The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-09-15
SECRETARY NEWMAN.
Extract From His Able Speech al
Buena Vista, 0.
He Shows Up the FalsehOOds Of the Foster
Foraker BuChanan's Ad-
minlstratiOn INDICATED.


Government under the administration of
James Buchanan, to prove the inability
of the party to properly administer the
Government. They tell us that as one
Of the results of its management, our
credit had become so low the Govern
ment was compelled to pay IL per cent.
to secure necessary loans. For twenty
years they have harped upon this story
to deceive and misrepresent. They have
repeated this assertion until many in
telligent, fair-minded people have come
to accept it as an undisputed page of
impartial history. Gov. Foster and Judge
Foraker have, during the present cam
paign, in more than one instance, dwelt
with great unctiOn upon what they pa
rade as the low credit of the Gov
ernment under the administration of
James Buchanan.
Now mark how plain tale will put
them down. 1t requires but fair pre-
sentatiOn of facts to show their charges
to be unjust. The statements / make
are not gathered from doubtful or ire
spOnsible sources; they are authoritative.
They are taken from a report issued by
the Government, and compiled under
the direction of Hon. Wm. Window, Sec
rotary Of the Treasury under Garfield.
1t is a work entitled "The National
Loans of the United States from July 4,
1776, to June 30, $780," by r. A. Bayley,
of the Treasury Department, and issued
from the Government Printing office.
Now, while it is true that at the close of
Mr.. Buchanan's administration a high
rate of interest was paid, it is clear, and
the report establishes the fact, that it
was in no manner the fault of the party
in power.
LOANS DURING BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRA-
TION.
As proof of this, the fact that money
was borrowed by the government dur
ing the greater part of that administra
tiGn as low as IL has been borrowed by
the Republican party in the most pros
porous years of its power, and far below
the average rate of interest paid on its
loans, is conclusive. For instance, un-
der the act Of Dec. %, 1857. authorizing
the issue Of treasury notes, a loan was
authorized which this report describes
as follows:
Length of loan, one year; redeemable
one year from date of issue; amount au-
thOrized, Indefinite; amount issued, $52-
77S,9OO; sold at par; interest at various
rates from to 8 per cent.
OF this loan the report shows over Sc
100000 taken at 3 per cent. while other
portions were taken at 81 peTlcent. 32
per cent. 4 per cent. 4 4 per cent. and so
on up to 6 per cent.
Under the act of June IA, 1858, loan
of $20,O0O,OOO was authorized by which
this report summarized as follows:
Length of loan, Is years; redeemable
Jan. l, 1874; amount authorized, $40
100000; amount issued $20,0O0.OO0; sold
at an average premium Of 59-1OO per
cent. interest per cent"
So here we find that under this much
abused and misrepresented administra
tiOn of James Buchanan. government
loans were made at 3 per cent. and the
last loan mentioned paying per cent.
sold at premium of over 319 per cent.
THE LOAN OF 1860.
We now come to the loan of 1860, of
which these financiers make so much
ado, and which they cite as an instance
of the impaired credit of the govern
ment under Democratic rule. But what
were the ciTcumstancesp The country
at that time was in the thrOes of rev.
OlutiOn. A powerful sectional party had
sprung into eXistence-a party formed
upon geographical lines-an 0rganiza-
tion against the dangers of which
George Washington had so sOlemnly
warned his cOuntTymen. SectiOnalism
begOt sectiOnalism,a and war and attemp-
ted disuniOn lowered over the land like
a hideOus nightmare, depressing trade
and paralyZing all our Industries. Com
merce dropped, and the revenues OF, the
government from imports were cOnse-
quently so reduced as not to meet the
ordinary demands of the government.
Let us watch the cause and effect. In
June, 1860, a loan of $21,OOO,OOO
was authorized, to be used in the re-
demptiOn of treasury notes. Under this
act the sum of $7,022, 900 was borrowed
at 5 per cent. interest, the certificates
selling from par to AS per cent. pTemi-
um. This was in the spring of 1860,
when the success and advent of the Re-
publican party was not yet assured, and
the credit of the government had not
fallen so low. Only a portion of this
National Loans" to which l have re-
ferred, and good Republican authority,
says (page 75):
1T would appear that the failure to
realize the whole amount of the loan
was caused by the political troubles that
eliminated in the war of the rebellion.
Bids we're invited fer 100000 in Sept.
8, 1860, and the whole amOnnt offered
was speedily taken. 1t soon became eV-
ident that war was inevitable, and
commercial crisis ensued, during which
portion of the bidders forfeited their
deposits, and the loan was withdrawn
from the market after the amount stated
above had been realized"
From this authority, issued by Re-
publican Secretary of the Treasury, we
learn it was the political troubles that
eliminated in war; the fact that the
war was inevitable; that a commercial
crisis ensued" in consequence, which
destroyed confidence and lowered the
credit of the nation. 1t establishes the
fact that Mr.. Buchanan and his admins
tratiOn was not responsible for the low
ebb to which our national credit had
fallen, unless he was responsible for the
election of Mr.. Lincoln, which occurred
in November of that year; responsible
for the sectional bitterness that ruled
the hour, and for the internecine strife
that followed.
REPUBLICAN SUCCESS ADVANCES THE RATE
OF INTEREST.
In December, 1860, after the first tri.
umph of the Republican party, which
brought it to power in the Federal Gov
ernment, the following March Congress
authorized the issue of treasury notes,
made necessary by the failure of bidders
to take the loan offered a few months