The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1909-12-09
INSIDE HISTORY OF A
FAMOUS GRANT VETO
~ Z. ]. EDWARDS.

......# - - 70 ....H
"In 1874 he rendered q great service to
his CO untry by his veto of the bill passed
by congress for the imitation Of the paper
cure icy." So declares a standard Amer
lean encyclopedia in its accounts. of
Ulysses 8. Grant as president OF the
United States; and the school histories tell
younli America that one OF the notable
acts IF President Grant was his veto, in
1874, I was popularity known as the
infiat on bill.
I hi We good reason to believe that the
inside history of this famous veto has
escaS ed chronicling until now. The man
who told me the story-the late Frederick
ID. 6appan, for many years head Of the
New York clearing house, assured me that
he had never given 1t to anyone else, n
he believed that he alone was in possess
sion Of all the facts connected with 1t.
the time of the widespread panic
and business depression hat followed the
failure Of Jay Cooke in 49," said Mr..
Tappan, "a few of New York's financiers
myself among them-received word from
I Washington that President Grant deemed
1t expedient to come to New York that
he might get at first hand such informa-
ton regarding the financial situation as
he felt he needed. You may recall that,
in addition to the panic. at that time there
was an insistent demand by a large Sec
ton of the country that greenbacks be
Immediately put freely into circulation,
the order Withholding them to be re-
scinded.
1.-The president reached New York on a
Sunday. Very few persons knew that he
was in the city; in fact, to all intents and
purposes, he was smuggled into 1t and also
into the Union League club, where some
Of us who were in the little secret ar
ranged to dine him, partly that we might
be courteous to the head of the nation
and partly that he might have good OPP
portunity to hear what every one had to
say regarding the financial situation.
During the meal i sat so near the
president that / was able to watch care
fully the expressions of his face. He was
chatty and very c~ompanionable right up
to the time for the various remarks to
be made; then slowly, but none the less
surely, there came over his features an
expression that completely transformed
them--that made his face like that Of a
craven image.
"One after another those men Of fnan-
cial authority spoke their views. l re-
member that several earnestly appealed
to the president to issue ain order by
which the greenbacks, then withheld from
circulation by lne secretary of the treas
ury, would be put Immediately into cir
culation. One of these men was ~particu-
larly emphatic; he professed to be afraid
that unless such relief was afforded the
financial situation, there was danger of
riot in New York and other large c%enters
After each of us had had his say
and our views were frequently widely d.
vergent-General Grant began to ask
questions. He was like an expert cross
examiner with the financier who was
particularly insistent hat the greenbacks
be restored to circulation. With equal
relevancy he questioned every man in the
room. ne questioned us until 1t was time
for him to take the midnight train to
Washington-and when he left us not one
Of as had been able to read in hat set
mask a hint of how the conference was
impressing its owner. Never have I seen
such capacity for concealing thought or
mental intention as General Grant dis
played that evening. Then, for the first
time, I understood his mastery Of him
self and OF his campaign secrets when he
was the commanding general Of the union
armies.
Some months later congress passed the
so-called imitation bill, bowIng to what
from all parts or the country for IRE
deemable paper money. President Grant
took the bill, studied 1t. and then sent to
congress his now traditional veto, which
stands as one OF the two great measures
identified with his administration, the
other being the Geneva arbitration. That
veto Is a model of reasoning. It struck
the first blow in favor Of a sound cur
rency system; it was the beginning OF the
end Of greenbackism.
One day, years later, In the course OF Q
chat with General Grant, I said to him:
General, 1t has always interested me,
where you. who never professed to now
much about financial matters, got the data
on which you based your veto Of the in
fiation bil.'
smiled 4 will tell YOU he said.
DO you remember that Sunday evening
we dined together at the Union league
club, following the Jay Cooke failure? II
was there, through questioning you and
the other bankers assembled, that I Sc
cured the information on which I based
my Veto" ..