TiiK Political Issiks of tiik Timk. 
 
 J:\ 
 
 V Si^EECH 
 
 HON. GEORGE W.iWRARV, 
 
 SHCllI/rARV OF WAll 
 
 DKI.1VEHED AT 
 
 KEOKUK, IOWA, SEPTEMBER lOtli, 1878. 
 
 WASHINGTON, i). C. 
 NATIONAL URl'UBLICAN PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
 1878. 
 
'IIK roiJTirAl. ISSIKS OF TIIK TlMK. 
 
 ^ SFEECII 
 
 IIOiN. GEORGE W.iFCRARY, 
 
 SKCllETARY OF WAl! 
 
 riKI.IVKKKD AT 
 
 KEOKUK, IOWA, SEPTEMBER lOlli, 1878. 
 
 WASIIIXCTOX, I). ('. 
 NATIONAL KKI'IHLIUAN rUHLISHI.V(J (OMI'ANY 
 
 187.S. 
 

 3y traosfei 
 
 ]UL 30 1915 
 
THE ruLlTlCAl. ISSUES OF Till': TIM 
 
 Fellow Citizens: 
 
 I luivc uccei)ted with groat pleasure the invitation of thi- 
 Republican State Central Committee to address my <>ld 
 friends and neii;"hi)ors upon tin' political issues of the day. 
 It has been my good tortune in the course of my official lile 
 to receive many tokens of contidence from the jteople of this 
 city, of all i»:irtics, and it is but natunit that L slioiiM 
 desire on this occasion to siieak to you without hittcrncss, 
 though with frankness; to treat my political opponents witli 
 perfect fairness, while at the same time I. utter j.laiiily and 
 distinctly my own opinions, and support them by such argu- 
 ments as seem to me satisfactory. I will not assume upon 
 all points to speak the sentiments of all Re[>ublicans. The 
 Republican party is agreed ui)oa the truth and im[iortance of 
 certain great [)rinciples, whicli, as we believe, must be em- 
 bodied in legislation and enforced in administratioii to the end 
 that peace and prosperity may prevail and free government 
 prove to be grandly successful in our beloved country. But 
 the Republican party is not narrow, bigoted, or intolerant. It 
 not only permits, but by the very genius of its policy it encour- 
 ages indciiendence in thought and action within certain 
 reasonable limits, and if it did not it could not be the great 
 and powerful and [irogressive organization that it is. Free 
 men, free thought, free soil, free si.eech, have been among 
 its grandest rallying cries from the begiiming, and to-day its 
 motto is, ^'lu essentials, unity; in nou-essentials, liberty; in 
 all things charity." 
 
 TIIK KKrri!I,U"AN UECi»Rl>. 
 
 I have no sympathy with the disposition manifested in 
 certain ([uarters to sneer at the claim that the l\ei»ublican 
 
party is entitled to confidence and support because of the 
 grand record it has made for itself and for the country in 
 the past. I freely admit that we cannot stand upon that 
 alone. I freely admit that we can neither win success nor 
 deserve it unless we are right upon the i&sues of the present, 
 but I insist that, with a party as with a man, character is an. 
 all-important thing. I know that we as a party must not 
 only point backward with pride, but also forward with 
 promise and hope; but still it remains true that before you 
 can safely trust a party with the exercise of power j^ou should 
 be well assured of its patriotism, its devotion to the Consti- 
 tution and th(i Union, — in a word, that it is inspired and 
 controlled by men whose aspirations liave been in the past 
 and will be in the future in the direction of liberty, jus- 
 tice, equal rights, and the very best interests of all the peo- 
 ple. IIovv are you to judge of this? Undoubtedl}^, by ref- 
 erence to what the party has done in the past. I speak not 
 now of particular individuals, but I utter a truism when I 
 say, speaking of political organizations, that a party with a 
 record of patriotism and faithfulness in the past, is to be 
 trusted now in preference to a party with a record of disloy- 
 alty and unfaithfulness. The party that stood by the country 
 in the hour of peril, when the Union and all that it repre- 
 sents were in issue ; the party that stood for freedom and 
 against slaver^', for the government and against rebellion, 
 for the war for the Union and against surrender — that stood 
 for the right and maintained it, and carried the country to 
 final victory under the banner of liberty and union, is enti- 
 tled to the }»r()l'(>und gratitude and confidence of tlie Ameri- 
 can })e(»[)le. And all this is true, notwithstanding the fact 
 of which we are so often reminded by our Democratic 
 friends, that tlie war is over, the [Iniou saved, and slavery 
 dead. It is all ti-ue, notwithstanding tlie fact, if it be a fact, 
 as I think it is, that no considerable number of persons, iSTorth 
 or South, would revive slavery, renew rebellion, or dissolve 
 the Union, if thej^ could. It is true simply for the reason 
 that men and parties arc entitled to confidence and praise 
 
