St. Paul daily globe., 1895-11-30
REPUBLICANS ON GREENBAcks.

John Sherman, in his Massillon
speech, set the keynote for the Re-
publican party on the currency ques-
tion and, especially, it's policy to-
ward the greenback, when he de-
clared that on the whole it was the
best currency possible and ought not
to be changed. Since then there has
been no discord in the organs, and
with one acclaim they have set their
voices TO singing the praises of the
greenback with all the variation the
musical genius of each player could
devise The opposite attitude of the
administration, of the business men
where they have spoken and of lead
ing Democrats and papers, indicates
clearly that the currency question
and the retention or retirement of
the greenbacks and treasury notes of
1890 will be an issue, if not the lead
history of the greenback, it's incep-
tion and the attitude toward it Of the
eminent Republicans who either as
sumed responsibility for it's inception
or administered the finances of the
nation, become matter pertinent in
the discussion.
1t is not our purpose at this time to
show the universal attitude of all the
Republicans towards these notes at
the time of their inception. By COM
mon consent they were regarded as
eXtra-cOnStitutiona 1.-The law and
the logic for which," as Riddle, of
Ohio, said, "do not dwell in the con-
Stitution but in those triangu-
lar bits of steel called bayonets."
During the war this was the general
opinion, and it was not until after the
struggle was over that the question
of what to do with them became a
present and urgent one and was con-
sidered by those charged with the
finances. 1t was In 1865 that Hugh
McCulloch, admittedly one of the best
financierS the treasury has ever had,
took up the consideration of the prob
lem in his famous report on the
finances. 1t is a document that will
bear reprinting now, when so much
money and the relations of the gov
ernment to it. Already there were
those, the precursors of the green
hackers, who talked of national debts
as blessings, and it was this rising
tide of financial fallacy that the
sturdy financier met and breasted
In that report he recommended that
"the secretary be authorized to SELL
in his discretion, bonds for the pur-
pose Of retiring not only the COM
pound interest notes but the United
States notes.
In 1866 he treated the matter still
further, urging that the act of 1866,
authorizing the retirement at the
rate of four millions a month, be
amended so as to allow retirement
of six millions a month for that year,
and ten millions month thereafter.
There is nothing to justify the opin-
ion that these notes were intended to
be a permanent circulation
Had it been proposed that they
should be a permanent circulation
and take the place of bank notes, the
proposition would have had few ad-
Yocates." In 1867 the "Ohio idea" Of
fit' money having spre ad, McCul
1och again went largely into the dis
cussicn in his report. "The only ra-
tiona1 course he said. "that can be
pursued would be that which would
suggest itself to any honorable busi-
ness man; the careful outstanding Of
the national resources by strict econ
omy in every branch, ard a. plain rec
ognition Of the character O. Ike ma