Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1880-10-28

good old democratic times to take this
paper money because YOU couldn't get any
thing else. The American people never
have become accustomed and never will
become accustomed to simple metallic
money composed of gold and silver. They
always have had and always will have
some form of paper money, and the kind
thev had then was state bank paper mon
ey. What was the objection to that kind
of money?
In the first place it was not good. 4
bank would break every once in a while.
! 1t was estimated that the people of the
! United States lost S5,000,000 a year by
broken bank paper money in times before
the war; and when the bank broke it went
out of existence. No man ever heard of a
bank in olden times ever making its
money good. Then, beside, it was counter
feited almost without let or hindrance, so
that q man in order to find out whether
bill was counterfeit had to take with him
a book as big as the moral
law, or at least as big
as the New Testament in order to find out
whether the money he received was coun-
terft or genuine. The if he tried to use
it-he might pay it out here for groceries
and store goods, but when he crossed the
state line he had to go to brokers'
office and change it. / have, since | ar
rived at age, paid 10 per cent. premium
on exchange between the town in which /
lived in Ohio and the city Of New York
The money was bad in many respects. 1t
could be counterfeited easily. it was of
limited circulation, the banks were failing
cOnstantly,s so that when man received the
money at night he didn't know whether
the money would be good in the morning
Why was 1t the democratic party couldn't
give us good money? Because the idea
that prevailed in the democratic party was
that congress had no power to authorize
the issuance of national money. 1t was
''AGINTHE RESOLUTION OF '9S."
And there the doctrine of state rights
came in.
But when the republican party came in
to power we devised national money. We
gave you first the United States notes,
which are the promises of the United
States to pay money and nothing more.
1t was not money III the true sense, but it
was promise to pay money. 1t was the
best thing We could do then; we were in
the midst of the war. Gold and silver had
practically been driven out of the coun-
try. We substituted these United States
notes for other forms of money, and with
that money we paid our soldiers. We
purchased our supplies, we carried on the
operations of the war We were compelled
to do great many things under the strain
of war that we probably would not do at
other times. The patriotic feeling of the
country was aroused. | Will tell you now
what | wouldn't have liked to have told
you then, that if it had been necessary |
would have voted to have taken the last
shirt off your backs in order to have sus-
tanned the boys in blue"
When we issued this form of national
money the democrats opposed it. They
said it was "agin the resolution of '98"
The national congress had no right to
issue that money; and some of their lead
ing men said the money would 60 out with
the stamp of Cain on it's brow. And they
said the time would come when greenbacks
could be bought by the cord. We all
would like to have small portion of a
cord [ know. Laughter We did the
best we could. We improvised this ma
tional money Then the next question
came up: How were we to get rid of the
state bank money? We couldn't pay the
soldiers with it. Outside of its own state
it was good for nothing. Our device was
this: We levied a tax of ten per cent. on
state bank circulation, payable every year.
Now, these wild cat" banks couldn't stand
that kind of taxation. The result was
they retired and gave up their franchises.
| Some of them broke, some of them went
up the spout" some of them went into the
national banks and got out of the way. We
had to supply some substitute for this
money, and after year or two OF discus
sion the national bank system was effected.
That, think was the best system that
ever was devised by man. What was that
| that system? Anybody might meet and
form an association of five persons; they
might then issue their notes, printed by
I, = ! IL
said that a substitute for the state banks,
congress had provided system of national
banks by which any five persons might
| form themselves into an association and re-
ceive authority to issue bills in the form
of paper money; but every dollar issued
had to be secured by deposit of bonds in
the treasury of the United States, so that
under this system of national banks it was
not possible to lose any money, and if any
one in this vast audience has ever lost a
single dollar by a national bank, if he will
bring it to me I will redeem it, I
have $20 gold piece III my pocket that l
have been carrying for three weeks offer
ing it to masses of men trying to find some
bank bills to redeem.
My countrymen, the republican party
furnished the bank system which has en-
abled you for thirteen years to have the
best form of paper bank money that ever
was devised
WITHOUT THE LOSS OF A SINGLE CENT
to any mortal man. Applause Why is
that? Because every dollar of this money
is secured by United States bonds. We
returned a dollar and ten cents for every
dollar issued of this money Not only
that, we guarded against counterfeiting so
successfully that it is impossible that the
cOunterfeiter can put his bill'i circulation
before it is found out, and then it is stamp
ed, and the plate which is c0unterfeited is
Cancelled, so there is scarcely any chance to
counterfeit money Of the national banks.
Not only that, you do not care where the
bank is, or whether the bill is found in
Salem Mass, or Oregon. 1t is equally
good. You know it is secured bv bonds
deposited with Uncle Sam [applause], and
therefore you take it without fear. Why
is it that the republican party advised this
system of paper money; why didn't the
democrats do it? Because it was 'agin the
resolution of 49, [Applausel We say
it is not agin the constitution, and the su
preme court has so decided over and over
again. One of the dangers that people in
the north DO not fear, because they do not
know about it-but [ tell you as sure as
fate-is that If there should be demo-
cratic congress, and a democratic presi-
dent, that bill levying tax on state banks
will be repealed, and then they will be re-
organized again to create this hopper bank
paper, which will eventually crowd out
of circulation the national bank paper
money. Why is it, ," you might say, Mr..