The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1878-09-21
ANOTHER GREENBACK SPEECH.

John sherman and Wall street are at the bot.
tom o: this movement to build up the indepen-
dent National Grcenback party as Il means of
dividing and defeating the democratic party,
else how can these grccnbackcr, afford to have
the country full of pcrambuating orators,
when both thcdemocrats and republicans seem
too poor TO indulge in such extravaganza :
Every week or two Il grccnback orator hap.
pens along and gives us speech in the court
house or court house yard, while, except Dick
Oglesby We haven't had a republican speech
in year, and the race of democratic orators
seems to have died on, entirely.
Nor are these perambulating grccnback
spoutcrs by any means prentice hands at the
business. The last one here (on Tuesday even.
| ing came billed as major Wood l.. Town.
send" and we could readily believe him when
he sand he had been major in the Union ar.
my Of the Potomac and since the war had
| won some prominence rs IA republican stumpcr.
He was better speaker than one often hears,
was thoroughly posted, held his subject well
in hand, and as an cmissarv of Wall street to
work up democratic prcjudiccs in favor of the
side show of the grecnbackcrs, had his cue
perfectly. For, except 10 distract and divide
up the forces opposed to the republican party,
what motive could the man have had b. make
such II speech to an audience in Ottawa? If
| the Hon. W. $. Brooks, democratic candidate
for congress in this district, had made the
u,,n.ol how, q
little hagglmg and shutting on the subject
I of fiat money near It's close, it would have
been applaudcd AS II sound and forcble demo
cratic address, while If Alexander Campbell
had made the same speech it would have ere
atcd profound establishment; for Campbcll's
whole monetary system" Of interchangeable
bonds and grcenbacks was contcmptuously ig-
norcd, and the entire stress was laid on the
substitution OF grcenbacks for the national
bank currency.
Nlnc-tenths OF the speech was devoted to Il
scaihlng review of the financial legislation Of
the republican party from 1862 up-legislaton
which tie speaker admitted he had himself
endorsed and defended as republican stumper
until recently when his eyes were opened to its
cnOrmity probably by having round salary
offered him to stump it on the other side in
behalf of the grcenback distraction. HIS his
tory Of republican finance legislation com
mcnCed with the abortivc efforts of thcEgovern.
ment to borrow gold of the banks and the first
issue Of $4,000 900 Of greenbacks in 1862, the
rran l,1 a
the house, receivable for all public dues as well
a. full legal tcnderin private transactions, but
which the Wall street money kings rot the
senate to change so as to compel import duties
bonds was detailed, with the clause making
them interchangeable with grccnbacks, and
the effect of which was that the people made a
general rush for them, to the disgust of the
money kings who in the subsequent issues had
he interchangeable clause stricken out SO that
| Wall street could control their sale. And these
maneuvrcs of the money kings were traced
step by stcp-tleir complete mastery over the
Grant administration and republican majority
in congress steadily kept in view and pictured
with startling vividncSS, until he came to the
browning cnormly of the Schenck public
credit act of 1869 and the demonstration of
silver in 1872.
We had never heard the subject more ably
handled; but did the speaker, and the gaping
audience that heard him, imagine he was tell
ing something NOV, or making points for
which the national greenback party Is entitled
to patent or even the rcmotcst credit Did
not he and his audience know that this whole
ground had been fought over inch by inch by
the Democratic patty in 1868, 1872, and 1876,
the same points made, the same arguments
relied upon, and by them the victory finally
won over the republicans IN 1876, hut out of
which ,hcv were finally cheated hv tho ronub.
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