Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-01-25

may be made upon the Treasury.
How much he may by this process
increase the bondtd debt and bur-
dens Of taxation Is, he assumes, a
question for him to decide and for
the Congress OF the United States to
furnish him the means to carry out
as he pleases, without asking the
leave OF the representative III the
people. OF course he will maintain
resumption upon these terms as
long as anybody will buy bonds
and the people Will submit to taxa
ton. Whether the increase of
bonded debt will be 5000, 600, 600 or
$500, 900, 900 is for the autocrat Of the
Treasury to determine. Prince Bis
marck was right when ne said
"He who holds the money-bags
controls the politics of the cOuntry.n
Or, as Burke expressed ii: s'The
Treasury is the State"
Fortunately there are laws which
even the SecretY ~ can be compelled
to obey, and one OF them is that all
coin received from customs dues
shall be held as n special fund, and
applied, first, to the payment of the
interest on the public debt. For
tunately we can buy silver bullion
and coin it into legal-tender silver
dollars
WITHOUT COSTING THE PEOPLE A
CENT,
and men will pay it at the Custom
House, as shown by the Secretary's
statement that at least Sll ,260, 900
of it had been 50 paid in the first
five months of the current fiscal
year. At even this rate, and il will
increase as the monthly coinage adds
to its volume, a sufficient amount
will be received to pay all our annu-
al interest in silver coin, the esti-
mate being that $25, 100000 of coin
kept in use will enable the Govern
ment to pay as il natures $97 ,000,-
600 of interest.
The question recurs, why should
the Secretary be allowed to increase
the bonded debt of the country in
order to obtain gold to hoard for
resumption purposes, and pay out
the gold bought at such a price as
interest to bondholders, when he
has silver coin in abundance, which
is being coined without loss-indeed
at profit to the peOple-with which
to pay the interest we owe? Surely
it is no answer TO say that the cred-
itors ask for and prefer gold to silver
coin, and, therefore, he sells bonds,
pays interest and imposes taxes to
get 1t to please or enrich them. 1t
is the clear duty Of the Secretary TO
pay the interest we owe in the coin
that costs us least. 1t Is our option,
not the creditors, and Congress
ought to see 1t that the laws are
executed in tie interest of the peo-
pie.
The present Secretary Of the Treas
ury understands the law precisely
as do; he knows what his duty is,
and fully appreciates his obligation,
as the chief financial officer of tho
f0 pay the coin re-
ceived from customs dues, first TO
satisfy The interest on the5aatiOHdt debt.
He has said with great emphasis In
in this chamber that the act of 1862
WAS specific pledge of the coin re-
ceived rom customs first, to the
payment of interest on the public
debt second, to the payment of tho
sinking fund, and that only the res
ldue Qf the coin thus received was
subject TO appropriation. lie main
tanned that it was fund mortgaged
to the bondholders, and that any
who dared to divert 1t to
any other use ought to he im-
peached. He showed, what we all
know TO be true, that Congress had,
In accordance with the act of 1862
,see Revised Statutes, section O,0S9),
made q permanent ANIMAL akprOpri-
alton Of the coin received from Gus
E0nls. iiEstato paYsfhe Interest, and,
second, TO provide for the sinking
.qnd, so that it could not, without
violation Oflaw, be touched
1y the Secretary for any purpose,
however urgent or meritOriOus. i
'ead on page | ,9l6, part 3, of Record
lf second session, l'orty-third Con-
sress, from Secretary (then Senatorl
speech on the sinking
'und bill, March ], 1875. lie said;
In regard to the first alternative,
say that by no vote of mine, un-
Ter any circumstances, will / slIs-
pend or stop for a moment the op-
aration Of the sinking-fund laws.
They are pledges of public faith
hat must be observed literally and
ruly, and am very glad the Sec
'etary of the Treasury has taken
he position that whatever else
,omes that sinking fund shall be
Indeed, the law in re-
sard to the sinking fund is so clear,
70 strong, that a Secretary of the
t,.r. = N~N
aw would clearly subject to, and
ought to be, impeached. That law
8 an element Of the public credit
md must be Unimpaired. Let US
oOk a moment. The sinking-fund
!cts are pretty familiar to the Sen
tie, but they will bear repetition.
By the act passed at the beginning
# the war-February 25, 1SG2-the
ustOms duties are expressly pledg-
ID, first TO the payment of the In
crest i'm coin ON the bonds of the
United States second, 10 the pur-
hase or payment of one per cent,
f the entire debt Of the United
states and third, the residue there
t only TO he paid into the Treasury
f the United States,
1t is perfectly clear, therefore,
hat the customs duties which were
D be collected in gold were set aside
nd mortgaged just as sacredly az II
should mortgage the house in
which j live, set aside as a fund to
% applied to specific purposes, and
hat il is only the balance of this
md that can be used by the United
tates for other purposes. That Is
erfectly clear, and to that the pub
c faith is pledged. That law Is
till the existing law.
1t would be difficult for any Sem
tor on this floor TO express moro
learly and forcibly than Secretary
herman did in the extract ] have
Fad thetwo facts / seek to maintain;
rst, that the coin received for GUS
Oms dues must be paid out for in-
crest on the public debt, IL being a
ind set apart specifically by law
nd permenant appropriation for
hat purpose; second, that the fail
re 80 to apply 1t, or its use by the
ecretary for any other purpose, isa
lain violation Of his known duty
5 public officer, for which he *
sble to the most severe punish
lent. In the same speech the Sec
ntary, after quoting from the law
4 UCTn -. II