Year: 1877

Kcuticud dn thoiu new AOrh mas paiu uliu
$50 in silver, vet when he come to collect
his rents he says 40, that is the poor
mans money; that Is degraded curren-
CIV; cannot take that in payment; give
me gold" So the pc or Fellow must take
$66 in silver to get $50 in gold in order TO
pay his rent, Yet these men talk about
our treating this question like dema.
gogues; they talk about our giving the
q poor man. one kind OF money and the
rich man another! Why, sir, 1t does
seem so me that the cheeks of brazen
statue would blush at such talk. They
say that silver is trash; that honest men
would not handle it; yet by the law which
they passed, and which they insist must
/ remain on che statute,book, they would
require every man who had debt due
him of $5 or less to receive in payment
this worthless, degraded money; but
when larger sums are to be paid, the
larger creditors must have gold


Let us look at the resumption act in
another aspect. 1t provides for redeem
ing greenbacks at the subtreasury in
! New York, insums of $50 and upward
4 SO that the poor man who has less than
! $50 is Obliged to sell his bi lis to the sharp
er, tie money broker, the ShyloCk, be-
fore he can get gold gold for them. Yet
they say this bill will ruin the poor man!
Now, Mr.. Speaker, | would much rather
let the poor man take care of himself
than have the bankers take care of
him. " l--I -.


When gentlemen say that the bill for
the reconciliation of silver was not
passed In the interest of the country, 1
call their attention to the fact that it was
discussed all over the land, and the vote
4 here for its passage was nearly five to
one; yet even that vote does not fully
represent the preponderance of popular
sentiment in favor of this measure. You
will find that outside of New York and
other limited communities, every body IS
in favor of it. Iat- r t.7
I there is one thing further, Mr.. Speak
er, which L wish to add: hold in my
hand schedule of the value of gold
month by month, from 1862 down to the
present time, and also the gold value of
the currency from that time down to
this. There was not one of these bonds
issued when greenbackS were not worth
a great deal less than now. Here is the
value given year by year. In 1862 it was
SO; in 1868 1t was 68; in 1864 it was A. in
1865 it was 68; In 1876 it was 92. II n


There is not one of these men who
loaned to the Government money
when it was worth within 80 per cent
of what greenbacks are now worth
Yet they talk about being paid in q
degraded and disgraced currency |
There is not one who gets silver who
will not get twenty cents on the dol
lar more than he loaned, and yet they
talk about degraded currency There
is not one who il he gets ninety cents
in the dollar but will get more than
he loaned. Where, then, comes In
the dishonesty? Where comes in the
inequity-I should have said where
comes in the iniquity? Where comes
in the injustice? Men have by shrewd
policy and the power of the lobby put
this thing on the country, and il the
country, and rises up and says, "This
shall go on no longer" they come and
talk about hasty legislation.


The gentleman from New York
would make it violation of contract
If we pass bill now. saying these
debts should be paid in greenbacks,
which were legal tender at the time
the debts were contracted. He says it
Is also a violation of contract if we re-
monetize silver. That is q strange
and prevented idea of the law of cor
tracts. Suppose the last Congress in
the manner described by the gentle
man from Pennsylvania Mr.. KELLEYl
or in the manner described by the gen
tleman from Illinois, Mr.. Fort ] pass
ed law declaring bonds should be
paid in diamonds. Would the gentle
man say if we came here 10 repeal that
iniquitous law, "You arc breaking a
contract because your predecessors
said these bonds should be paid in
diamonds" 1t is nud,un pdctum; il
is contract not binding. Such con-
tract, sir, would not be binding upon
this Congress, nor upon the country.
Nothing, IN fact, can bind us; nothing
can be claimed as binding upon the
Congress of the United States and the
people of the United States except the
money of the country at the time the
loan was contracted.


Now, Mr.. Speaker, as / said at the
outset, thisl Is question Of great mo-
ment 10 the country. There is dis
tress everywhere, and the country
looks to US for relief. Members of this
House were elected, most of them, in
full view OF the discussion had on
This very question. Many come up
here instructed as strongly as men can
be by their constituents, to put a stop
| w ShS AhiH vi system
which has brought ruin to this coun-
try. L say here TO ogentlemen who are
trying to frighten us from our proprie
ty that in our opinion the voice of the
people comes like a mighty whirlwind,
demanding we shall pass the pending
financial measures. The voice of the
people demands some justice shall be
done to the laboring-men of the coun-
try and to men who have property
other than national bonds. The pub
lie voice demands the outrages hereto.
fore inflicted shall cease.


The pubic voice demands that there
shall no longer be one money for the
bondholder aad another for the labor
ingman The country demandsthat this
discrimination shall cease. Tae coun-
try demands that the people shall not
be taxed to death to pay class of
creditors who are not themselves tax
ed at all and in coin not named in the
original contract. The country de-
mands these men shall be dealt fairly
wi h and 10 m, ; and that the debtor
shall not b. robbed for the credi-
tor. It demands we shall cease to take