Year: 1874

obtain in period of profound peace under
the sanction Of Congress, it would come to be
regarded as great political crime.


Now, Mr.. President, if the Senator is en-
tirely confident that his opinions are sound on
this question, why so timid? He IS bold
enough when in the right. Why not walk up
to this anfashion? | am for free banking
The Government performing all its oollga'lons
you may have all the money you can pay Tor;
not all the paper You can print denominated
money, but all the money anybody anywhere
may want to bank on. l say, the Govern
ment of the country performing its obligations
| and taking its irredeemable promises out OF
I circulation, then bank without limitation.
But this idea of banking on irredeemable pa
per is an anomaly, and nobody knows its con-
sequences better than the honorable Senator,
as his former record indelibly fixed in the
records OF Congress will show Why does he
hesitate? Why this limitation of your circu-
la,ion? Ii you want irredeemable paper
money, why not have it aa h5itum? You fix
on Maine, first Well, that would do very
well as the minimum of distribution. Why
not take it? Why all this legislative courtesy
between infationists on this side and the
other this morning? Why this balancing?
Was S266, ,000, 900 of currency which you
would get on the Maine basis more than you
could carry9 Why not carry it Why come
back to Pennsylvania and say Sill, 200, 900.
Is that enough? Does my honorable friend
think S26s ZOO. 900 more than they can carry,
more than the country will stand. only put
this, not by way of reproach, but simply to
illustrate the absurdity Of the whole thing.


No man here dare-my honorable friend
whs sits near me, who dares as much as any
man in the right, does not dare to take the re-
sponsibility of unrestricted free banking upon
irredeemable paper. But on my proposition
he dare do it, because therein there is safety;
because therein ysu come back to the great
standard of the constitution always and at all
times, and that is self regulating. Then you
have just so much money as the business of
the country demands; but here under this
proposed policy you have jus. so much paper
currency as under an excitement such as pre-
walls at the present time you can induce Con-
gress to vote.


Mr.. President, if this is an Interpretation OF
banking by Congress and through the agency
of Congress, it requires no prophet to foretell
what the consequences of this system will be
if it is perpetuated. The volume of currency
voted up to-day and voted down tomorrow
under the leadership of any gentleman who
can command the country sufficiently to back
bim Is not that so? VIII the people of this
country commit themselves to the policy of a
volume of the currency dependent on the
votes of Congress?


Mr.. Morton. Will the Senator allow me a
moment2


Mr.. Morrill, of Maine. Certainly.


Mr.. Morton. The State of Maine is en-
titled to less than So 900, 600 of the national
bank note currency properly; but she got
over SS,000,000, banking on irredeemable
paper, and has flourished as she never did
before. Now when we do not ask that amount
but ask something in the way of equalization,
the Senator comes forward and says that su ch
banking is crime He is willing that Maine
shall hold on to this crime, but Indiana must
not participate more than she has done in the
crime!


Mr.. Morrill, of Maine The Senator might
} have taken his own time to have said as much
as that, because there is scarcely particle of
justification in the statement any way. Maine
has got what she has because Indiana would
not take what was offered 10 her. Does not
the Senator know that?


Mr.. Morton. No.


Mr.. Morrill, of Maine. Maiae has got
more because Indiana would not take her
portion offered to her when the great interests
of the country demanded sacrifice. Is not
that so?


Here the presiding officer notified the Sem
ator that his time had expired. Subsequent
ly he continued his remarks upon the subject
as follows;


Mr.. Morrill, Of Maine. A dexterous re-
mark interjected by the honorable Senator
from Indiana into the few observations which
l was making at the close makes it necessary
for me to say word in reply. The remark
was that certain communities, referring to the
New England States and particularly to the
State of Maine, had an undue proportion of
the national bank currency, and that there
fore it was cheap sort of patriotism for a
representative of Maine to take the ground
now taken by her representative upon this
floor. | would have remarked, if my time
had permitted, by way of answer, that Maine
took precisely what she was authorized to
take by Law. She took the $1,000. 900 as she
was authorized according to the rule of dis
tribution. Indiana, so ably represented by
my distinguished friend, not choosing or not
being in condition to take the part assigned
to her, not having the same desire, possibly
not the same ability that she now has to take
the part that was assigned to her, it was Of
fered to Maine, and under those circumstan-
ces Maine took it.


! Mr.. Morton. Offered by an officer in d-
rect violation of the law. That is, he per-
mitted them to take it when they came and
asked for it.


Mr.. Morrill,, of Maine. We were permitted
to take it by force of law that if the cur
rency was not taken up by certain time it
might be distributed to other States and so
it was distributed to those other States. More
than that the Senator himself very well knows
that it was distributed under the stimulus of
a 10 per cent. tax by way of penalty upon our
own State circulation, with which we were
content, if we did not do it.


Another reason why Maine should not be
reproached for the conduct of her represen-
tstives on this floor is that when this conii-
ton of things was made known in the Senate
in 1870, and we were told that certain States,
which will not denominate delinquent, but
those States which had not their share of the
circulation under the circumstances to which
| have adverted because they did not care to
take 1t, were anxious to take it, did we not
and does not my honorable friend bear wit
ness to the fact that the representatives OF
Maine on this floor, and believe every Sen
ator from New England, offered it to them?
Did we not, indeed, vote for a redistribution
to equaize this circulation and give to these
States who found themselves in that condi-
ton their fair proportion? And more, does
not the honorable Senator know that we have
been standing ready and waiting to do that
same thing during this entire session? |