost US so much one redeemable in gold q"
nd silver. Al
Banking men want this 50 as to hold y,
uarter of the gold locked up, so that 4
hen you don't want it you can get it, -
nd when you do want it you can'tgetit. =
hen they are going to say they are on a "
oecie basis. We had a gold basis from T.,
3l9 to 1861, when it dropped out. 1t .e
leant that whenever not called for gold ~
ould be sent to Europe, and the curren. ~
: contracted, and merchants would fail. -
slues go down and property sink, ex. d
pt one kind that never sinks-mortga- =;
's, when the property is worth their ~ y,
ce. All other property has gone down n
per cent They didn't decrease in val esI1
:; such invested property never sinks. 10
il claim is that everything should 90 u Il
'wn alike. You buy house for S., 900 81 81
i'd give mortgage on it for 81. 500; the 81 81
'use slips out of your hands, but the W ",
ortgage remains and is good. We had LII
mics in 1919, 1924, 1929, 1887, when -,
erything was swept cut of existence Pe
A, 1S48, 1858 and 1857, when we had a o. o.
eat one and property was sold for one ppss
ird what it cost; but mortgages never SO 'S
svered in value. If l held United IN IN
ates bonds that would not wayer, ~ ~
ould like to zee these panics, when yo ye
uld buy my neighbor's propertV for III. ~ ~