Louisiana capitolian., 1880-07-22
DEMOCRACY vs., eR[ENBACkIsM,
BATON ROUGE, July Il. 1ssO.
Tothe central Eaccutive Commmittee Ill,
Of the National Grecnhmck Labor mlty {
= Cf Tho NVrish III Fast f,atOu Rouge

GENrLEMgN--llaving been intcrrogat-
cd, D day or two since, by some of tho
lcadcfsof Your political organization as
to whether slmpathizcd with the lead
ing IDEAS Of yonr political creed, and
having answered vaguely that SYM
pnthizcl with nll that is good in every
creed, embrace tho occasion of your
assemblage 10 declare mare in detail
the views which entertain in harmony
With The Gtccuback Labor movement.
1. The Labor plank N the Cincinnati
platform Is heartily endorsed by me. If
II does not &" into u minute spcciiica-
tiUn Of tic measures nccdful tOmnkc t
cfcctual, hold that il conveys an i'm
plicit pledge to inangurato such meas
nrrs rs will strengthen and consolidate
labor in its struggle with the consolidat-
cd forces Of capital What measures
arc essential to that desirable end, wc are
still ut liberty to discuss freely.
For my own part, regarding the lclla-
Utilization Of tho old system Of State
banks as likely to conlncc to tho great
advancement M tho interests of the
farmer and mechanic, and 10 the intro
ductlon of u strong countcracting force
to tho ccntralizing tendencies of the
system Of National banks. stand
pledged to support u measure for the re-
peal of the Federal law imposing a tax
upon tho issues Of tho State banks, as
there arc no State bank issues to he
taxed; and as tho law is 10 n,anifcstly %
dead letter, ! can see no good reason
why it should longer cucumber tho
statute book. These State banks, when
constituted by Legislative charter, will
inevitably be governed hy a financial
policy friendly to the interests Of tho
farmer and mechanic; and IL tho ono
seeks u loan Upon u crop making or
made, and tho other asks help to fulfill
contract requiring q largo cash outlay
for material and labor, he will assurcdly
be accommodated upon liberal terms,
materially advantageous to tho farmer
and mechanic and to tho State bank.
While restoring to these classes tinar-
cial facilities Of which they arc virtually
deprived under the present financial
system, the same line Of policy would,
i'll my opinion, require the gradual cn-
larging Of the circulation of the state
bank Issues and the gradual rircnn-
scribins Of tho National bank issues Ivy
healthy operation Of law. Thus: and
here adopt tho Grecnback und pco
fenfo; l favor u measure to pay off each
National bond, which now forms the
basis Of 80 per cent. of National bank
as fast as it natures, in
grccnback, thus increasing tho volume
Of legal tender currency 10 per cent.
ovcA the present National bank cur
rency; the bond to bo paid only on pro
of all tho National bank notes
which wcrc circulated OH its faith. If
tho bill authorizing tho payment of the
National bonds in gtcenbacks should
also prohibit the creation of any more
banks in my opinion, u quiet, healthy
revolution, free from all commotion or
disturbance of the existing financial sys-
tom will have been achieved, and with
ont any disturbance from within or
without Tho neglected and oppressed
farmers and mechanics will have had y
strong line Of reserve Of naturally friend
" allies raised up for tfcm, and the
State, strong and reliable friends in
timc Of need And the ccntraIizing ten
'lcncics Of the present system will have
been ,cnfeebled, if not entirely clinin
atcd,
This, gentlemen, is rs far as am will
lng to 80 i'll tho application of green
backs to the payment of any portion
Of the public debt. And | only accept
that policy to tho limited extent, be- !
cause the National banks built their cir
cnlatlon upon the governments promi-
ses to pay their bond, and il docs not
strike me as lncquitablc that they should
DC made to receive the governments
promises to pay in liquidation of their
bond.
Your idea of paying the entire Ma
Llonal debt in grcenbacks, | absolutely
reject for several reasons conclusive to
NY Judgment. will illustrate by stat
ng one of the absurtlitics TO which il
cads, lfom nation has right to dis
'hargc her debt by the issuance of her
promises to pay, another has the Same
light; the comfy of nations fixes that
Peru has, just now, in re-
'st'ns the Cliilian invasion, been com |
'eIled to resort to an oyeriss',c of green