The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1886-07-07

AAAONSessOSee 49, i
II the Treasury Department. There
~ not only = vast paper circulation
ut il the hands Of the people, but It
vas then almost exclusively in use
among twenty-five millions Of people
hen living in the North. That section
IL the country Was out Of debt. The
south had Just laid down her arms aud
had returned with her popu'a'i,u -
Ten or twelve millions. who, speaking
were without dollar.
Their country was dismantled and torn
by the ravaees Of war, and the freed
men, four millions in number, had been
into wsge-workers and
must be paid like other peOnIe.
assert here and maintain that II the
volume OF currency had remained - it
Was ut the close Of the war, Instead Of
there having been . redundancy, there
would not have been enough 70 have
answered the demands Of the whole
country reunited. But notwithstand-
ing the enormous addition that Wa
made to our money-using population
by the return Of the South, Mr.. McCul.
loch entered activsly upon the destruc-
ton Of our currency and its c0nverail D
into bonds. Was there ever such .
crime committed In the history of the
world-ever
4 MORE DIABOLICAL ATTEMPT
TO compel . people already groaning
under burdens too great to be borne, to
make bricks without straw But these
conspirators were actuated by relent.
less spirit, and they moved right ahead
regardless OF consequences. Tho main
purposes had in view were the follow
ing to place the public debt beyond
tho possibility Of payment, to increase
its amount, and to secure for all time
the right and power to control the vol
ume Of money.
Next came the credit-strengthing act
of 1869, in which the Government
pledged itself TO pay the public debt in
coin or il equivalent. This legislation,
it will be observed, followed upon the
heels OF the contraction policy inaug.
urated by McCulloch. and it In fast in
creased the value Of Government bonds
fully 46OO, 600, 900. The following year
the funding measure Of 1870 was pas
sed, whereby the currency bonds were
ill funded into coin bonds. To show
the malignant and deliberate design OF
this act, wish the clerk to read the fol-
lowing, which il taken from the report
Of Hon. John Sherman, chairman OF
the Senate Finance Committee in 1867:
It has been proposed that Congress, BY
Joint resolution, declare that the 8 20 bonds
are redeemable only in gold. This, instead
of settling the question, will only create
division in parties. and the resolution when
passed will De subject to agitation and re-
peal. This consideration induces your com
mittee, without deciding the question. to
propose the substitution Of new bonds, clear
and expli It in their terms, for the old
bonds, - they become redeemable.
You will here notice that the design
to openly head of the people, and to
preclude subsequent Congresses from
paying the debt in the currency Of the
contract was openly declared ~ faI
back as 1867, nineteen years ago. The
purpose Of this war on silver is to pre-.
vent the people from paying the debt
IN the coin Of the contract. 1t is sh0,
from the same battery, and from the
came captain Of the battery, ~ shall
show. They como on by relies, ho.
ever.
Three years later, 1873 the year the
great panic began-snver was demoae.
tised BY stealth, and the gold dollar va.
declared to be the unit Of value. This
lett the bonds payable in gold coin
only. Following this-the panic still
raging with great@st fury-C..ngresl
passed tho act Of June 20, 1874, the
fourth section OF which gave the banks
tho power to retire their circulating
notes in whole or in part. and pointed
out the method BY which it could be
done. This was to enable the banks g.
set their houses in order, and to pre-
pare them for what was 70 follow the
next year, % that they might stand
from under, while everybody else wa
to be caught ia the dead-fall. Tne nexl
year, 1876, the act for tho so-called re-
sumption Of specie payments was pass
Cd, which, with silver-demonetized,
meant gold payments exclusively.
Does any body now believe there VA
IN honest purpose to pay our obliga.
tions in gold ? Every intelligent man
knows, and every sincere man will I'd.
NIT, that the purpose WAS TO place the
larger share Of this debt clear beyond
the reach Of payment.
PAY THE DEBT IN GOLD.
Why from July /, 1867, to Septem.
Der 80, 1876, the Treasury sold upon
th4 market in Europe and Americs
4622, OOO, 900 Of gold, alter having met
al it, current coin obligations. This re-
cord IL furnished by the then Secretary
Of the Treasury himself. This Was moi
done to meet current obligations. The
resumption act was approved January
IA, 1875, and yet the record shows that
the Treasury sold 90, GOO 900 OF gold
upon the market after the passage Of
the resumption act, and then they
turned around and issued and cold
bonds to buy it back again.
This gold accumulated - high q
81, O0O, 900 in one year and SIC coo, OOO
in another, during the period between
1867 and 1875. Why was it not used
to bring the ,ereenbacks to par under
their boasted theory Of paying al obi
cations in gold coin Z Plainly, il was
not 90 used for the reason that these
manipulators wished the greenback to
remain . degraded currency, to be 10
tired from circulation as soon % pos
siLle BY converting it into bonds. They
preferred TO have the Government buy
its own deprecated paper 1t : discount
and them reissue 1t again TO the people
ct par until such time q they could
get rid Of it entirely. Truly, these
were eminent guardians Of the public
faith and credit.
But this Same resumption act also
provided for the destruction Of our
currency. Il Vas to be re-
deemed in gold coin, and the coin Was
TO be obtained BY new issue Of inter-
Longtime bonds, thus des-
troying our n0n-interest. bearing cur
rency BY converting It into interest
bearing debt. Following these twO 4n-
aotments the hanks and the Ire. slry
Dprapg into the arena like gladistors,
md We'd with each other in the des.
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