5 
 
 for <:;o()(l public fiorvioo, for «xro:it itiid |ititrit>fic actions, and 
 for fiiitlifuliiess in hours of ])nl)li(' |»('ril. 
 
 Nor is this the political i:;ospcl ol" hate and vindiclivi.'n(3Srt, 
 as(lainu'(l hy oui' ()[)ponents. It is perfectly consistent with 
 the broadest nationality, and with an earnest desire to re- 
 store harmony, t;-ood will, and lasting concord among all 
 till' States, all the sections, and all the races of men in this 
 land. Ueeause we claim credit lor the Republican party tor 
 having been true to the Union throughout the dark <lays of 
 the rebellion and lor lia\-ing carried th<> country through 
 that struggle to victory and [)eace, it by no means follows 
 that we may not sincerel}' desire 
 
 ei>Ml'i,Ki'K IlKCONCLI-lA TloN 
 
 and a hearty union with the people of the South. 
 
 General Grant uttered the sentiment of the country when 
 he said, " Let us have peace," and he was rightly applauded 
 when he adopted, as one of the measures for securing peace, 
 the recognition of, and hearty co-operation with, such of the 
 late confederates as were willing to accept in good faith the 
 legitimate results of the war, and to stand with him and 
 wnth the Republican party upon the principles embodied in 
 the amendments to the Constitution. While standing tirml}- 
 by the great principles for the establishment of which the 
 war of the rebellion was fought and won; while tirmly de- 
 manding always and everywhere all the fruits of our suc- 
 cess in that struggle, sound jiolic}^ re(|uires that we welcome 
 to })olitical fellowship all who are noio heartily and honestly 
 with us ui)on the great and essential principles of our [)olit- 
 ical faith. Such I believe to be the s[)irit of the Republi- 
 can party to-iiay toward the people of the South, We de- 
 sire peace, union, prosperity, and happiness for the whole 
 country. We know these blessings can be secured for our- 
 selves, and preserved for those who come after us, only 
 through the adoption of the great principles for which the 
 Republican party stands — the [)rinciples of equal rights, 
 equal protection, equal justice, and an e(|ually fair chance in 
 
the race of life for all citizens, higli and low, educated and 
 ignorant, rich and poor, black and white. We must, there- 
 fore, remain unalterably hostile to every man and every 
 party not imbued with the spirit of these principles. We 
 oppose the Democratic party because, as an organization, it 
 is in spirit undeniably hostile to them. No doubt there are 
 individual Democrats who would gladly see the most ample 
 justice done to the colored race, and who sincerely desire 
 protection, education, improvement, and perfect freedom for 
 that people. But such Democrats are out of harmony with 
 the Democratic party as a whole, and are in harmony with 
 the Republican party. It is idle to expect the Democratic 
 party of the nation to become the sincere and reliable friend 
 and cham})ion of the rights of the colored people. This is 
 a fact which every intelligent person understands and which 
 must be taken into account in considering that party's claims 
 u^Kin the people. 
 
 PEACE AND PROTECTION. 
 
 Tiie Republican party desires peace throughout all our 
 borders, but holds that a peace that is worth liaving and 
 that will last, must be based upon and spring from the en- 
 forcement of equal justice and equal protection for all. We 
 seek reconciliation upon this basis; we will have it upon no 
 other. iSooner or later it will come upon our terms. When 
 we armed the freedman with the ballot we gave him a 
 weapon with which he will, in time, learn to defend his 
 risrhts. Time will demonstrate that we made no mistake in 
 conferring suffrage upon the emancipated race. It is not in 
 the nature of things that a million of American freemen, 
 with ballots in their hands, can be permanently ignored and 
 trodden down. The Government of the United States, in 
 my judgment, possesses ample power to provide for the pro- 
 tection of its citizens in the enjoyment of all rights guaran- 
 teed by the Constitution. Congress is expressly authorized 
 to provide by apjiropriate legislation for the enforcement of 
 the three great Amendments to the Constitution, and is by 
 
