The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1880-09-24


year more than $4,000, 600 for this year they
are considerably larger, and in both wears ap-
preparations were purposely omitted in cases in
which they are sure to be supplied at the next
session 49,
In the race of the fact. bold and arrant as the
claim Is the country is gravely told of wonder
/ Gus Democratic economies, and 1t now begins
to be stated that resumption Of specie payments
was really brought about by frugality of a
Democratic Congress. If a race was to be sailed
on the sea of fiction, the inventor of that state
ment would surely take the cup The resump-
tlon OF specie payments was transcendent
achievement The credit of it belongs 70 some
party, and to that party future generations will
look back with grateful admiration Whoever
~Onld know the truth about it can easily do so.
After thewar we had afioat well toward 81. 00O.-
100000 of paper currency. 1t fiuctuated in
value from SO to 20 cents on the dollar. The
public debt was more than 81 500. OOO.-
600, and more than s., SOC, OO0. 600
of it bore interest. The annual interest charge
was $3.50, 600, 900. The first Presidential cleo
ton afterward was in 1863. The two parties
of course, arrayed themselves on the greatest
financial issues which had ever arisen in this
country, or, perhaps, in any country The
question was what should be done with the
colossal debt inflicted by the rebellion, and
with the sea of paper promises we had been
compelled to put out? The Democratic party
| was covert and indirect, but it meant repudia-
ton. They resolved that all debts should be
paid i'll paper promises, unless the obligation
expressly on its face said otherwise, or unless
the law mentioned that coin should be paid
they resolved that Government bonds and all
! other securities should all be taxed they re-
solved that every species of property should DO
taxed, and taxed at its realvalue; they resolved
that there should be but one currency for the
Government and the bondholder. Taken TO-
gether, these declarations were plain repudia-
ton. Nobody pretended that the obligations of
1.-THE Government were payable in honest money
| for the reason which alone could allow them to
be $50 paid under the Democratic resolution.
| Had their payment in honest money been speci-
fed literally and technically in the way re-
| qured by the resolution, there would have
| been no efficacy or meaning in such resolve.
and declaring that the bondholder should have
| only the same currency that the Gov
| eminent received clearly and conclusivelv
meant that payment of bonds was to be
made in legal-tender notes. The bonds had
| been sold on an express agreement that they
should never be taxed, and exemption from the
I, taxation had entered into tie transaction and
been discounted as an element of value and
paid fer i'll the price given for the bonds. To
| tax not only the bonds, but every species of
| property, at its real value, would have taxed B
barrel OF flour as well as a barrel of whisky;
| would have taxed land and all else. Such
| scheme would not only have worn frontlet of
reputation, but would have thrown into chaos
| the whole revenue and business of the country.
| This was the Democratic position.
| The Republicans In their national convention
declared two things:
/. That reputation is a national crime, and
that every debt must be paid to the uttermost,
not according to the letter but the spirit of the
| law. -ua9 Id iTos se.a.tf 9it ul
| 2 That the wise course was to improve our
credit, SO as to refund our bonded debt at lower
interest, and that this could not be done if re-
| pudiation open or covert, partial or total was
Threatened or suspected.
