The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1882-01-19

PLUMB ON FINANCE.
The recent speech of Senator Plumb
in opposition 10 Sherman's funding bill
has attracted q large measure of attention
and has excited much comment in the
leading journals Of the country. The
question Of finance is one TO which the
senator has given much thought, and
the different points in his argument
we've made with that degree of force and
clearness which one might expect from
sspeaker SO thoroughly informed in re-
laiion 10 the matter under discussion. /
4 Washington special to the Chicago |
Tribune gives the following interesting |
synopsis Of the senator's speech:
The most Interesting argument made |
to-day, was by Senator Plumb of Kansas.
Il will be remembered that he Was one
OF the Republican senators who voted
for the funding bill of last session. He
today used plain speech in defense of
that measure, and he appeared at q loss
for language strong enough to condemn
President Hayes In vetoing it. He sur
prised some Of his Republican colleagues
BY his unreserve in talking out
in meeting" He related that
recently . national banker,
living In an interior state, had said TO
him In substance: "After the funding
bill Of last session was passed some of
us bankers were misled into the belief
that the bill compelled banks then
holding and ~ per cents as q basis OF
circulation TO replace them with per
cents. Some of US got together and
Joined in O telegram TO President Hayes,
| urging hun TO veto the measure. We
| Afterwards found out that VIC were
liwrong, and / have never regretted any,
thing more than the sending OF that
telegram. The defeat Of that was the
worst thing that has ever happened TO
/ the banks Il was the first step towards
L their downfall" In connection with
this statement Senator Plumb made an
other revelation which excited surprise
/ and comment He said that General
Grant wrote letter TO President Hayes
urging that the bill should be vetoed
Much of Plumb's speech was devoted
/ to an exposure Of Senator Sherman's
financial Inconsistencies. and TO point
ing to what he called the singular
faulty" attending the predictions
Of the senator from Ohio. He quoted
freely from Sherman's statements
before the finance COMMITTEES year ago
At the time Sherman had said that . 4
per cent was as low bond as could be
floated at par. BE referred to the say
ing that the men who came IN at the
eleventh hour got their pay, and pera
haps the senator from Ohio now expect.
ed TO get credit for his conversion, and
for his advocacy of 3 per cent. bond.
Mr. Plumb presented an interesting and
important calculation to show that, If
i the Sherman bill should pass, the GOV
eminent would lose instead OF saving
money. The tables he has prepared had
been examined by q tTeasuTy official, and
j his calculations we're prouOuneed aceu-
rate. It was assumed, in the first place,
that S1OO, OO0, 900 OF bonds would be re-
deemed annually. On this basis the in
terest on the $3.50. 600, 600 of 311<s from
now until they were redeemed would
be not quite S5S .O00, 900, but the interest
on the $3.50, 900 600 of 81 and $500. 0O0s-
900 of 81 would be over SIS, 900 goo. The
chief reason for this was the fact that in
terest on all of 100000, 600 of the 3s
would not cease till the close of the
sixth year, or one year after they become
redeemable, and the interest ON the other
500, OOO, 900 would not cease till the
end of the seventh year. This calcuia-
ton of Plumb's was at once recognized
as an exceedingly strong argument
against the pending bill, and the only
reply Sherman could make to. 1t was
: that it was not safe to count on $780,
0OO, 900 of surplus annually to be used
i, for the redemption of bonds. He thought
that SIC, O00, 900 was q liberal estimate.
Plumb contended that, taking the CON-
ing year as a whole, it Is safe TO count
: on 800, 100000 surplus, despite the
large demands in payment OF pensions
His estimate was at least plausible. He
called attention to the constantly de
creasing interest charge, and to the
probability of securing from the Pacific
, railroads between $40, 900 and $50,
[ 0OO, 600 during the next five years, and
to the further fact that, after two years,
the pension charge would be only $40,
100000. He also took ii for granted that
the people would insist on continuing
the policy of paying off the bonded debt
and would not consent to the abolition
: of the tax on whisky and tobacco. Thii
> part of the argument undoubtedly made
d strong impression on the mind.
of the senator's Plumb declAr
: ed himself in favor of such legislatIoI
. a. would flx q maximum and minimum
3 limit to the fund held in the treasury
, for the redemption of the greenbacks
He believed $4,000 900 was ample fOl
such redemption fund, and he had offer
ed an amendment directing the secre
K tary Of the treasury to use $50,0O0,0O'
now in the treasury for the redemptIOI
of bonds at an early day. The senate
/ from Kansas offered another and o sig
q nificant amendment to-day, which pro
9 vides that, whenever a national bank re
h tires any of its circulation, the secre
tary of the treasury shall substitute
therefor an equal amount of treasury
i notes receivable for dues to the govern
a ment, and that there shall at no time bl
any increase of national bank notes
This amendment would, of course
result in the gradual retirement Of tn,
b bank circulation, and the substitution
/. therefor of q non-legal tender treasur,
a note, which is substantially the PROPOSE
. tiOn contained in bill recently intro
u duced in the house Of Judge Buckner.