necessary im]>licati()ii iMiipowered to provido lor (mit}'*!!!!:; 
 into cxo('uti(^n nil thf t-rovisions of that instrunuiut.. Tiu; 
 Re])ul)li('an imrt v is in lavor of exorcisinij: this jiower just so 
 far as niiiy 1)0 necessary to secure to all citi/ens alik<' tlie 
 Itenetit of every provision of our national charter. The 
 Iieoj.le of the States can, if tlicv \vill,hy respectiiii:; the rii!;hts 
 of each otliiT, iind hy eiiiift inu' nnd cnfoi'cinLC appro|»riate 
 State laws, amply protect the citizens of the I'nited States 
 within their itorders, and thus rendei- it unnecessary for tiie 
 Federal Government, ex('e[it in nirc- eases, to intervene for 
 that purpose. 
 
 Iowa, does this to the entire satisfaction ofevciylxxly. ihit 
 if any State fails or refuses to afford such iirotcction, is the 
 National Government powerless and the citizen defeneeless ? 
 I say, No! Whatever is a crime against the United States 
 or a violation of the national Constitution, may l)e jirovided 
 ao;ainst by national law. When the States of the South 
 shall, of their own accord, protect all citizens, without dis- 
 crimination, as the States of the North do, we may expect 
 to sec and welcome the return of peace and fraternity ; but 
 without this, the only ])cace we can have is the peace of 
 slavery — the jteace which the o[)pressed can always secure by 
 submission. The South is now on trial. There is surely no 
 excuse now, even by their own confession, for a continuation 
 of the process by which, prior to March 4, 1877, all the South- 
 ern States but three, and nearly all the congressional dis- 
 tricts, many of them having confessedly large Republican ma- 
 jorities, were carried over to the Democratic part}. When 
 another election comes, we shall see whether, when left to 
 themselves, the southern Democrats will allow a free ballot 
 and guarantee a fair and honest count of the votes cast. If 
 the process of " bulldozing" is continued, or if the plan of 
 systematic fraud be adopted in lieu of that of systematic out- 
 raire, the whole country will understand tinit it is because 
 the white Democrats of the South do not intend to res[>ect 
 and obey the amended Constitution, nnd are resolved that 
 they, wlu'tlu-r in the niaiority or in t ln' minority, will rule 
 
in all that section. If, unhai)pily, this purpose should be 
 made manifest by the logic of events, you may rest assured 
 that the people of this country will find a peaceable and con- 
 stitutional remedy. Of course, we are bound to recognize 
 certain constitutional limitations upon the power of the 
 United States. We know that we can, in time of peace, ex- 
 ercise no strictly war powers ; and it is a fact which we are 
 sometimes inclined to admit with regret, that there are 
 many crimes which the United States cannot punish. It is 
 not long since the country looked with horror upon the aw- 
 ful massacre of the Chisholm family in Mississippi, and the 
 public indignation was vastly increased because the United 
 States could not, and Mississipin would not, punish the 
 guilty wretches who perpetrated it. Ordinarily, the crime 
 of murder is not within the jurisdiction of the Federal 
 courts. 
 
 But the right of Congress to provide for a fair election of 
 Federal officers, and for the due enforcement of those pro- 
 visions of the Constitution which guarantee the right of suf- 
 frage and civil riglits to the freed people, is beyond dispute. 
 The great, important, and fundamental diiierence between 
 the two parties is this: under Republican rule this jurisdic- 
 tion will, if necessary, be exercised ; under Democratic rule it 
 would not be. That the freedmen in the South have in the 
 past been maltreated and persecuted, and to a large extent 
 denied their rights as free American citizens under the Con- 
 stitution, is matter of history. The South itself has sutiered 
 the heavy penalty which follows lawlessness, outrage, and 
 the oppression of the innocent and helpless. The South will 
 continue to suft'er in all her material interests until the Con- 
 stitution and the law shall be faithftilly observed and en- 
 forced throughout her borders, and all her people are fully 
 and equally protected in their rights. I make no prediction 
 as to the future, but I hope there will be found in the South 
 a large and increasing element among the white race, to 
 whom an ap[K^al for [)eace and j)rotection will not be made 
 in vain. To the Bourbon Democrat, still clinging to the 
 
skeleton of slavery, iind approving; the utterances of Jeffer- 
 son Davis, we cannot appeal with any hope of success. But 
 I trust it may not be altogether without hope if we appeal 
 to the other and better class of Southern white men to come 
 and stand with us in a great national party pledged to give 
 the country peace and prosperity, by giving to all the people 
 equal rights under the Constitution and before the law. 
 
