The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-09-27

: bAbVu W biBAudS pihk conspiracy W II
pose on the intelligence Of the peopl
: On that issue, Of the possibility and de,
!. rabllity Of specie payments, the year
1878 closed and the present year dawne
With 1879 came the great experiment b
which 500, 900 Of paper money was
beliited to par with the money Of Il
: world. The country witnessed the expe
iment amid profound quiet, and they So
the great feat successfully accomplished
: And now in the ninth month OF spec
payments they see not only all the gol
that was in the Treasury Of the Unite
States on the iirst day Of January sti
there to-day, but in addition, they see so
: 100000 more. More than this, they hav
: seen more gold going into the Trcasur
in exchange for greenbacks thai
they have seen OF greenbacks goin
in for redemption in gold. And ye
Democrats tell the people that there ha
been no resumption Of specie payraents
and that the seeming resumption i, Dnl,
an illusion, My friends, this is mock
cry Of your intelligence. Unless there wa!
a resumption, actual and bona fide, lape
money would not be at par with specie to
day, neither here in Bellaire nor anyw hert
else. There can be nothing imaginary
about such an operation. A government
that cannot pay specie, and that is moi
prepared to meet all demands on /: ioi
specie at once, has not resumed. A gov
ernment that has the specie in its vaults
and that is known by all financiers u be
able to meet every demand on 1t, las re-
sumed, and no refinement Of expression
can make 1t otherwise. The fact that
everybody can get gold who needs il is
really the reason why nobody demands II.
ltyol could not get specie you would all
want 1t, but as long as you can get it aone
oil you want 1t. When was in California
some years since, l went to tho bank to
draw $500 for expenses in that State As
| had not seen any gold for several ears
as a circulating medium, was ruher
agreeably astonished when tho ct.hier
asked me II would have my letter OF
credit cashed in gold or paper. sAid,
.gOld OF course" l got my gold put
it in my pocket, and went out itel.
ing good and jlngling it @ilh
my hand. Presently It occurred to mo to
divide 1t and put part in the other r:k.
el, as 1t felt a tritle bulky. l carried 1t
this way awhile, and feeling that i. vas
still too bulky l put some Of it in my vest
pockets. After awhile l got tired Of the
load, and went back to the bank and told
them that their specie was a nuisance,
and begged them to give me paper.
THE NATIONAL BANKS.
This leads me, my friends, to speak OF
the uses and the necessity for lHper
money. Paper money is necessity OF
civilization. 1t grows out Of the waa of
men in trade. And hence banks have
sprung into existence. Just as we
must have place to gel our
bread, and other places to get our Clu,hes,
so we must have places to got nj ,uey.
We can't ride through the country hunt
ing up men who have money ~ Ian.
That would be very cumbersome ami an
noying. Therefore we have institutions
whose business 1t Is TO loan money. The
only question is, what sort Of money shall
they loan US? We have had all snr;S OF
money in this country. There was man,
some years ago, who went from my state to
buy timber land in Michigan. He offered
to pay so much for the land in Will Cat
money-that is, Michigan money; ur so
much in Red Dog money-that is, Ohio
money; or so much in good counterfeits
on solvent New England bank. tell
you this to illustrate the popular hlea Of
the old State banks. They were always
inlicting great losses on the people. They
had.one particular feature that makes them
memorable, which was that when they
bursted they bursted through and through,
and left nothing to gather up in the way OF
remains. They remind me OF the negro
boy who was found dead in Mississippi
so dead that nothing was left Of him but
his skin. They held an inquest over the
remains and rendered a verdict OF "iound
empty" That was the way with these
State banks. They were always found
empty" On an average their entire cir
Culation perished in the hands OF the peo-
pie every twenty years. Think OF the i'm
mense losses that they inflicted on the in.
noCent holders OF their promises To pay.
They robbed the people Of hundreds Of
millions OF dollars. The Republican
party has given the country very
different banking system from this.
They have given thema system that makes
such losses impossible. They devised a
system which absolutely protects every
holder Of National bank bill against loss.
When they came into power they wiped
out the wretched system Of irresponsible
State banks, and said to all such orgAniza-
tions that before they could issue a dollar
Of circulation they must deposit with the
government a guarantee against loss to
their note holders, in the shape OF 500 in
government bonds for every 800 OF circula-
ton, Now, my friends, you have heard a
great deal OF denunciation Of National
banks from the Democratic party. What
have they proposed to give you in place
OF them. When the Republican party de-
nounced the State banks they did not get
up on the fence and do nothing. They gave
you the present Incompatible system OF
safe banking. The Democrats offer you
no other system, except to return 10 the
old system. Their cry Is, give us Green
hacks; substitute grecnbacks for National
bank notes.
oRRRNDAcEs vs.. BANK NOTES.
Now want to say few words to you
on this head. What does It mean to sub
stitute greenbacks for national bank notes? |?
Who Is to regulate the amount and value
Of greenback currency? The answer is
that Congress is to do II. Now | think ]
know something about Congress, having
been member for seventeen years, and |
say here that Of all bodies on the face OF
this earth It Is the most unfit collection OF
men to be entrusted with such power.
Congress Is made up OF a body Of men who
come up from the arena Of partisan con.
tests reehng with the smell Of pArtisanism
on their garments. They are not gener.
ally business men, but, on the contrary,
partisan politicians, who know as little as
possible about business. Their ideas OF
business and finance are OF all mems the
crudest and most unreliable. Imagine a
hn1Yt ~ uttnh f,aaK, atkKtnr, L.. Al,