Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1879-07-31

From The Terre lIaute Express.
John Sherman once declared in the sem
ate, that to pay the bonds in the same
kind of money, of the same intrinsic val
ne, as that which purchased them WdS mol
rcpmiidtiOn, that by such payment, fulI
justice and equity 'couM be metcd ont to
the public creditor, and he who demanded
more or payment in better money than
that which he loaned, wdS an ertOrtiOner.
lfhe was right then, he is wrong now,
but if he is right now, then the soldiers
petition must be granted, and the same
kind of payment meted out to them, their
heirs and assigns as is proposed to be
meted cut to the bondholder What were
the services OF the bondholder that he
should be preferred creditorp Very few,
if any, bonds were issued until after the
passage of the legal tender act, and from
the day that act passed until the close Of
the war, not dollar of money was paid
out for the legitimate expenses of the gov.
ernment, but currency of its own author
lzatiOn and creation. What then was the
use of the bondsY
Will any candid, intelligent apologiSt
of John Sherman and his funding scheme
answer?
You say the bonds were necessary toa
sorb the extraordinary excess Of currency
occasioned by the demands Of the war,
and to give value to and float it during
and after the struggle.
There is no proof that there ever was an
excess. We deny that there ever was an
excess. Let only him dare assert it who
was at any time burdened with such ex'
cess. Had the government received
greenbacks for duties on imports, as vel,
as for income taxes and internal revenue
it could have absorbed the excess in this
manner as well as to have exchanged
bonds for it. Then after having received
| it for duties, it could have destroyed il
without further cost, Just as well as tC
have destroyed it after having converted
it into everlasting bond burdens to tax ant
torment the people forever.
Let us investigate this matter a little
and see. From 1861 to 1866 the govern
ment received as duties on imports the
sum of 81, ,ll2, 100, ,4S5.05 in coin.
Had there been no banks to absorb this
coin in interest, the revenue receipts o
these FIVE years would have been ample t.
float $4,000, 100000 of currency at pal
with gold On the 1st of July, 1866, bu
1868, ,6l3, 900 of 5-2) and 1910 war bond,
were outstanding. These had been ISSUED
in exchange for greenbacks, which nigh
just as well have been obtained for the ust
Of the government by receiving them fo
duties on imports without increasing tn,
burden of the bonds. The gold the gov
ernment received was Of no use to it, so fa
as it was then and subsequently appro
priated to the payment of interest, and ;
sinking fund to meet the principal of thu
bonded debt.
Had the ten or fifteen hundred millions
of interest bearing treasury notes beer
made receivable for duties on imports, ev
cry dollar might have been paid in tha
manner without issuing a single bond
for before the last of the 1905 were fund
ed in 500 bonds, the receipts for import
duties since 1860, had amounted to fa
more than all the interest-bearing treas
ury notes the government had ever issued
The fact is the entire bonded debt wa,
fraud and a swindle of the most crimina
and atrocious character. ltwas conceived
in sin and brought forth in the 5asest kline
of iniquity.