 DEMOCRATIC ECONOMY. 
 
 I shall not, on this occasion, weary you with many figures, 
 but a few striking facts should be stated in illustration of 
 the boasted economy of the Democratic party. When that 
 party came into power in the lower house of Congress, in 
 December, 1875, the presidential contest of 187G was loom- 
 ing up in the near future. It was therefore deemed neces- 
 sary by the leaders of that party to make a great show of 
 retrenchment. It was accordingly announced, with a sounding 
 of trumpets all over the country, that the Democratic House 
 would reduce the annual expenses of the Government to the 
 tune of some sixty millions of dollars. This claim was 
 considerabl}^ modified before the end of the first session of 
 the Forty-fourth Congress ; but after all of the appropriation 
 bills of that session were passed it was claimed that an actual 
 saving of nearly thirty millions had been secured. The 
 appropriations for 1876-'7 had been arbitrarily cut down, so 
 as to show a reduction of nearly that sum. It was charged 
 by the Republicans that the larger part of this reduction 
 was fictitious, being only a withholding or postponement of 
 necessary expenditures to be provided for, .ifter the election 
 by deficiency bills or in some other way. We charged that 
 the arbitrary reduction was an electioneering trick to deceive 
 the people, pending the presidential election. This was vehe- 
 mently denied, but time has proved the charge true. Tlie 
 books are now posted, and we find that since the ])residen- 
 tial election deficiency bills have been passed amounting in 
 the agirregate to $14,534,672.52, and that ai)out one million 
 
10 
 
 of deficiency items have been provided for in the sundry 
 civil bill, passed at tlie late session. We find also that 
 the aggregate of appro^nnations for 187(3, when the Demo- 
 crats of the House were preparing for the election, was 
 $148,535,798.41, while the aggregate of the same appropria- 
 tions for 1878, passed by the same party managers, is $172,- 
 57(3,692.15, or an increase in 1878 over 1876 of $24,040,893.74. 
 Xow, when it is remembered that the Republican pai-ty, 
 while in power from 1866 to 1875, continuously and rapidly 
 reduced expenditures, and that the last year of Republican 
 rule shows a reduction of more than sixteen millions of 
 dollars, and the last two years a reduction of over twenty- 
 eight millions, I think we may fairly challenge a compar- 
 ison between Republican and Democratic expenditures. 
 
 SOUTHERN WAR CLAIMS. 
 
 The Democrats of the jSTorth insist that it is not the pur- 
 pose of their party to provide for paying disloyal claimants 
 for damages growing out of the war. It is, however, a sig- 
 nificant fact that no such denial comes from the Democrats 
 of the South. On the contrary tlie Democratic Members 
 of Congress from that section have regularly, at every ses- 
 sion for years past, flooded Congress with bills for the pay- 
 ment of these claims. If there is no purpose to push these 
 claims, why are they kept alive ? Why are they kept con- 
 stantly before Congress ? Why are they renewed from session 
 to session, and kept always pending? You need not be told that 
 the Democrats can gain and keep control of Congress only 
 by tlie aid of a solid South, and you know well that a solid 
 Democratic South would dictate the policy of the party. 
 The Democrotic Representatives from the I^orth, few in num- 
 bers and powerless when standing alone, would be compelled, 
 as in the old days of slavery, to submit to the dictation of 
 tlieir Southern leaders. The ])resentation of these bills for 
 the relief of Southern war claimants means something or it 
 means nothing, and, if it means anything, it means that the 
 
11 
 
 claimants arc expcctini:; rolict' it" tlic Doiiincrats conic info 
 power in both houses, and are determined to make in every 
 Conijrcss n record tor vi!j:ilance \u tlieir ]»rose(;ution. Besides, 
 it is of iniii()rt:iiic(> to rcnienilicr llint vast sunis of money 
 raa^' be drawn iVoni the Treasury and })aid to disloyal claini- 
 ants under tlie law as it now stands, if its execution is [.laced 
 in the hands of tlie Democratic [»arty. There must, under 
 existing;- law, be a lindini;- infavor of the chiimant's loyalty, but 
 suppose you appoint a Southern (Claims' Commission, under 
 the control of Southern Confederate Democrats, and leave 
 to them the decision of the (piestion of loyalty; in that case 
 how many claims will be rejected for disloyalty".' 
 
