Year: 1878

man to show that he expressed the opinion
that the bonds were payable in legal-tenders.
The speaker characterized the acts of Con-
gress proposing to pay the bonds in coin at
the beginning of repudiation. The presens
secretary of the treasury was the chief of re-
pudiators, foremost among the violators OF
contract, and leader among those who in no
instance kept the good faith Of the Govern
ment with its own people moment after they
found that bad faith would bring them richer
gains.


Mr.. Voorhees, commented at some length on
the act of 1869 to pay the bonds in coin, and
said that in some countries the habit prevailed
of building cairn, pile Of stones, to mark
the spot where some tragic event had happen
ed. So let the American taxpayers, when.
ever the act of 1869 is cited, each cast stone
upon it to mark the place in American histo-
ry where reputation began, and where the
rights of the people we're mercilessly and
treacherously slaughtered. He next COM
mented on the refunding act of July 18th,
1870, and said that it was brought in to aid
in the false assertion of the act of 1869, that
our whole bonded debt was payable in coin.
He argued that both of these acts were franz
ed in the interest of the bondholders, and
under their dictation. But even under these
acts the bonds were payable with either gold
or silver coin, and not payable with gold
alone.


Mr.. Voorhees, then spoke at some length in
regard to the advantages of silver coin, and
said that the silver dollar came to us with the
birth of our government. 1t was devised as
unit of value by Thomas Jefferson and adopted
by Congress in the days of Washington, Ham
ilton and Morris. It stood as honored as gold
through every storm that beat upon this gov.
ernment. It is associated with all our devel-
opments, our strength, our growth, and our
glory. He then spoke of the act of 1873 de-
monetizing silver, and said it was passed with
out note of warning to the American peo-
pie that their favorite coin was about to be
destroyed as money. It's enactment was as
completely unknown to the people, and indeed
to four.6fths of Congress itself, as the presence
of burglar in house at midnight to its
sleeping inmates. He argued that the silver
dollar was eliminated from our money system
under cover of false pretences, and that silver





any more than gold. Of the entire trading
and commercial populations of the whole
earth, 696, 6,250,000 more have silver alone as
their standard of values, and transact all their
business upon it as specie basis, than those
who have gold alone for similar purposes, and
754, 100000 more people use silver alone than
use gold and silver both as their metallic cur
rency. Referring to the specie resumption
act of January IA, 1875, he said that an at
tempt to force the resumption of specie pay
ments with gold and silver both as our me.
talic basis, would be a cruel failure at this
time. He spoke Of the great shrinkage in
values arising from the shrinkage of money
in circulation, and said it was the immediate
cause of that general bankruptcy and ruin
which now fll the land. If the policy of this
government has been to inAict the greatest
misery on the greatest number, its success has
been complete. He was not an inAationistin in
any sense that would disturb the true inter-
ests of trade and commerce. During the
whole four years of 1863, 1854, 1866 and
1865, when the volume of our currency aver
aged over thousand millions, the business
failures of the entire country, reached only
2,167, less in number than occurred in any
three months of the year just closed. Du-
ring the period which is now stigmatized as one
of imitation, the windows of business houses
were not darkened, and business men did not
20 as mourners about the streets. The labor
or did not 90 home without bread to his wife
and children. Helpless millions did not cow
er and tremble at the approach Of winter for
the lack of food and shelter. The public
peace was not broken by riots in resistance to
starvation wages. The courts were not prin-
cipally occupied in enforcing collections, fore.
closing mortgages, ordering sherifs' sales, or
in Furnishing the destitute and the outcast.
These are some things which did not take
place. Others that did are equally striking.
Good wages and good prices stimulated every
laboring mans muscle, every business mans
brain, and every power of machinery, into the
highest and most productive activity. Hope
and encouragement were in every heart New
farms were bought and cultivated. New
workshops were opened. New manufactures
we're established. New mines of iron, coal
and silver were sunk into the earth, whose
contents in return assisted in the glad acclaim
of universal individual and national pros
perity.


Mr.. VOORHEES, argued that there is not
dollar to-day in the hands of the people on
which they have not paid tax for the priv
lege of having it put in circulation by the
government. The national bank is the mid
dleman between the government and the peo-
pie, and is enormously paid for doing what
the government ought directly to do ITSELF
He spoke of the evils of the national banking
system, and said that if the national banks
were blessing, then our public debt was a
blessing, for the debt supports the banks. In
concluding, he said that those for whom he
spoke demanded the restoration of the silver
dollar and its unlimited coinage, not fearing
it would become too plentiful, and that it be
made full legal tender. Second, they de-
manded the repeal Internationally of the
specie resumption act of January IA, 1875.
Third, they demanded that the national
banking system be removed and circulating
medium provided by the government for the
people without taxing them for the privilege
of obtaining it, and they ask that the amount
thus placed in circulation should bear a
reasonable and judicious proportion to the
business transactions and the population of
the United States. Fourth, they demanded
that the currency authorized and circulated
on the authority of the government shall be
made legal tender in payment of all debts,
public and private, including dues to the
government Fifth, they demand that here
after the financial policy Of the country be
framed permanently in their interest, that
they shall not be Disseminated against in
future legislation as in the past, and that their
prosperity, and not the mere growth of income
and retired capitalists, shall be the primary