The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-06-24
BONDS AND POPULISM.
Senator PETER Exposes the Illegali.
ty of the Recent Bond
Issues.
He Shows How Populists Stand by
America Against Foreign
Bond Leeches.


Bond Leeches.
One Of the ablest expositions Of the
illegal conspiracy be tween the CleYe-
land administration and the foreign
bond syndicate is that delivered by
Senator w. w. PETER, Of Kansas. on
the floor of the United States Senate
last week. The following extract
gives the statutes under which the
bonds were illegally issued, and also
the notorious contract itself.
"Iassert, Mr.. President, that in all
of our eventful history no president
before the year 1894 ever undertook or
proposed to undertake to sell gov
ernment note or government bond
without express authority Of Congress
before that time enacted.
II repeat, in all our history, never
until 1894 were government bonds or
notes issued or sold without express
authority from the legislature for the
particular act. Everyone of the Am
erican colonies, at times when they
were without gold or silver coin, pre-
pared, issued, and used paper money.
The seven years war Of the Revolu-
tion was fought to successful cOnclu-
sion on paper money; and our newgov
ernment began the issue of paper be-
fore it was three years old. Bank
notes were issued in 1871, and Treas
ury notes followed quickly after the
first bank charter expired in 1911.
Treasury notes were issued in 1872,
1913. 1914 and 1915.
''The second United States bank
toh 1ich n
years, to 1886. Treas ury notes we're is
sued in 1897, 1885, 1910. 1871, 1912 1.-TWO
issues), 1S43, 1876, 1917. 1857, 1850 and
1861. For every one of these issues
there was express authority previous
ly granted.
"During our great war there were
many issues and sales of bonds and
notes Of the government; and after
wards, down to 1877. there were many
million dollars worth of bonds issued
and sold, every bond being expressly
authorized by law previously enacted.
"In 1875 the last grant of authority
to issue and sell bonds was given in
the resumption act, and that was for
a purpose plainly stated in the law,
namely, "to enable the Secretary of
the Treasury to prepare and provide
for the redemption in this act author
ized or required.
1T was not a measure for the pur-
pose of maintaining specie payments;
it was a measure to simply provide
funds in order that the resumption Of
specie payments might be effected. 1
will not stop to read the law, because
it has been repeatedly read in the
presence of the Senate.
1.-THE resumption law has been OBJ
solete II years. l say obsolete. /
l. l,oC
either in law or in fact; that it served
made its further application absolute
ly unnecessary. But even, repeating
my words, if we give it all the force
that it is claimed by the friends of
the present bond issuing custom. still
it, has no effect at this time for the
purposes for which bonds are now be-
Ing used.
IF good for any purpose it is only
to maintain coin fund and we have
never lacked in that respect, having
all the time had plenty of coin on
hand and millions of dollars to spare.
But the President goes back to an
older law than that, the act passed in
1S62-a law that served its purpose
ago, and was never recalled until the
President of the United States has re-
vived it for the purpose Of this admin
istration. That act was passed for a
particular purpose, and that particu-
lar purpose was clearly expressed in
the language Of the law. | will read
that act, for l have observed that no
senator has ever yet referred to it in
the discussion of this subject, wheth-
er upOn the present bill or when some
other subject was pending.
1T is an act of Congress approved
on the 18th day of March, 1862, en-
titled "An act to authorize the pur-
chase of coin,and for other purposes.
1t is composed of four sections. l read
the first section:
THAT the Secretary Of the Treas
ury may purchase coin with any of the
bonds or notes of the United States,
authorized by law, at such rates and
at such terms as he may deem most
advantageous to the public interest;
and may issue, under such rules and
s regulations as he may prescribe, GER
titcateS Of Indebtedness, such as are
authorized by an act entitled AN act
to authorize the Secretary of the
Treasury to issue certificates of in
debtedness to public creditors ap-
proved March l, 1862, to such creditors
as may desire to receive the same, in
ing officers upon sums placed to their
credit on the books of the treasurer,
upon requisitionS of the proper de-
partments, as we'll as in discharge of
audited and settled accounts, as pro-
vidcd by said act
"That section is one entire para
graph: it is one entire sentence, and
only one. There is division a. the
word "interest." the division being
marked by a scmicolon. [ will now
read TO that scmicolon, repeating
"'That the Secretary OF the Treas
ury may purchase coin with any of
the bonds or notes OF the United
States authorized by law, at such
rates and upon such terms as he may
deem most advantageous to the pub
lie interest,"
"Scmicolon. It SO happens that
that sentence was Incorporated into
the Revised Statutes 0E1s74 as "A COM
pete paragraph and a. complete sec
Jion. 1t is known sSs section 37O0.
The President of the United States,
IN con tracting through the Secretary