Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1880-10-07

redemption Of the United States notes in
coin"
TIE DEMOCRATIC ATTEMPT 10 RUIN THE NATIONS
CREDIT.
This bill was resisted by the solid Democracy
in both Houses. They voted sgainsg it, they
voted against considering it, they voted for
amendments to pervert and reverse its mean
ing. Senator Thurman, of o 10. moved to
add to it: provided that nothing herein con-
tanned shall sppy to obligations called $40
bonds" Every Democratic Senator present
voted for this. every Republican voted against
1t. The $40 bonds then contributed the great
bulk Of the public debt, and this provlso would
have frustrated ana vitiated the whole act.
SenstOr Davis, OF Kentucky, moved TO snend
so as TO scale down the bonds to the coin value
st the time of the currency received for Them.
This was supported by the Democrats, Sena-
tor BayaTd, Of Delaware. among others, speak
iDg in its favor. Senator Yickers, Of Mary
land, moved to amend so as to prevent coin
ever being purchased to be used to pay bonds
Senator Bayard denounced the bill as wrong
unwise, and as ''stock-jobbing operation
After ali this the bill passed, and not one
Democrat voted for it in either House.
The next step in this progress was the fund
ing act OF July, 1870-the act authorizing the
redemption Of the 500 or 6 per cent bonds by
negotiating bonds bearing lower interest. Al
the Democrats resisted this bill also, and voted
against it. Exempting the new bonds from
taxation was opposed. In the Senate, Mr..
BayaTd moved to strike out the provision and
to subject the bonds to taxation; all the Demo
Gratis voted for it. Again, Mr.. Bayard moved
an amendment to bring back the state bank
ing system, and all the Democrats voted for
that also The bill was at length carried by
Republican votee. By this time our currency
had much appreciated, and funding at lower
interest began.
GENERAL GRANTS GREAT VETO.
t.,
imitation BIZ made it's way through both
| houses. This bill proposed to keep out per-
manently tWenty-sIX millions CT legaltender
notes belonging to the treasury reserve which
had been put out temporarily during the panic
Of 1878, and to put out eighteen millions more
The suffering produced by the panic drove
many Republicans into the support of this
measure as an experiment for relief The
pressure UPON President Grant to induce him
to sign it exceeded anything of the kind have
ever witnessed. Men who should have upheld
his hands not only threw their weight upon
him, but industriously criticized and even ridi-
culed his venturing to set up his opinion
against a maj ority in such crisis. He vetoed
the bill, however. In his 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 pro-
posed act would violate faith, and he was
against it. This happened on the 22d Of
! April, 1874
About q month later conversation occurred
one evening between the President and his
chief adviser, Secretary Fish, and others, about
! the wise course out Of the increased fficul-
| ties which had come from the disasters of the
| year before. One Of those present at this con-
| versation 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 sub
stance of them should be put in writing and
I 4
Orandum made by the President was handed
about among members of the two houses, and
afterWard found its way into print.
! Here it is, 1t is the foreshadow of the re-
! sumption act, to which the veto had paved the
way. Tread two passages:
! 81 believe it is high and plain duty to re-
| turn to a specie basis at the earliest practical
| day, not only in compliance with legislative
and party pledges, but as s. step Indispensable
| to lasting national prosperity. l believe,
! further, that the time has come when this can
| be done, or at least begun with less embarrass-
ment to every branch of iudustr7 than at any
future time, after resort has been had to I'M
| stable and temporary expedients to stimulate
/ unreal prosperity and speculation on q basis
| Otkcy than coin the recognized medium Of ex
change throughout the numerical world.
| The particular mode selected to bring about
restoration Of the specie standard is not Of SO
/ much consequence as that some plan be de-
| vised, the time fixed when currency shall be
! exchangeab'e for coin st par. and the plan
| adopted rigidiy adhered to. would
! like to see q provision that at fixed DAY. say
July l, 1876, the currency issued By the United
| States should be redeemed in coin on presents
| ton to any assistant treasurer, and that sll
| the currency so redeemed should be cancelled
! and never reissued. To effect this. it would
! be necessary to authorize the issue of bonds
/ payable in gold. bearing such interest as would
| command par in gold, to be put out by the
%Yco w nh CcnN1
tine to time be needed for the purpose Of re-
demptian."
| THE RESUMPTION ACT.
! It was not long before this advice found the
| form of law. A committee composed wholly of
! Republic n Senators, OF whom I WIS myself one,
! prepared the bill now known as the resumption
/ act. 1t was not the work of any one Senator,
nor did it express literally and in full perhaps,
| the views of any single member of the commit
| tee. 1t was compromise of somewhat con-
| nIctlng opinions. 1t was submitted to every
Republican member of the Senate, and every
! one after consideration, determined 30 vote for
it. 1t was brought forward in the Senate, and
| every Republican Senator did vote for it Long
| continued applause Every Democratic Sem
| ator present voted against it. 1t went to the
| House, and there encount red solid Demo-
cratic opposition, but it was clrricd by Repub
it. 1t fixed the lst of January, 1879, for the re-
sumption of specie payments. And when the
day came, as nOiselessly and naturally as night
melts into day, specie pay ments were resumed.
! Applause.
The adoption of this bill for resumption is
easier told than 1t was done. The Democracy
| rose as one man in both houses against it. 1t
was denounced as an aHsurdity and sham, and
was called many wild and uncleanly names.
! Senator Thurman, Senator Bayard and other
Democratic Senators vehemently opposed it.
! This was in January, 1875.
Immediately Democrats of all shades, includ-
ing the Greenbacker, the country over, opened
| fire on the act. The next wear the D -mOcratic
party met in National Convention at st. Louis.
There the Republican party WAS denounced for
enactng hlndrances to return to specie pay
ments." The climax of the resolution was in
these words: LAS such hindrance we denOunce
the resumption act of 1915 and we here demand
It's repeal Mr.. IIden, nominee OF the con-
venti0n, in his letter of acceptance, stood up
to the platform, and also rallied against the act
and throughout the canvass reasons were given
which nan could number, why resumption
never would, never could, take place under such
a law. Laughter. At the next session repeal
bills were brought forward, and the Democrats
voted for them separa tely as riders to apprO-
priation bills. Meanwhile, the world seeing
that we meant to be honest after all nOtwlth-
standing reputation at the South, and threats
in the North, and vicious declarations in Ma
tiOnal conventions, it became easy to negotiate
"a and A per cent. bonds, at par and above par
This was done, and the debt has melted away
at the rate of two millions a month; the inter
est charge has been reduced One-hdif, and when
the bonds of high interest rate still Outstandi z
fall due in 1881 and afteFW rd, they also VIII be
replaced by 4 or 8. Is per cent. bonds, and then
the interest charge will fall much lower still
[Applause.l
of the exploits of the last Democratic admins
tration Laughter Buchanan Switch in
creased the debt tenf..d IN time of peace, paid
II per cent. interest on treasury notes, and sold
6 per cent. twenty-year bonds for 50 cents on
the dollar. It is well to add that during the
last FIVE wears of their SEI0nal control