The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1881-02-10
JACKSON MISSISSIPPI THURSDAY, FEBRUARY TO- 1881.


prices, and I agree to the fullest extent tina
the constant exercise of this great power b
Congress would be dangerous to the bushes
interests of the country and tend to furthe
Capitalization of Federal authority.
know that a great change has alread
come over the public spirit of the Tn ite
States and [ fear that what General Gar
field said in the last canvass is only to
true: "The ideas of Thomas Jefferson ar
losing and the ideas of Alexander Hamilton
are growing in popular favor" The you'll
of the country and the rapidly increasin,
foreign population are all taught to beliey
that State rights and slavery, strict con
struction and rebellion, are synony mou
terms. The freedom of the individual i
lost sight of in the splendOr of a nation
and local liberty is sacrificed if it conflicts
with the demands of national power. While
the Queen of Great Britain must give up
favorite minister and appoint another dis
tasteful to herself in obedience to the viii
of the House of Commons, American Presi
dents are growing so fast in power that they
bid defiance to both branches of Congress
For this reason l am opposed to any further
issuance of legal tender money at this time
and am equally opposed to a continuance
of the national bank system.
But some kind of paper money is essen
tial to commerce. What, then, shall this
currency be? Let that question be answer
ed by John e. Calhoun. No intellect was
more able to penetrate truth, no hand more
ready to strike in defense of the Constitn-
ton, and no heart more true to his people
than his; and where he leads any Democrat
may well follow without fear of infringing
the Constitution or strengthening central
lied power. He says:
On what, then, ought paper currency to
rest! 1 would say on demand and supply
simply, which regulate the value of every>
thing else, the constant demand which the
Government has on the community for its
necessary supplies. A medium resting on
this demand which simply Obligates the
Government to receive it in all of its dues,
to the exclusion of everything else except
gold and silver, and which shall be optional
with those who have demands on the Cows
eminent to receive or not, would, it seems
to me, be as stable in its value as these
metals themselves, and be as little liable to
abuse is the power of coming. 1t would
contain within itself selfregulating power
1t could only be issued to those who had
claims on the Government, and to those only
with their consent.
Believing this to be the true financial
theory to be adopted by our Government |
offered the following amendment as a sepa-
rate SoClIOH 10 IUc Dill, anu II II ndu Deon
adopted | believe our bonded debt could
have been paid without any refunding and
that national bank notes would have been
easily and gradually retired and their place
supplied by the best currency we could
possibly have;
SEC. 6. That from and after the passage
of this act, all notes of national banks which
may be received by the Treasury Depart
ment, or by any office thereof shall be re-
tanned and forwarded to the Secretary of the
Treasury at Washington, who shall retain
the same, and shall not pay them ont again
for any purpose whatever; but shall assort
them, and whenever the notes of any one
bank shall be received to the amount of
81 900 it shall the duty of the Secretary of
the Treasury to Immediately notify the
officers of such bank and require them to
come forward and witness, if they see fit,
the destruction of said notes, and thereupon
the bonds of the United States pledged for
the redemption of said notes, to an amount
equal, after computing the interest thereon,
to the said national bank notes so held, and
the notes so held shall be Immediately can
eeled and destroyed by the Secretary, in
accordance with the provision of existing
laws.
1t shall be the duty of the Secretary of
the Treasury, whenever the notes of any
more shall be cancelled and destroyed under |
The provisions of this act, to cause TO be |
printed and made ready for use an amount
Of Treasury notes, under the form provided by |
,he law of 1862 and subsequent acts author |
Zing the issue of Treasury notes, exactly |
equal to the amount of national bank notes |
70 Cancelled and destroyed which said |
Treasury notes shall be issued and paid out, |
70 all persons willing to receive the same, |
1oIl Il ~. IL. ~
of the United States, as fast as may
,e by law authorized and permitted, and
when so issued they shall not be held aud
legel tender.
That the Secretary of the Treasury is
hereby authorized and directed to purchase,
Without limit, all silver bullion, trade doll |
airs, and foreign silver coins that may be
'ffered for sale at the market value of silver
md such purchases shall be continued as
ong as 4l24 grains of standard silver can /
,e purchased for one dollar of T. easury
notes. All such purchases shall be paid for |
With this new issue of Treasury notes And |
Ill holders of any of the silver coins of the
United States may present the same in any
um not less than $50 and receive therefor
Treasury notes at par for the same And |
he Secretary of the Treasury is hereby |
directed to have the silver bullion, trade |
dollars, and foreign silver pieces coined as |
asst as possible into American silver coins |
md to apply all silver coins of the United |
States that may come into the Treasury to |
he payment of the interest and principal of |
he public debt.
| did not press this amendment more, |
because many who were willing to support |
t as a separate measure were unwilling to |
place it as an amendment to this funding |
dill. But the time is coming and will soon |
De here when national banks wi be apply |
ng for new charters, and then the question
must come up again.
The great questions which are now troub-
ing the minds of men, and upon which |
parties will soon be compelled to divide, |
ire:
1. Shall we have silver or gold stand
lrd of value?
2. Shall the paper money of the country |
,e furnished by the United States Govern |
nent or by national banks?
Upon the first question l do not care to |
ay more than l have. | do not think any
ane man will say the old Democratic faith
RS did not favor the silver dollar of 4125 |
,rains.
But men in high places have asserted that
n order to return to the old Democratic /
aith we must advocate coinage by the
Government of metallic money alone, and /
We must look to bank corporations for paper
money necessary for the business of the |
The best way to settle this ques-
ion is to turn to the record and see what
he Democratic fathers have said and prac-
iced.
Mr.. Gallatin was Secretary of the Trea-
ury from 1901 to 1913. He declared that
Treasury notes were as good as coin, and
appealed to Congress for power to issue
hem in small denominations (See his
eports, volume l, pages 469-489 and $685. T
Hr. Campbell succeeded Mr. Gallatin in the
Treasury, and, in accordance with recom>
nendations from him and Mr.. Jefferson,
s25, 900, 900 in Treasury notes were issued
n 1913
Mr.. Jefferson was clear and emphatic In
lis declarations as to the power and duty of
he Government to issue Treasury notes.
md equally emphatic against what he called
the useless. usurious, and demoralizing
practices Of bank directors and their ac-