The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1892-05-06
SEVEN C0NSPIRACLES."
Able Letter From United States
Senator Sherman.
The Fallacies of Visionary Publication
Shown Up In Detail-Review of the
Financial System and Policy
of the Government.

/ 1891, and addressed to Mr.. Charles f.
Stokey, Canton, o., who sent Senator
Sherman a copy of Mrs. S. E. "
Emerys pamphlet called ''Seven Finan'
cial Conspiracies which Have Enslaved
the American People" Senator Sherman
replied as follows:
/ Some time since this wild and visionary book
was sent to me, and read It with both amuse
| ment and astonishment that any one could read
it with approval or be deceived By its false
| hoods
! The seven financial conspiracies" are the
seven great pillars of our financial credit the
| seven great financial measures by which the
! government was saved from the perils OF war,
and by which the United States has become the
most fourishing and prosperous nation in the
i world.
The first chapter attributes the civil war to
an Infamous plot Of the capitalists to absorb
the wealth of the country at the expense of the
people, when all the world knows that the civil
1 war was organized by Shareholders 10 destroy
| the national government and to set up a slave
holding confederacy in the south upon its ruins.
! The "Shylock' described by Mrs. Emery is q
| phantom OF her Imagination The "Shylocks
| OF the war; were the men who furnished the
means TO carry on the government and to put
down the rebellion, and included in their num-
| Der some of the most patriotic citizens Of the
northern states who, uniting their means with
the services and sacrifices of our soldiers, put
down the rebellion, abolished slavery, and pre-
served and strengthened our government
The first of her "conspiracies'' she calls the
exception clause in the act OF February p, 1882
by which the duties on imported goods were re-
quired to be paid in coin in order TO provide the
means TO pay the interest on our bonds in coin
This clause had not only the cordial support of
Secretary Chase, but of President Lincoln. and
-1Ie
the government during the war Goods being
imported upon coin values il was but right that
the duty TO the government should be paid in
the same coin. Otherwise the duties would
have been constantly diminishing with the less
ening purchasing power OF our greenbacks. If
the interest Of our debt had not been paid in
coin we could have borrowed no money abroad.
and the rate of interest instead of diminishing
as it did, would have been largely increased.
and the volume of our paper money would nee
essarily have had TO be increased and its market
value would have gone down lower and lower,
and probably ended, as Confederate money did
in being worthless as rags. This exception
clause saved our public credit by making mar
ket for our bonds, and was paid by foreigners
for the privilege of entering our markets
AS for the national banking systematic sec
ond of her ''conspiraeies Is now conceded
to have been the best form of paper money is
sued by banks that has ever been devised II
was organized TO take the place of the state
banks which at the beginning of the war had
outstanding over 500. 900 OOD OF notes of value
varying from state TO state, and most of it at a
discount of from five to twenty-five per cent
1t was absolutely necessary TO get rid OF these
state bank notes and to substitute in their
place the notes of banks which were secured
beyond doubt by the deposit OF United States
bonds, a system so perfect that from the begin
ming until now no one has lost a dollar on the
IL -, -
TEN may have to give way because we are pay
ing off orr bonds, but no sensible man will ever
propose in this country TO go back TO the old
system Of state banks, and if some security to
take the place of United States bonds can be
devised for national bank notes, the system
will he and ought 10 be perpetuated.
The third conspiracy referred to is contrac-
ton of the currency. II has been demonstrated
by official documents that from the beginning
of the war 10 this time the volume Of our cur
rency has been increasing year by year more
rapidly than our population. In 1850 the total
amount OF all the money in circulation was
s4S5, 0oO,00l when our population was 81, O0lC0i.
and half OF this was money Of variable and
changing value Now we have in circulation
8. so CD0.OO) with population of 64OJ0OOO and
every dollar of this money is as good as gold.
all kinds equal TO each other. passing from
hand TO hand and paid ont as good money not
only IN the United States but among all the
commercial countries Of the world Our money
has increased nearly four-fold while our popula-
ton has only doubled The statements made
by Mrs. Emery about the contraction OF our
currency are not only misleading but they are
absolutely false. She states that in 1853, SI73-
0000C0 Of our money passed into n cremation
furnace and in 1879 s76OO0,0)O was DESTROYED
Now these statements are absolutely false
What she calls money in these paragraphs was
the most burdensOme form Of interest-bearing
securities, treasury notes bearing 80 per cent
interest, and compound interest notes These
were the chief and most burdensome items of
the public debt They were paid of in the
years named, and were never at any time for
more than single day money in circulation
When issued they were received as money
but as interest accrued they became invest
ments. and were not at all in circulation.
These statements of Mrs. Emery are palplble
falsehoods, which il stated by a man would
justify a stronger word 1t is true that in 1866
Mr. McCulloch. secretary of the treasury under
the administration of Andrew Johnson. wished
TO bring about resumption by contraction, and
a bill was passed providing for gradual reduc-
ton OF the greenbacks to 800 0O0, OO0 but this
was very soon after arrested. and the green
backs retained in circulation l was not in
favor of the contraction of the greenbacks, and
in the very speech that she quotes in which
described the effects of contraction and the
difficulty of resuming was made against the
.
The next conspiracy" to which she refers
was the first act OF Grants administration "to
strengthen the public credit" a controversy
had existed whether the $50 bonds could be
paid in greenbacks. / maintained and still be-
lieve that by fair construction of the loan
laws we had right to pay the principal of the
bonds as thew matured in greenbacks of the
kind and character in existence when the
bonds were issued, but insist that il was the
duty OF the government to define time when
the greenbacks should be either redeemed or
maintained at par in coin. that this was a plain
obligation Of honor and duty which rested upon
the United States, and that it was not honorable
or right to avail ourselves Of our own negligence
in restoring these notes to the specie standard
in order to paw the bonds in the deprecated
money. This idea is embodied in the credit |
STRENGTHENING act
Z The fifth conspiracy" Of what she calls
"this internal scheme was the refundinZ of
the national debt This process of refunding is
regarded by all intelligent statesmen as a |
measure of the highest value. conducted with
remarkable success. At the date Of the pass AGE !
of the refunding act. July H. 1870, We had out |
standing bonds bearing 5 and per cent. interest
for about Il 800 O000O0. BY the wise providence of
congress We had reserved the right OF redeem |
ing portion of this debt within five years and
a portion Of il within ten years, so that the !
debt was, in the main, then redeemable at our
pleasure. 1t was not possible TO pay il in coin !
and ii was not honorable TO pay il in green |
backs, especially as that only could have been |
done by issuing new greenbacks far beyond the |
volume existing during the war. and which |
would at once depreciate in value and destroy |
the public credit and dishonor the country. We |
therefore, authorized the exchange, par for par.
bonds bearing T. AZ and per cent interest for |
the bonds bearing higher rate Of interest. The |
only contest in conlress upon the subject was |
whether the new bonds should run five, ten and |