On this platform Gen. Grant was elected. His
first Presidential syllable was spoken on the
portico of tho Capitol to assembled thousands,
and spoken with lips which only an in
slant before had touched the Bible
L to solemiize an oath of faithfulness
in pffce, In his inaugural address, then deliv-
| cred, stand these words GA great debt has
been oontractedin securing to us and our pos
teIity the Union. The payment Of this debt,
I principal and interest, as well as the return to
|, specie basis as soon as it can be accomplished
| without material detriment to the debtor class
| or to the country at large, must be provided
for. 70 protect the national honor, every dollar
| of jGovernment Indebtedness should be paid in
| gold unless otherwise expressly stipulated in
lll6 COllIdCl. LII III uulutIotOO1 llO
! pudiator Of one farthing of our public debt will
be. trlstedi in public place, and it will go far
| toward strengthening a credit which ought to
| be the best in the world, and will ultimately
enable us toFeplaee thedebt with bonds bearing
less interest than we now pay"
| This significant declaration produced deep
SENSATION Both houses of Congress were Re-
! publican. immediately a bill was introduced
| in each house. "to strengthen the public cred
| it, In less thana fortnight it had passed both
houses, and was approved by President Grant
| M arch IS, 1869. 1t was the first act he signed
| 1t declared that "The faith ofthe United States
] is solemnly pledged to the payment, in coin or
| its equivalent of all the obligations of the
United States not bearing interest, known as
! United Sta es notes, and OF all the interest
bearing obligations of the United States, ex-
| cepting O. in cases where the law author
iziig the issue of any such obliga-
tions - had expressly provided that
| the same may be paid in lawful money or other
currency than gold and silver and the United
States alsosolemnly pledges its faith to make
provision at the earliest practicable period for
| the redemption of the United States notes in
| COIN" This bill was resisted by the solid
Democracy In both houses. They voted against
! it. They voted against considering it. They
| voted for amendments to pervert and reverse
! its meaning. Senator Thurman, of Ohio moved
to add to it: Provided that nothing herein
contained shall apply to obligations called 500
bonds" Every Democratic Senator present
| voted for this; every Republican voted against
It. The 5-2U bonds then constltuted the bulk of
| the public debt, and this proviso would have
| frustrated and vltiated the whole act. Senator
Davis, of Kentucky, moved to amend SO as to
| scale down the bonds to the coin value at the
| time of the currency received for them. This
| was supported by the Democrats, Senator Bay
ard, of Delaware, among Others speaking in its
q favor SpnafOf .NIrkeFS MARYLAND
| to amend so as to prevent coin ever being pur-
| chased to be used to pay bonds. Senator Bay
ard denounced the bill as wrong, unwise, and
as "stock-jobbing operation" After all this
| thelbil passed, and not one Democrat voted for
! itin either house. -
| 9d The next step in this progress was the fund
ing act of July, 1870, the act authorizing the
| redemption of the $40 or 6-per-cent. bonds by
negotiating bonds bearing lower intarest All
the Democrats resisted this bin, also, and voted
against it. Exempting the new bonds from
/ taxation was opposed in the Senate. Mr. Bayard
moved to strike out the provision, and to SUBJ
| ject the bonds to taxation. All the Democrats
|, voted for il again. Mr.. Bayard moved an
amendment to bring back the State-banking
system, and all the Democrats voted for that.
also; the bill was at length carried by Republi-
can votes. By this time Our currency had much
appreciated, and funding at lower interest be-
gan. In 1874, by vote not Democratic alone,
an imitation bill made its way through both
| houses. This bill proposed to keep out per
manently S26,000,000 of legal-tender notes
belonging to the treasury reserve which had
been put ont temporarily during the panic of
| 1873, and, to pat out S18000,0O0 more. The
suffering produced by the panic drove many
Republicans into the support of this measure
as an experiment and expedient for relief. The
pressure upon President Grant to induce him
to sign it exceeded anything of the kind 1 have
| eyer witnessed. Men who should have upheld
their hands not only threw their weight upon
him, but industriously criticised, and even ridi-
culed, his VentuT1ng TO set up his opinion
against majority in such crisis Hevetoed
the bill, however. In bis. message, returning it
unsigned, he referred to the declaration of the
Republican party, to his inaugural to the act of
1869 already cited, and he said the proposed act
would violate it, and he was against it.
This happened on the 22d of April 1874.
About month later convention occurred in
the evening, between the President and his
chief adviser Secretary Fish and Others about
the wise course out of the Increased difficulties
which had come from the disasters of the year
before One Of those present was Senator
Jones, of Nevada. So struck was he with the
views expressed. by President Grant that the
next day. June 4, 1874 he by letter, requested
that the. substance of them should be put 10
writing and copy sent him. This was done
and memorandum made by the President was
handed, about among members of the two
and aftnrtva1d found M mint