 There are now on tile many thousands of claims in which 
 the evidence is more or less conflicting on the [)oint ot" loy- 
 alty. With a Confederate Democratic commission to jtass 
 upon the question, it is my opinion that a vast sum would 
 be drawn from the Treasury to pay rebel claims, without 
 any open action in the way of the repeal of the law prohil)- 
 iting the payment of any but loj^al claimants. 
 
 It may be said that the House of Representatives has 
 passed a proposed amendment to the Constitution, offered by 
 ]\rr. Conger, a Republican member from Michigan, to pro- 
 hibit the payment of such claims. The })assage of this res- 
 olution by the unanimcms vote of the Republicans and a 
 majority of the Democrats is by no means a settlement of 
 the question. The Democrats who voted for it, in most 
 cases, regarded it as a political necessity to do so, and would, 
 in case of its passage through Congress, rely with contidence 
 and certainty upon the failure to secure the concurrence of 
 the necessar}^ three-fourths of the States. If the door 
 for these claims is once opened we shall live to see 
 the loyal people of this conntry heavily taxed to pay tiie 
 losses incurred by rebels engaged in an effort. In- force of 
 arms, to destroy the Goverimient. And you may rest as- 
 sured that the door will be opened if the Southern Bourbon 
 Democracy shall ever regain the ]iower in the (.Tovermnent 
 which tliey held before the war and which euahleil them 
 
12 
 
 then, as it would again, to dictate terms to tlieir northern 
 allies. 
 
 THE FINANCIAL ISSUE. 
 
 The Republican party points with justifiable satisfaction 
 to its record upon questions of currency and finance. In an- 
 swer to the clamor of our opponents about these questions, 
 we appeal with confidence to an honest and intelligent peo- 
 ple, and simply ask for a comparison of our financial situa- 
 tion of to-day with that of ten years ago. The record is one 
 in which not only every Republican, but everj^ citizen as 
 well, should feel a just pride. The burden of our national 
 debt has been steadily decreased. The aggregate of reduc- 
 tion, since March 4, 1869, has reached the sum of $489,882,- 
 735.16, whereby there is an annual saving of $31,208,542.50 
 in interest. The aggregate of reduction since the close of 
 the war exceeds the enormous sum of over $672,000,000 — 
 about one-third of the present debt — and secures an annual 
 reduction of interest of more than $48,000,000. Our national 
 credit, always the unerring test of the wisdom and sound- 
 ness of our national policy, has steadily and rapidly im- 
 proved until to-day, for the first time in our history, we are 
 able to borrow money, at home or abroad, at four per cent, 
 interest; and the process of converting our six per cent, 
 bonds into four per cents., is progressing satisfactorily. The 
 sales of four per cent, bonds for sixty days past have aver- 
 aged over six hundred thousand dollars per day. In 
 spite of Democratic opposition, we have adhered to the pol- 
 icy of simple honesty — the policy of keeping sacredly the 
 nation's pledges ; the policy of treating the greenback as a 
 promise to pay — an obligation, a debt, to be paid, not in an- 
 other }>romise, but in dollars^ as })lainly expressed on the face 
 of the j)aper ; and by this policy, and by this alone, the mo- 
 ney of the })eople — the greenback — has been brought sub- 
 stantially to par with gold. To show you how our national 
 credit has been preserved and improved, it is only necessary 
 to state what the record shows to be true, that since the in- 
 
