The weekly clarion., 1881-05-26
The Funding Bill and Its issues.
BY GEN. J. r. CHALMERS.
40. 3-coScLUDED.


driving thousands into insane asylums an
filling the land with men begging for wor
and denounced a. tramps, II was announces
that greenbacks would be redeemed in coli
al the sub-treasury in New York and at tn
same time that they would be received 70
, customs. In an instant the greenback re
lieyed from legal discredit sprang up I,
equality with coin. The gold We hac
purchased for resumption purposes, through
this long and bloody financial sweat re
maIned ia the treasury almost untouched
with from one hundred to one hundred anC
fifty millions of coin in the treasury losing
interest, only six million has been called
Tor IN any one year to redeem greenbacks
L ar more Oi both gold and silver have
rushed into than have been drawn out of
the easury-while the bonds we suffered
s. much to make payable in coin are now
/ paid ia greenbacks al the request of the
/ holders " hat accomplished this magic
result? The Nationals say the re-
ceptlon of green backs for customs,
/ and they point to the fact that the
/ banks refused II receive the demand treas
ury notes of 1861 at par until Secretary
Chase ordered them received for customs
when they rose to par at once. The Repub-
IIcans claim that the act to strengthen the
( public credit-the accumulation of coin
equal 10 about twenty-five pr cent. of the
greenbacks and the offer to redeem green
backs in coin produced it. The act TO
strengthen the public credit was an effort
to strengthen our bond credit. But after
its passage and the funding act of 1870 to
carry it out, our weak j:2U bonds payable
in greenbacks were at a premium when the
strengthened coin bonds sold at par There
was about the same difference as
now between bonds differing l per
cent. IN interest and all payable
IN coin. These acts gave no percepti-
bic strength to our bonds while the credit
of the greenback was greatly weakened
And now after our terrible suffering from
the discredit thrown by law on our legal
tender currency, the Republicans are pre-
pairing to dIscredit it again by taking away
the legal tender feature. Mr.. Hayes and
Mr. Garfield say it Is unconstitutional in
peace. Mr.. Sherman says it does the green
back no good. The people who take it think
1t at least does 1t no harm and we think the |
Constitution reads and means the same in |
peace as in war. The great body of the |
Democratic party believed then and believe |
now the public credit act and the funding !
act of 1870 we're an injury and not a benefit |
to the country. Horace Greeley said the |
way to resume, to resume, and expert |
euce has proved he right. If instead /
of the acts OF 1869 and 1870 to give credit
TO our bonds we had passed acts to give
credit to greenbdcks, received them for
customs and offered To exchange coin for
them, if IN short we had done in 1869 what
we did in 1879, the same result would have
followed as to the equality of our currency,
and We would have been ten years further
ahead our road to prosperity. The
stoppage of the destruction of greenbacks
by d Democratic Congress at three hundred
and tortv-slx million and the subSeq uent re-
shows it was as safe to offer
resumption Of three hundred and forty-six
million as of three hundred million green
backs and it would have been just as safe
when the volume was three hundred and
million. The Democrats stopped
the destruction Of greenbacks and remone-
tized silver and resumption came of ITSELF
while the Republicans get all the credit for
it. / have said this Is an age of invention
and discovery and our greatest wonders
have been worked out from data gathered
through patient observation of facts. The
historian of the resumption period may yet
show that the acts of the Republican party
were Il hIndrance for ten years TO resump-
ton.
Aristotle, the wisest of ancient philoso-
piers said of money, sit exists not by ma
.ure but by law" Mr.. Calhoun, the Aris-
-otle of modern times said our money should
De eold-silver-and treasury notes, not re-
ieemable in coin but receivable for all pub
lie dues.
The necessities of war compelled the in
yention of the greenback-a forced legal
lender if you choose then-for private
lebts, but restricted SO not to be legal |
ender for customs to the government, nor
interest to the bOndholder.
Just when France, struck with our in-
7ention, was about to adopt it, our own
politicians were distrusting and discredit-
ng it
They performed well when restricted, but +
6 81
restriction and aided by the offer OF the :
government to exchange coin for them, the :
,reenbacks became more valuable.
Such paper money was never before made
n the history of the world-invented in
var and perfected in peace, it is now equal
o coin at home and abroad. To emasculate
t rs to any of its powers may bring another
inaneial crisis. The people are satisfied
With it, and no one demands its emascula-
ion except National bankers and their
ilies-a power growing stronger every
lay; power which elects Presidents and d
members of Congress, and demands in re-
urn the fulfillment of the pledge given by :
he Republican party through Mr. Sherman, l
II 1S70-that they should have "the mono i
,oly of the circulation of this country-the
ole and exclusive privilege of issuing paper
money" President Garfield and those who
all the greenback a forced loan because Of
4
he almost equal legal tender power given a
o National bank notes. The government b
5 bound by law to receive them in payment Il
or any dues save customs-every office I
Iolder and every creditor of the government
kept bondholders, must take them. The
government is limited by law in its power b
o issue greenbacks or coin silver. The a
National banks power to issue their notes t
5 limited only by the bonds of the govern Q
nent-and yet so great was the demand for r
,aper circulation last winter that large | 4,
ums Of gold were exchanged for silver GER |
ifcates The banks, with unlimited power, I
would not furnish enough for the demands l
f trade. II
That they can contract or expand the [
urrency at will was recently showu-that c
hey will contract or expand for their own 4
interest Is As certain as that everything !
beys the laws of its own existence To
,rotect the people from this power / propose {
o introduce into Congress the following s
ill; t
IA Act to Pay the Public Debt and Stop the 5
Manufacture Of Money by Corporations.
Be it enacted, etc, That 1850, ,00e, 900 of q
bearing treasury notes, similar G
n form and denomination to the legal ten Q
Ter notes now outstanding, but distinguish :
able therefrom by date of issue, shall be pre- G
pared for issue as hereinfter directed, which
shall have the same, but no more, legal ten
der qualities than are now given by law to a
National Bank notes. L
SEC. .. That any bank, National, State, t
Or private shall be relieved from taxation q
On its deposits, snd from stamps on checks :
drawn on it, whenever it shall exchange .
with the treasurer of the United States one
dollars or more of national bank
notes for the same amount of the treasury !
notes herein provided far. aud shall enter &
into written contract with the United !
States Treasurer to make such monthly ex- n
changes of all National Bank notes received ]
by such bank for the treasury notes herein
described. And whenever any National
Bank shall make such contract with the |
United States Treasurer, ali United States I
taxation on its circulation shall cease, and t
the treasury notes herein described may be
held by such bank as its reserve fund 50 long f
IS any reserve fund may necessary. I
SEC J. Whenever one thousand dollars 6