New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1878-10-12

[Applause. Now, have very high re-
spect for the American Congress, and for
the members of both branches; speak in
no other terms than those of respect, yet
l should regard it as q wiser and safer
measure for fixing the amount of the cur
rency to leave it to. the aldermen of the
city of Boston than to leave it to the Con-
gress of the United States [applausel, be-
cause Congress is necessarily o political
body-made up of partisans on both sides,
and properly SO. It is so in the constitu-
ton of republic, and you have better
government when you have two parties
watching each other. So it is an impera-
tive necessity that Congress is and always
will be made up of two great parties
These parties are controlled in deciding
measures by their caucuses in Washing
ton. Therefore, to leave the question to
Congress is to leave it to q Republican
caucus or the action of some other assem-
bly, in Washington to determine what
shall be the amount of currency in the
country, You might leave it to Congress
to say how much cotton cloth shall be
used in the country. [Yoice-"Or postage
stamps. y The idea is simply absurd.
have watched and waited for the advo-
Gates of paper money to give another So
luton. Mr.. Thurman made recent
speech in Ohio in which he took ground
in favor Of the governments issuing paper
money. read that speech very carefully,
and found that when he came to that par
ticular point as to how the amount of cur
rency should be regulated, he skipped it.
He had nothing to say. Their answer,
gentlemen, is that Congress has exercised
that power, and it may be trusted to exer-
else 1t again. All, my friends, that is a
tremendous mistake Congress never de-
termined the amount by the demands of
trade. 1t was called upon in terrible
war to determine what was needed by the
demands Of the government in violation of
the demands of trade,-a very different
matter. There is no merchant who does
not remember that all prices were dislo-
Gated by the Issue Of paper money in def
ance of the demands of trade, creating an
abnormal rise in prices and giving an un-
usual opportunity for speculation. So
that case does not sustain the regulation
by Congress, but is of exactly the opposite
character. If Congress again have to con-
front the same question, then for the time
being trade must step aside; commerce
must halt; manufactures must wait, for
the government is in life and death
struggle.
Another way have heard suggested
was that you have constitutional amend
ment, to determine how much currency
there shall be in the country, That will
be q very handy way. 1t takes two-thirds
of the Senate and two-thirds of the House
of Representatives to even SO much as
propose constitutional amendment, and
and then it takes three-fourths of all the
State Legislatures, or of conventions called
in the States, to agree to that amendment
Now, if every time you are going to in
crease the currency in this country, or de-
crease it, you are going to have constitu-
tional amendment submitted to the people
to determine, Judging by the average
time it has taken for the adoption of con-
stitutional amendments, it will take four
years and over. That will be q handy
way of regulating the currency. And yet
l see it solemnly proposed in some of the
modern Greenback conventions that the
amount of currency should be determined
by a constitutional amendment The
whole idea is so absurd that no man at all
conversant with the manner in which our
government is administered would think
OF it moment. The idea of issuing a
certain amount of currency per capita is
equally absurd. All communities do not
require the same amount Of currency,
What would you say to distributing agri-
cultural implements according to popula-
ton, and giving State street its quota,
Laughter You want currency in all
the great centres of trade. The idea Of
distributing it per capita is absurd and
ridiculous. -sst
Now, Mr.. Chairman, there may be in.
vented such currency as will be flexible
in its nature and adapted to the wants o.
trade, which will adjust itself to the va!
ried conditions Of the country in the diff
ferent seasons of the year. The Republic
party takes the responsibility for the
financial legislation of the country fol
the last sixteen years, and have never il
its platforms or public utterances seen tht
claim that it is responsible for the Nation
al bank system. But have always, TO-
| myself, having been in Congress and
having voted for the system, though J d.
not know enough on finance to declar'
positively that it is the wisest system
| possible, / have always thought and de
| declare that there has never been IN this
country, with any other system, a banl
which gave such absolute security to thu
innocent third party,-the bill holder
as the national banking system. Ap
| plause. Yet three bills are now pending
| In the national Congress to-day for hbert,
to restore the old State banks. [Cnes Q
"No, no." They are very good if tn
men behind the counters are good, homes
men. The Suffolk system of banking wa
| Justly regarded as the best system of Stat
banking in the United States. 1t gave +
the people of New England very sui
stancial currency, with very small vari
alton, compared with that in other StateI
With all the safeguard which surrounde
the Suffolk system, the banking systeI
which prevailed in Massachusetts, Ma.A,
New Hampshire, and the other New Ell
gland States was good, if the men VIII
ran the bank were good. If the me
happened to be dishonest, the innocen
bill holder must suffer the loss, In Main
twenty-five years age, bank in sma
town failed. 1t had issued three hundre
and forty-five thousand dollars in bill
two hundred and seventy-hve thousan
dollars were out when the bank failet
It is out to this day, every dollar OF i
[Laughter.l They talk about the nation
al bank system being oppressive. The lo
to the American people from the failur,
and the defaulteTs of the State bond
annually, was far larger than you can ev
make by the system of national bank
because the government endorses the bill
no matter what becomes of the bank
You can not compare the State banl
with the national in benefits. The Sta
hanks thronphout the country were o Pc