The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-13
1he ADVERTISERS
 " HOME STUDY CIRCLE

l been convinced by the arguments oi
 MT. Hamilton and should vote for the
 Constitution" Others followed, and
 the weak minority was changed to a
 triumphant majority. And the victory
 was almost wholly due to him. In this
 struggle he had shown himself to be
 not only a consum:nate dialectician
 but a great orator.
 After the government was put into
 operation, Hamilton was made Secre- | tary of the Treasury. No better choice
 could have been made. He knew pre-
 cisely the existing financial evils, he
 had very definite conceptions of the proper remedies for those evils; he
 knew how to administer those remedies
 in such Q way as to restore the nation
 al industry and credit to a condition
 of health The acceptance of this srdu-
 ous position by Hamilton, then the l leader of the New York bar involved a
 great financial sacrifice and hazarded
 his position as the most prominent
 political leader in his State. Yet he was | too pure a patriot and too thoroughly 1 interested in the success of the new 1 government to decline. At the same
 time the choice of so young a man
 he was only 32 years old-for that most
 perpleXing position was marked tes- 1 timony to his ability and to Washing tons confidence in him.
 When he became secretary Hamilton
 had a formidable task before him. He
 n ust create a revenue, a financial sys- tenn. confidence in the ability and integ-
 rity of the country. I say create. for I ne must make these conditions out of
 nothing. The treasury was empty and
 there was no method of filling 1t. He
 must ind a method.
 His first report" as il is called
 marks an era not only Tn his life of this remarkable man, but in the history of the nation.
 In this report Hamilton made tbree recommendations that were of funda- mental significance. First, he urged that the foreign debt of the Confeder- acy should be assumed by the new government. and paid in full. This recommendation Congress unanimously adopted. He urged in the second place that the domestic debt of the Confed- eracy. represented by the old currency ana by the other forms of obliga ;ion tc individuals and 10 particular States, should be paid at their face value to the hclder. These obligations had 70 degenerated In value as to be practic. ally worthless. The paper was largely held by spectators. who had purchas- ed 1t for almost nothing, taking their chances on it's redemption. The oppon- ents of Hamilton proposed that the holders of these debts be paid what trey themselves invested ..nd that the rest should be paid to the original owners. The supporters of the meas ure. inspired by Hamilton, replied that the obligations sholld be paid in full 10 the holders. in order that 1t might be known that the United States would always pay it's just debts to all people and that the holders of Nation al securities might learn not to sell these securities at dis codnt. Thus the national credit would be established Finally this measure was adopted.
 The third recommen1 1ation was that the Nation should assume the unpaid debts of the States incurred during the Revolution. This involved a question of the powers of the Federal govern ment. and it was strongly opposed by all those in favor of strict construct ion of the Constitution. Virginia and some of the other States, also, had paid off nearly all of their own indeb- tedness. and did not crave the privilege of aiding the more dilatory States to bear the latter's burdens. On this question Hamilton found hard sled- ding At one time the project was lost. But its authors resources were not exhausted. He was full of devices, and if he could not persuade his op- ponents by logic he would by another kind of argument. He secured the re- quisite number of votes by political log rolling" In other words, he made trade. The National capital was to be located. It was nearly decided to establish it in the North. Hamilton agreed with some of the Southern lead CTS that If they would deliver enough | votes to pass his measure he would se- cure enough Northern votes to locate | the capital on the banks of the Poto- nae. The contract was closed and the | votes were forthcoming.
 In addition to these measures Ean.il- | ton secured the imposition of a tariff | on imports. His views regarding the | tariff were that tariff should De mod erately protective to new industries. but he did not favor the duties for the purpose of enriching individuals. He secured the adoption of an excise law that added considerably to the public revenues. He also succeeded in intrn- ducing Congress to establish a United States bank that for twenty years was a means of strengthening and central izing the financial interests of tho country. Whether one agrees with views or not, no one today
 
 genius in statesmanship, and that the impress he left upon our political insti- tutions have been deep and perman ent In the century and more since he held the office we have had no man in the treasury who was his equal in in- tellectual grasp. Many of his metho Is are still in use He organized the post office. He secured the adoption of tie decimal money system. He found the without credit; he found an empty treasury; he left that treasury full-to use Webster's splendid meta phors He snote the rock of the Ma tional resources and abundant streams 1f revenue gushed forth. He touched the dead corpse of the public credit and 1t sprang upon it's feet"
 This was not a perfect man. He had faults great and many, oVermastering passions and mighty prejudices. Rut ne was d pure and upright statesman, | giant in intellect. a Titan in ability 10 grapple with any difficult problem, and conquer It.
 As our first view of this remarkable man was dramatic. so must be our last. And this view is tragedy. After re- .iring from office, he re-entered upon he practice of the law. But his poli- icaI influence was still potent. He ex- erted that influence to defeat Aaron Burr for ihe Presidency. For this act Burr. the Mephistopheles of American politics. never forgave nim. Finding { m opportunity to quarrel. Burr chdl- enged Hamilton to a duel, and popular [ sentiment on the subject of dueling vas such that Hamilton felt that he
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