The Russellville Democrat., 1888-08-30


 day bill providing for withdrawal from circulation the national bank currency and for issuing instead of such currency treasury notes, usual ly known as greenbacks."
 On this resolution looking to fl Anancial reform, the democrats voted no only two and aye fifty three. The republicans voted aye one and no 112. Thus the republican party in the house slaughtered this further attempt at honest cur rency.
 In 1872, after the policy of the treasury had been we'll defined, when the secretary was day after day al lowing the bondholders to rob the people, by treating the 5-20 bonds as coin bonds and negotiating them in defiance of the contract of their creation, which made them payable in currency, the following resolutions was presented:
 Resolved, That in the opinion of this house the secrssary of the treas ury in negotiating the loan authoriz- ed by the act of July IA, 1870, has neither increased the bonded debt nor incurred an expenditure contra ry to law"
 At the time this resolution was of- fered the policy of the treasury de- partment was daily fastening upon us that system which has since so cursed the country. This resolu- tion gave emphatic approval to this whole ruinous policy, and invited and approved in advance the mis- chievous course which has been pur- sued. It passed the house by a strict party vote. The democrats voted solid mo-" The republicans voted "aye" no, and thus the re- publican party gave formal and of ficial sanction to line of policy which has scattered business calam. ity broadcast over the land. In 1873 the
 ACT DEMoNETIZlNG SILVER
 was passed. The country has been made aware of the manner in which this nefarious measure was snug gled and bulldozed through without even being read. Its contents were not known, the yeas and nays were not called on it's passage, and hence the vote of members is not entered on the journal. The Record does show, however, that Mir Hooper, a republican, moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill. He had it in charge, He knew 1t struck silver down and destroyed the double stand ard of our fathers. The Record therefore shows that a republican had charge of the bill, and by mo. tion to suspend the rules, cut of de. bate and forced it to vote. But the Record shows more. It shows that this giant swindle had been submitted to the republican secre- tary or the treasury, the republican director and controller of finances, and was by him approvad. The rec. ord on this point IS as follows:
 "Mr. Merriam. Has this bill been submitted to the secretary of the treasury; and, if so, does it meet his approvaly"
 "Mr. Hooper of Massachusetts. It has been submitted to him, and he not only approves it, but strong ly urges It's passage"
 Thus, MT. Speaker, this monstros- ity, this unmitigated viIliany which struck down silver when it was high CT in the market than gold simply to make money scarce" and increase the burdens of the country, was ma. nipulated and carried through by republican member of the house, un- der the full sanction and support of the republican secretary of the treas ury. Passed, as the bill was, under suspension of the rules, without de- bate, and not even read, there is no evidence on earth that any living man knew it demonetized silver ex. cept the secretary and member 1 have named
 We come now to that prince of de- stroyers, the resumption act of 1875. Like other similar acts, it was pass. ed without debate. Discussion was cut of. The vote in the senate stood republican aye, ,32 mo, ,only1. The democrats vote solid no. In the house republicans voted only 24 no and aye l36, making more than five to one in favor of thls great crime against the prosperity and happiness of the country. The democrats voted sol id "A to defeat it. In the senate even Carl Shurz complained that he had afound the bill on hls table to. day for the first time, and had not had time to read it or iuform him. self intelligently of It's contents In answer to this appeal for op portunlty to understand this important measure, john Sher- man the present republican secretary of the treasury, rose in hIs place in the senate and boldly declared that he would "press the bill to it's passage from that hour for ward" Evidences that he kept that promire faithfully and too well are found in the blasted homes, and for tunes and hungry women and chil- dreu from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean.
 These, Mir. Speaker, are the lead ing financial issues upon which the two great parties have divided. They mark the line between the mon ey sharks on one side and the peo pie on the other. The republican party had the president and both branches of congress during that time. At the very threshold of the system Mir. Stevens declared to his republican associates on the floor of