Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1885-11-21
POLICY OF TIE CREDITOR CLASS.
E:,.

1t WAS IN 1869, tie fist year Of the
Grant admin stratio1, that the bank +
and bonlholding interest induced a Re-
publican Congress to pass solemn net
requiring the iyc~twenty bonls to be
paid, Interest and princip IN coin.
These bonds *mruntol to 81 500 .0)0. 0tO
BY the law o. their issue they we're pay-
able in "hw'uI monry'-anl Law ful
money meant grccnhacGS. worth al tat:
time 20 cents on the s IN com. In the
discussions of the subject previous TO
1860, the leading Republican statesmen,
Thaddeus Stephens and joan Sherman
among them, had vrhrmrntly insisted
on the governments right 10 pay the
bonds in grcenbacks. and Mr.. Sherman
had even gone 50 Tar as to declare that
the bondhodcr who demanded roin w1s
lttie b.tter than traitor. In spite OF
this the banks 4nd bondhoIders plsu I'd d
congress to enact ihtt they should be
paid in con only. As coin was worth 30
per cent morr than erernhacks. that law
cost the pe"pl. 80 per cent. on 81 G00,-
10000 $3.50, 100000 which sum went
into the pocket of the bondhoIdcrs.
This was the fist notable aggrc,s Oh OF
the creditor classes.
Their next step was taken several years
later, whcu they Persuaded a Republican
Congress to withdraw the grecnhAcks
The am ,unt outstanding was $i00,000,>
900, aud the process of withdrawal WAS
actually b-gun ard prosecuted till the
vo uine was reduced to $3i6, 100000,
when Democratic House, to prevent
a general bankruptcy of the debtor CT S.,
passed u biIl prohibiting the withdrawal
of any more OF thr notes-and the green
hacks have s.ood at $34G ,O00,0 000 to the
present time.
rhr next measure OF The creditor cla is !
was the act oF 1878, dropping silver from
the coinage. THIS cXnsp?rated the peo-
pie, and Democratic Congress in 1875
passed the present silver coinage act, |
uudcr which 150,000000 silver dollars
have been added to the countfy's stock |
oi mna"y. Tue eastern banks pcrsistensly |
fought this measure, and induced Mr, |
II yes to veto il: bat ii WAS pnssel in |
spite OF them and the vcto--an! 1t stands |
to-dwy one Of the wisest and most benc>
ticlcut acts of ouI whole muhata'y lcss-
lution.
Th" next exhibition of spIf>iness on |
the part of the banking interest was the |
defeat of the bill! passed 10y Il Democratic |
Congress reducing the rate ot interest on |
government bonds to three per cent.
with the Carlisle amendment requiring the
national banks to dtposit ihe new per !
cent bonds rs security for their notes.
The measure was fair and r,aSonablc, |
for, thou rh Mr. Sherman and other Re-
puhicnns asserted that per cent. bonds
could not be sold at par thrir predictions
were subsequently falsiGe'' by the sale OF
3 per cent. bonds at premium, But
it W ~ an .ccepuble to the New York
banks, and IN their arrogant opposition
to it they set deliberately To work to
prccipitae n panic on tue coun-
try by contracting the national bank cir
culuuon $l9,O0o,000 in few weeks.
They accomplished their purpose; the
bill WAS vetoed and the people defeated.
This bret survey of the monetary leg
isation of the country for sixteen years
reveals the arrogant hnhlt of the banking,
b,ndholding, and creditor CLASSES OF the
Elst.--St Louis Rr,Utilcan.