Year: 1867

The Democrats OF Cleveland, ONO,
serenaded Messrs. George II. Pendleton
and George E. Pugh, at hotel in that
city, on the evening of the 18th inst.
Mr.. Pendleton in his response took oc-
casion to explain his position in rela-
tion to the payment of the five-twenty
bonds. Abiding to his recent speech,
he said:


| endeavored to show that these bonds
ought to he redeemed in legal tender
notes az the earliest moment; that time
and experience would indicate how rap
idly they could be redeemed without
undue imitation of the currency. / as
serted that by the terms of the laws au-
thorizing the issue of the tire-Uwenties,
by the terms of the legal tender law,
and by the terms of the bonds them
selves, the government might legally
redeem them with legal tender notes.
Let me state to you the position. We
have an enormous debt We have rate
of taxation beyond all example oppress-
i've. We have Il system of legal tender
notes, a system of national banks. l am
sorry we have seen them. l did not vote
for them. and am not responsible for
them. They are great evils. They
ought to be gotten rid of. And if they
present any means of assisting us in
getting rid of them we ought to seize it.
The non-interest paying debt, consist
ing of greenback and unliquidated debt
amounts to SSO0,000, 900. The PROPOSE
ton of the Republicans to convert this
debt into bonds which pay interest in
gold. The interest on these bonds will
be $40, ,OOO, 900 In gold annually. The re-
suit will be to increase by that amount
the expenses, to convert active capital
into inactive capital, and thus to in
crease the number of those who do not
pay taxes, and to increase the burdens of
those who do pay taxes. / maintain that
this debt ought not to be so converted
that these forty-eight millions iii gold
should be saved. There are four hun
dred millions of these bonds ia the
Treasury as security for the national
bank currency. They are represented
by "a nearly equal amount of bank notes.
They call for twenty-four millions of
dollars in gold annually as interest.
Now, maintain that these bORds should
be redeemed in greenbacks. The result


would be that the greenbacks would
take the place of the bank notes, which
would be called in, and that twenty
four millions of dollars would be saved.
If that twenty four millions were added
to the forty-eight millions OF which l
have spoken, you have seventy-two mil
lions in gold annually; and this
properly compounded, would pay the
whole debt, principal and interest, in
fifteen years. And now observe that
thus far have not proposed to add one
dollar to your taxes, nor one dollar to
the currency. This process of redemp-
ton can be pressed as fast as the bust
ness and values of the country will bear
an expansion of the currency, l am
satisfied that they can bear more now.
| am satisfied that the good to result
will more than compensate for the evils.
How far the expansion may be safely
carried | cannot pretend, with exact
ness. to say. There are men around
me whose experience and knowledge or
business would enable them to judge.
The Secretary of the Treasury ought
tn be able to judge. His hand is upon
the pulse of the country. He can feel
all the throbbings of the blood in the
arteries. He can tell when it flows too
fast and strong, and then the expansion
should cease. 1t is n matter of expert
ence-not past but future experience
for the condition of the country after
the ravages of the late war enable it to
prosper under a system which would
have impaired il in time of unbroken
peace. All that maintain is this-that
Just as rapidly as the prosperous condi-
ton of the business will permit it, the
bonds should be redeemed in greenbacks,
for lust so fast will the interest be paid,
the taxes be reduced, and labor be re-
lieved from the burdens which now so
heavily Cypress it.