Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1880-07-24

has done. Alter that our readers
will judge whether he is the candi-
date of their choice.
The Hon. J. B. Weaver (are they
not all honorable men9 was indie
pendent member of congress last
session from the state of Iowa, and
while enjoying that dignity concen-
trated all his efforts in getting one
bill before congress. As this bill
was piece of perfect insanity, dem
ocrats and republicans combined to
prevent its getting before congress
and so wasting the time of the ma
ton. After ong-protracted efforts,
however, the Hon. J. B. W. con-
trived to get his bill printed and
voted down.
The folly of the bill is so astOund-
ing that were we to attempt an alb
stract of it we should not be believed;
it would be thought that we had
garbled it; so we print it exactly
Uer6dti8 and 5terdtiDl as ii was
printed for congress-:
| Be 1t enacted by the senate and house Of
representatives of the United States of
| America in congress assem- bled, That there
shall be paid to each private soldier, nom
commissioned officer, sailor, teamster, or
musician, regularly mustered in the service
of the United states during the late war for
| the suppression of the rebellion, or to his or
/ their legal representatives in case of death,
! as soon as his or their claim shall be exam
/ ined and audited by the second auditor Of
| the treasury, the sum found due him or
! them, the amount thereof to be ascerta1ned
1 as follows The second auditor snail aScer-
/ tain the amount of currency paid said soldier
or sailor at each date of payment during his
| term of service, and shall ascertain the gold
! value of said currency payment ut the time,
| by reference to the Quotations Of gold, as
| compared with the currency in which said
soldier or sailor was paid, at the city OF New
| York at that date and said soldier, sailor,
| or his legal represen tatives shall be allowed
| and paid the difference in value between
| the currency Whlch ne recelVe9 s anu tn ne
| standard gold coin of the United states IN
| which he should have been paid, together
| with six per centum interest thereon per
| annum from the date said soldier or sailor
was mustered out of the service ofthe United
| States, up to the date of the payment OF the
sum found due him by the provisions of this
! act.
| Sec. Q. To enable the government to meet
| the payments required by this act, the secre-
| tary of the treasury is hereby authorized to
cause to be issued five hundred million dol
| lars of United States notes, or so much
thereof as shall be found necessary, of the
| denominations of one, two, five, ten, twenty,
| issued, shall be a legal tender in payment of
| all debts, public and private, and shall be
kept in circulation in manner as now pro-
| Vided by law for other United States notes.
Sec. 3. The sum of five hundred million
dollars, or so much thereof as shall be neces-
sary to make the payments required by this
act, is hereby appropriated out of the money
| by this act authorized to be issued.
That is Viewers bill! Five hum
dred millions to be given by the
nation to be distributed among all
the soldiers, waggoners, teamsters,
drummers and filters who were ever
for a day in the United States army
during the war. Estimating the
population or the United States at
fifty millions, it is ten dollars apiece
for every man, woman and child,
white, negro or Indian, in the United
States, 10 throw into pile for the
benefit of a number of able-bodied
men, as well able to make their
living as those who are called upon
to pay it.
Remember that we are now pay
ing thirty millions a year to the
wounded and soldiers of the Union
army, while to our own wounded
and crippled we are allowed to dole
out private charity alone, and here
we are called upon to charge our
selves $40 apiece to give to those
who are better able to make a living
than our own people are.
1t seems utter insanity, but that
is Viewers bill; that is measure
coming from the standard bearer Of
the great greenback party, whose
favorite cry is against taxation. 1t
seems utterly absurd, but if you
vote for Weaver and the greenback
ticket, you vote for that bill.