Year: 1879

On the subject of paper money General


Ewing is explicit. He says it must be set
| tied who shall make and issue the paper
m oney-the Government on the National
! banks g.sIrs5 -a..


'eThe Ohio Democracy this year, true to
its past avowals, declares for the gradual
| withdrawal of national bank notes and the
| substitution therefor of Treasury notes.


which, in the language of the platform,
shall be receivable for all debts and le-
gal tender equally with coin, < X
such Government issues to be regulated
on principles established. by legislation
or organic law, SO as to secure the great
est possible stability of values"


The Republican party, being controlled
by the national banks, will give the power
to those corporations if indorsed at the
polls. General Ewing proceeds at length
to demonstrate how hurtful such a policy
would be, and continues: "Aside from this
reason against giving private corporations
control over the volume of currency, it is
to be borne in mind that the substitution
of legal tender treasury notes for bank
notes will, even since refunding, save to
the people at least $4,000 900 per annum.
With the Treasury notes so used in place
of National bank notes, United States
bonds can be bought in the market and


cancelled and the interest thereby stop


ped; while the Government will lose moth
ing whatever in taxes by such substitu-
ton, except only the one per cent tax on


circulation, that being the only tax which
I National banks pay tffatsis not paid by all
| other banks of deposit, account and ex-
| change. a....


| Had the Republican party desired to
| diminish as rapidly as possible the public
debt it would, when the war ended, have
| prohibited the incorporation of any more
| Treasury notes for bank notes.-the power


to make such substitution having been re-
served in the National bank law. If they


had thus promptly given the people an
exclusive Government currency in place


of bank notes our bonded debt would now
be at least seven hundred millions less than


it is. No reason which will bear mo-
ment's consideration can be given why this


thing should not have been done. No.
body pretends that the greenback which


redeems the National bank notes is not
| better than the thing it redeems. There


is but one reason why it failed to thus re-


duce the debt. And that is this: that these


two thousand National banks were need
ed by the party as a break-water against
| the people. Hence, since the close of the


war the people have been practically rob-
bed of about seYen hundred millions of
| dollars to prevent them exercising their
| free choice of their own servants.


Another bad feature of the National
bank note system is that its perpetuation


makes necessary the perpetuation of the
! public debt, because bank notes are only
secured by the bonds of the United States


ANY reduction of the bonds outstanding


trenches on the means Of expansion of the
system, while the payment of the whole
| debt would destroy it. Hence the Repub-
| lican party, as the faithful servant of the
Money Power, has shown no eagerness to


reduce the debt, but alacrity to increase
it; while on the other hand the interest of
the people demands, in the language of


the Ohio Democratic platform, ''that the
further increase of the bonded debt in


time of peace be stopped and that it be
| put in extinction"


This speech has already aroused the ire
| of the Democratic monopolists in the
East. Gen. Ewing is pronounced ga dan


gerous man." and gentle hints are thrown


out that his defeat would not cause any


tears to flow from Eastern Democratic
eylids It is evident that Ewing, like AL


len in 1875, will have to encounter the


united opposition of the Money Power.