River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1890-04-17

TENNESSEE CURRENCY.
Makeshifts to which People Were Force
to Resort u Century Ago.


to Resort Century Ago.
While looking through the Life and
Speeches of the late Hugh Lawson
White, a few days ago, We were so
struck with a passage in his great
speech against the Sub-Treasury bill,
delivered in the United States Senate,
March, Gath, 1888, that we concluded
its reproduction at this time might
prove as interesting to the readers of
the Sentinel as it had been to ourself.
While the reminiscence sh ows the
makeshifts to which the early settlers
were forced to resort in the absence of
either paper or metallic currency, it
also illustrates how the genius of the
thrifty and shifty East Tennessee of
that early day was holding its own with
that of the manufacturers of wooden
hams and cow-heel gun-fints in the
'1and of steady habits"
In the course of the debate on the
Sub-Treasury bill. Mr.. Webster had good
humoredly referred to law of the short
lived Estate of Franklin" which pro-
vided for the payment of the salaries of
the State officials in the skins of certain
wild animals at established values, in
lieu of money. Judge White, towart
the close of his speech, adverted plea
antly to this matter and expressed his
qualification that reminiscence of the
early legislation of his own people had
served to put the Senate in state of
such excellent humor. He added:
But, sir, the Senator knew nothing
of the practice under the State law;
therefore we have not the full benefit
which we ought to derive from his rem
iniscence. He could have related the
whole incident so much better than
can, that l regret he did not mention
this subject to me before he addressed
the Senate; if he had would have given
him the additional facts, that the whole
might have been detailed in the Senate
in his own good tempered and felicitous
manner.
at will be remembered that the Gov
ernor, Chief Justice and some other
officers were to be paid in deer-skins;
other inferior officers were to be paid in
raccoon-skins. Now, at that day, we
were all good Wings, although we had
some of the notions of the Democrats of
the present day.
1--WE thought these taxes might safely
remain in the hands of the collectors as
sub-treasuries until wanted for disburse-
ment. The taxes were, therefore, fairly
collected in the skins and peltry pointed
out in the law. But the collectors, as
report says, knew that although raccoon
skins were plenty, opossum skins were
more so, and that they could be procured
for little or nothing. They, therefore,
procured the requisite numbers of opos-
sum skins, cut the tails off the raccoon
skins, paid them into the general or
principal treasury, and sold the raccoon
skins to the hatters.
1.-THE treasurer had been an unlucky
appointment, although worthy man.
He was a foreigner, knew nothing of
our skins and peltry, and was, there
fore, easily deceived by his sub-treas-
urers. When this imposition was dis
covered the whole system went down,
and we never have had great fancy
for leaving the taxes in the hands of the
sub-treasurers, or collectors, from that
day TO this. Knoxville (Tenn.) Sem
tiual