The Forrest City times., 1892-07-15
RepubIIcan BIunders.

If republicans decire to lnJect dis' cussion of their financial record into the presidential campaign they will bt cheerfully met by democrats. There Is not point in that record which can be defended by fair argument. It has been one constant attack upon the pro ducing interest of the country for the benefit of a favored class. Every at mpt to:explain it has been character ized by falsehood and misrepresenta- tion. A case in point is the furnish ing of false figures as to the circulation of money at the close of the rebellion Last year the secretary of the treasury used his official position for the pur- pose of spreading transformation Tn this resp pect. He distributed statistics prepared for the purpose of showing that the circulation at the close of the war was SlS.99 per capita instead of $50. as has been 3bunaantly proven by republican authority. He now repeats the statement in utter disregard of the fact that those best informed in his own party have have disproved the figures now offered in defence of the policy of contraction pursued under republican rule.
 The facts in the case are too plain to be covered by treasury documents prepared for campaign purposes. There was in circulation at the close Of the war in round numbers, S2. 600 ,000, 900 of greenbackS, certificates of indebtedness and interest bearing notes. That these formed part of the currency of the country was argued by no less repub- lican statesman than Senator sherman, then chairman of the senate finance committee. In debate on the ques- tion of retiring the notes thus used for circulation, Senator Sherman protested that the interest-bearing obligations were as much part of the circulating medium as the plain greenbacks. He said they were used as bank reserves, and to this extent released for active circulation just so many treasury notes. This was the position assumed by the highest financial authorities in the Re- publican party, and it was by the force of their arguments that the iniquitous policy of contraction was stopped. During tho course of his argument Senator Sherman warned his colleagues that every business man in the country had conformed his affairs to the vol ume of circulation created by the gov ernment and that it's forced contrac- ton would bring widespread ruin. The result proved the correctness of his position, though it was brought about by his own in yielding to the de- mands of his friends in New York financial institutions.
 Republicans will not press this mat ter without being forced to admit that the crisp notes paid to the soldiers as they were discharged were not mon ey." They will be confronted with the fact that an issue of these interest bearing notes larger than the total sum named by Secretary Foster as having been in circulation at the close of the war was made under single law and paid to the soldiers upon their discharge. These were the notes which afterward formed part of the bank reserves and to which Senator Sherman referred on the occasion noted By their forced retirement thousands of business men were forced into bankruptcy and hosts of veterans who hld purt Ina sed homes and farms on valuation fixed by the larger vol une of money saw their holdings sold under the hammer to satisfy the greedy bOndholders, in whose interest repub- lican legislation was framed. If the Wall street end of HarrisOn's cam paign committee desire discussion of this question there will be no delay in democratic acceptance of this chal- leuge. Chicago Times.