Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1897-08-24


Isle and Cleveland. Neither the Wall
street democrats of that day or this,
propose hard money in place of ma
tional hank money. With the defea.
of Jackson's plan of Treasury notes
Wall street democrats then did moi
propose to give the people hard
money though if that was their pur-
pose, then was the time to do it. On
the contrary the country had re-
course to the worst kind of paper
money, the notes of state banks,
about eight hundred of which were
soon in operation with Wall street
democrats as foster parents.
II. In 1886, before president Jack
son went out of office, congress made
certain state banks public repositories
and their notes legal tender for debts
due the government, and provided
that they should perform for the
United States all that the bank of the
United States had done. This instead
of hard money law proved to be
very soft in every sense of the term.
To use vulgar comparison it was
jumping from the frying pan into
the fire."
10. Mr.. Van Buren, became presi.
dent March 4, 1887. In about three
months after that time the banks oil
suspended specie payments owing
the government about $4,000, 900,
they could not pay except in their
own notes. The government had
paid off the national debt, did not
owe dollar in the world, but with a
$40, 900, 600 loss the government was
without money in the treasury. The
country did not resort to hard money
for relief. 1t would have been use.
less had they called for coin. 1t was
not in the country or to be had. The
treasury was compelled to resort to
Treasury notes with and without in
terest, which Jefferson said was the
only resource of a nation under such
circumstances, and which Jackson
only four years before had urged the
people to make their permanent
money. From 1887 to 1S4s, about
500, 900, 900 Treasury notes were is
sued, and they conducted the country
safely through the bank suspension
and the Mexican war. They were
better than hard money, and sold at
per cent premium over hard money
in Mexico; they equal'zed the ex-
changes between the east and the
west, the north and the south as coin
could not have done. To ship coin
in those times cost from 2 to q per
cent. but it could not be obtained.
The Treasury NOES being equal I'M
der the law in payment of all debts
due the government, were of the
same value in all parts of the coun-
try. The Wing members of con
gress were bitterly opposed to these
notes, as the republicans of the east
and the Wall street democrats are
now; but when leaving congress for
their homes, they always took their
pay in these notes, in preference to
to state bank notes, whether the
banks professed to pay coin or not.
Previous to 1862, no administration,
excepting q democratic, had issued
Treasury notes. They were emphati-
cally democratic money They were
as Jefferson aud Jackson said they
should be. issued by the authority that
was authorized by the constitution
to make money, and fix the value
thereof, and of foreign coins.
ID. From 1887 until 1910, the first
effort of the domocaatic party and of
any considerable portion of the
American people, to obtain coin only
for tie Treasury was made. Then it
was advocated by Van Buren, and
Benton. At first their object was SIM
ply to separate government money
from that of individuals and corpora
tions by divorcing the government
FROM all banks, and by the establish
ment of the sub-treasury. But the
question came up naturally, what
kind of money shall be held in the
treasury. The leaders of this branch
Of the democratic party did not think
of providing the people with sound,
reliable, uniform currency. They
left the state banks to supply the cur
rency of the country. All that Van
Buren, and Benton aimed at was to
furnish money for the government.
They induced majority of congress
to pass an act making gold and silver
6 bin only. the money receivable by
the government for taxes and duties
and the payments for the public
lands. Though the government was
then being sustained by Treasury
notes this law excluded them from
the treasury. Mr.. Calhoun ably de-
Tended Treasury notes, showing their
equality with coin wherever they had
been tried, and theirgrea superiority
over bank notes, whether state OF
national. But the hard money pre-,
vailed this one time. AS the treasury
notes then in the hands of the peo
pie provided upon their face, and in
the laws enacting them. that they
should be received for all debts due
the government. the laws of 1910
which excluded them the treasury
was violation of the constitution in