The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1880-10-07

In his speech at New Ork last week, Sen
ator Conkling referred to the financial policy
and achievements of the Republican party as
follows:
| THE GREAT WORK OF RESUMPTION
In the face of the facts, bald and arrant as
the claim is, the country is gravely told ofwon-
drous Democratic economies, and it now be-
gins to be stated that the resumption of specie
payments was really brought about by the fru-
gality ola Democratic Congress. If race was
/ to be sailed on the sea of fiction, the inventor
| of this statement would surely take the cup
| The resumption of specie payments was a
! transcendant achievement. The credit of it
belongs to some party, and to that party flu
ture generations will look back with grateful
admiration. Whoever would know the truth
about it can easily do SO.
! After the war we had afloat well toward a
| thousand millions of paper currency 1t fluc-
tuated in value from 50 to 70 cents in the dol
| lar. The public debt was more than twenty
eight hundred millions, and more than TWEEN
| ty- three hundred millions of it bore interest
| The annual interest charge was a hundred and
| fifty millions The first Presidential election
afterWard was in 1868. The two parties, of
course, arrayed themselves on the greatest
financial issue which has ever arisen in this
country, OF perhaps in any country. The ques-
ton was, what should be done with the colos-
sal debt inflicted by therebellion and with the
sea of paper promises we had been compelled
to put out. The Democratic party pronounced
for reputation. The declaration was covert
and indirect but it meant reputation. They
resolved that all debts should be paid in paper
promises unless the obligation expressly on its
face said otherwise, or unless the law men
| toned that coiu should be paid. They resolved
that Government bonds and all other securi-
ties" should all be taxed They resolved that
''every species OF property. should be taxed,
end taxed at its real value" They resolved
that there should be but one currency for the
Government and the "boldholder" Taken
together, these declarations were plain repu-
diation
Nobody pretended that the obligations of the
Government were payable in honest money for
the reasons which alone could allow them to
be so paid under the Democratic resolution.
Had their payment in honest money been spec
flied literally and technically in the way re-
quired by the resolution, there would have
been no efficacy of meaning in such resolve !;
and declaring that the bondholder should
have only the same currency that the Govern
ment received, clearly and conclusiYely meant
that payment Of bonds was to be made in le-
gal tender notes.
The bonds had been sold on ar express
and exemption from taxation had entered into
the transaction and been discounted as an ele-
ment of value, and paid for in the price given
for the bonds. To tax not only the bonds, but
every species of property at its real value"
would have taxed a barrel of flour as well as
a barrel of whiskey 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 Dem
ocratic position.
THE REPUBLICANS TAKE THEIR STAND.
The Republicans in their National Conven-
ton declared two things: First, that repudia-
ton is national crime; and that every debt
must be paid to the uttermost not according
to the letter, but the spirit Of the law Second
that the wise course was to improve our credit
SO as to refund our bonded debt at lower inter
est, and that this could not be done if repudia-
ton, open or covert, partial or total was
threatened or suspected. On this platform
General Grant was elected. His first Presi-
dental syllable was spoken on the portico of
the Capitol to assemble thousands, and spoken
with lips which only an instant before had
touched the Bible to solemnize an oath of
faithfulness in office In his Inaugural Ad-
dress then delivered, stand these words
s. a great debt has been contracted in secur-
my W uS anu Oul pOStCIlby UiC OHlC1, buC
payment ofthis debt principal and interest, as
well as the return to a specie basis as soon as
it can be accomplished without material detri-
ment to the debtor class or to the country at
large must be provided for To protect the
national honor, every dollar of Government
Indebtedness should be paid in gold unless
otherwise expressly stipulated in the contract.
Let it be understood that no repudiator of one
farthing of our public debt will be trusted in
public place, and it will go far toward strength
ening a credit which ought to be the best in
the world, and will ultimately enable us to
replace the debt with bonds bearing less inter
est than we now pay"
This significant declaration produced deep
sensation. Both houses of Congress were Re
publican. Immediately bill was introduced
in each House "to strengthen the public credit"
In less than a fortnight it had passed both
Houses and was approved by President Grant
March IS, 1869. 1t was the first act he ever
signed. 1t declared that "the faith of the
United States is solemnly pledged to the pay
ment in coin OF it's equivalent Of all the obliga-
tions of the United States not bearing interest,
known as United States notes and of all the
interest bearing obligations of the United
States, except in cases where the law author
izing the issue of any such obligations had ex-
pressly provided that the same may be paid in
lawful money, or other currency than gold
and silver. 80. And the United States also
solemnly pledges its faith to make provision
at the earliest practicable period for the re-
demption of the United States notes in coin"
THE DEMOCRATIC ATTEMPTS TO RUIN THE
NATIONS CREDIT.
This bill was resisted by the solid democra-
cy in both houses They voted against it,they
voted against considering it, they voted for
amendments to pervert and reverse its mean
g 4
to it: provided that nothing herein contain
ed shall apply to obligations called $50 bonds"
Every democratic Senator present voted for
this, every republican voted against it. The
$50 bonds then constituted the great bulk of
the public debt, and this prOvso would
have frustrated and vitiated the whole act.
Senator Davis, of Kentucky, moved to amend
so as to scale down the bonds to the coin val
ue at the time of the currency received for
them. This was supported by the democrats,
Senator Bayard, of Delaware, among others
speaking in it's favor. Senator Vickers, of
Maryland, 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 opera
ton" After all this the bill passed, and not
one democrat voted for it in either house.
The next step in this progress was the Fun
ding Act of july 1870-the act authorizing
the redemption of the 500 or per cent bonds
by negotiating bonds bearing lower interest.
All the democrats resisted this bill also, and
voted against it. Exempting the new bonds
form taxation was opposed. In the Senate Mr..
Bayard moved to strike out the provision and
to subject the bonds to taxation; all the dem
ocrats 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 votes. By this time our currency
had much appreciated, and funding at lower
interest began
GENERAL GRANTS GREAT VETO.
In 1874, by a vote not Democratic alone, an
initiation bill made its way through both
houses. This bill proposed to keep out per
manently twenty-six millions of legal-tender
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 and expedient for
relief The pressure upon President Grant to
induce him to sign it, exceeded anything of
the kind have ever witnessed. Men who
have ,,,,I,alJ bon6c 4I,ro,,