Evening star., 1900-10-22

close of the session he returned to Ohio.
and prior to December. 1861, had recruited
expense, for the United States government.
two regiments of infantry, squadron Of
cavalry and a battery of artillery, COM
priSing men of good material as ever
enlisted for the war.
Resuming and retaining his seat in the
United States Senate, by the advice of
President Lincoln and Secretary Chase (for
1t had been his purpose to resign 1t and
offer his services to the government as a
soldier), at the close of 1851 he was promi-
nent and laborious in his oversight of the
public finances and in his endeavor not
only to provide for the support of the
armies in the field, but to maintain and
strengthen the public credit. He sternly
resisted an attempt to increase the pay of
members of Congress.
On the Senate committee of finance much
of his time was absorbed in hearing and in
proposing amendments to the tax bills.
many of which were of the most important
character. He voted for some of these, as
temporary expsdient to raise money for
revenue although he considered them as
indefensible in principle. He took lead
ing part in pressing that clause of the bill
to issue United States treasury notes
which made them legal tender. and when
the Dill reached the Senate he was the
chlef, II not only, advocate of that policy
poth in the committee finance and on
the floor of the Senate.
In the summer of 1862. at the request of
secretary Chase, he took charge of the ma
IN the Senate in its favor and prior to its
passage. although it was before the SEN
ate. on and on, for ten days. He advo-
Gated, however, imposing upon the banks
severe burdens of taxation, holding it as
indispensable that they should not only
pay the expenses of their administration
but also make a liberal contribution to the
government.
Chairman of Senate Finance Com
mittee.
Duriner tho continuance of tba ,ra, ho
often visited the soldiers on the field After
the war, and when he had been reelected
as senator, he became chairman of the
Senate committee on finance when Mr.
Fessenden of Maine was appointed Secre-
tary OF the Treasury, but voluntarily sur.
rendered the position to Mr.. Fessenden
When the latter gentleman returned to the
Senate His opposition to the issue of
per cent bonds to pay off the floating public
debt and liabilities was very earnest and
he has never, 1t is declared, entertained a
doubt that If the policy he then recon-
mended had been adopted the whole of the
seven-thirty and the floating Indebtedness
might have been funded with a per cent
bond.
His speeches on funding the public debt,
delivered in the Senate April and May -,
1866, covered the whole ground, in re, and
attracted the attention of the country. He
was, however, almost alone in his opposi-
ton to the act, which was finally passed,
den served through this session chair
man of the Senate finance committee and
then resigned the position to Mr.. Sherman.
Henceferth the latter was distinctively and
positively identified with the various finan-
cial measures of Congress.
He can fairly claim to have been the au-
thor of the refundng act. and to have
taken the most prominent part in the diff
ferent financial bills which became laws.
In 1870 the refunding act was adopted sub
stantially as he had proposed it, but with
out the features relating to the resumption
OF specie payments which he had adVocate ted.
The senator supported the tariff of 1867,
was largely instrumental in framing and
passing the several acts repeating internal
revenue taxes and reducing them to low
rate on whisky, tobacco &c.
When the Credit Mobillier" investigation
was set on foot by Congress Mr.. Sherman
was attacked by certain newspapers in
Ohio because, as 1t was said, he had amass-
ed great wealth from the war and must
have made it improperly. These charges
he met on the spot by two letters. the one
addressed to the Cincinnati Enquirer and
the other to Judge Welcker of Ohio. The
letters, sustained as they were by Volun-
tary declarations from political adversaries
in his state, squelched these accusations at
once. and the allegations have not since
been repea ted, save a mere tmputauon
founded upon false estimates of Mr.. Sher-
mans property.
Resumption of Specie Payment.
In December, 1874, he initiated at Wash
ington the movement for the resumption OF
specie payments and was chosen to the
United States Senate for the third time.
Through the long financial discussions that
followed and paved the way to specie pay
ments Mr.. Sherman never wavered nor lost
courage. In the presidential campaign OF
1876 he made an able speech at Marietta,
Ohio, which supplied speakers and writers
the country through with facts and figures
upon the subject. After the election he
was one of the celebrated visiting commit
tee sent 10 the state Of Louisiana to
watch the counting of votes.
President Hayes was inaugurated March
i, 1877 and at once appointed Senator Sher-
man his Secretary of the United States
treasury. Mr.. Sherman forthwith took
measures to hasten the sale of the Az per
cent bonds for refunding purposes, and
made a contract with certain bankers to
sell 5000 100000, which he found outstand-
ing at his assumption of office; and al
though when he became secretary but $780,
OOO, 900 had been disposed of, before July l.
1877, $2OO,OOO,0OO had been taken, of which
$15,OOO,0OO were applied to resumption pur-
poses. He then withdrew the balance OF
the bonds from the bankers.
By these and other operations in less than
six months he raised the credit OF the
country, at home and abroad, that he was
enabled to sell 4 per cent bonds at par. and
also to exact from the bankers who took
the loan condition that they should open
it to the public, in order that all might
share in the benefit likely to accrue from
secured at least S2O,OOo,OOO for resumption
purposes. Books of subscription to this
loan were opened throughout the United
States Immediately, and before thirty days
had gone by more than s75.OOo,OOO of bonds
had been sold, of which $25O00,OOO were re-
served for purposes of resumption. When
Congress met QS77-7S the Secretary had to
contend with an opposition to his policy
that caused much depression in the public
credit, but he persevered in it, and although
before the 18th of January, 1879, the day
fixed by law for resumption, the opposition
to his policy had assumed the form of per-
sonal hostility in the fruitless endeavor to
convict him of political malversation during
the visit to Louisiana in 1877, he had ac-
cumulated in the United States treasury
14OOOO,00O in gold six months before that
day.
Financier of the Highest Order.
The detailed record of measures by which
the legal tender notes of the government
had reached a par value, and by which
specie resumption became an accomplished
fact at the time fixed for 1t, exhibit the
man under whose lead this was done as a
financier of the highest order. So marked
was the conviction of this fact that the
board of trade in New York city recog-
nized his services in the achievement by