18 
 
 coiuiiii;- of the pivsi'iit adrniiiist rat i<»ii, flic ( iovciMiiiu'iit liiiH 
 sold at pur $200,000,000 of 4i per ceut.,iin(l over $129,000,000 
 of 4 per cent. lx)iids, largely to our own citizens. If this is 
 not enough, let me call 3'our attention to the further most 
 significant and gratifying fact, that the iirfiniuni on gold 
 coin, which was34J per cent. March 4, 1800, and which was 
 31 J per cent, on March 4, ISC)',), is now only one-half of one 
 [)er cent. I know well tlait these results have not heen 
 reached without some shrinkage in values and ('onse([uent 
 loss and sutiering ; hut these were inevitahle, and ha[>[)ily the 
 worst is over. We are hack again to a solid basis ; we are 
 down to "hard-pan." We shall shortly resume specie pay- 
 ments, thus releasing the specie in the Treasury, and then? 
 with a circulating medium amounting to over nine hundred 
 millions of dollars " that arc dollars," each and every one of 
 which is worth precisely 100 cents, we shall resume our up- 
 ward career of prosperity. The road to specie values has 
 not been, in all respects, a pleasant one to travel. We have 
 been compelled to come down from very high horses ; we 
 have ceased to ride upon the wave of speculation and to 
 revel in the excitement which came with the war and re- 
 mained for a time after it was over, caused by a sui>eral)und- 
 ance of currency of uncertain and shifting value — aji excite- 
 ment which w^as unnatural and necessarily short-lived. 
 When prices are measured by a fluctuating currency of doubt- 
 ful value and uncertain quantit}', they must, of necessity, be 
 fictitious. Let us rejoice that we are back again to the safe 
 foundation of 
 
 STABLE, EQUAL, AND HONEST DOLLAllS. 
 
 Xor have the " hard times " through which we have passed 
 to reach this end been an unmixed evil. We liave learned 
 by ex[)erience lessons of economy, industry, prudence, and 
 frugality, which our fathers understood and practiced, but 
 which we had forgotten, and should not have learned in 
 any other way. 
 
14 
 
 i 
 
 NO STEP BACKWARD. 
 
 Tlie great question between the Republicans and their 
 opponents is this : Having reached this solid footing, having 
 secured a currency equal to and interchangeable with coin, 
 shall we abandon it, together with all hope of resuming 
 specie payments, and plunge again into an uncertain sea of in- 
 flation ? Shall we have fiat money to be issued only by 
 the Government, and in such quantities and at such times 
 as Congress may direct ? Surely the people of Iowa cannot 
 long hesitate about answering these questions. To abandon 
 the policy which has brought us so mar to perfect financial 
 health w^ould be as absurd and suicidal as would be the act 
 of a man just recovering from a long illness who should, of 
 his own choice, seek a relapse. 
 
 The principal plank in the financial platform of our oppo- 
 nents, and upon which Democrat;', Nationals, and Green- 
 backers seem to agree, is this : The abolition of the national 
 banks and the issue by the Government direct of so much 
 currency as the wants of trade or the business interests of 
 the country may demand. Let me speak briefly of the ob- 
 jections to this policy. 
 
 And first, why abolish tlie national-banking sj^stem ? It 
 is admitted that it affords a safe, sound, and perfectly relia- 
 ble currency, good alike in all parts of the Union, and fa- 
 miliar to the people. Its vast superiority over the old Dem- 
 ocratic State-bank currency is of course conceded. 
 
 Any satisfactory discussion of the question whether this 
 system should be abolished must include a consideration of 
 the merits of the system proposed to be substituted for it. 
 If you have objections to the national-bank system, you 
 should be sure that you have not greater objections to the 
 substitute which is proposed for it. Let us inquire, then, 
 into the strength of the objections to the national-banking 
 system, presented by our opponents, and follow this with 
 a statement of our own objections to the new system proj)Osed, 
 viz, the issue by the Government of all our currency. 
 
15 
 
 Wluit arc tlir olt'n'ctiouH to tlir iiat ioiial-liaiikiiiuj system, 
 as presenti'd and ur<;v(l by our i)ii|ii)iiciils? lii-t me ciiuiiu!!"- 
 iite and answer tlieni. 
 
 1. It is said that this systeMii is a ni()iin|i(ily i'i- s|n'ci:il 
 privilege. lUit this is not true. National hankini;- is per- 
 fectly free. Whoever has the desire and the means may start 
 a national hank by complying with the law. Do our oi>i)0- 
 nents desire to have a system of banking under which ])eo- 
 ple without means can issue notes to cireulate as money V 
 There are no restrictions upon the organization of national 
 banks except such as are calculated to make the note-holdere 
 — the peoi)le— absolutely secure, and these apply alike to all. 
 This feature of tlie system affords a means of regulating the 
 volume of the currency as perfect and safe as any we can 
 have. If there is demand for currency, more banks will be 
 started to supply it, and I think we may trust in this mat- 
 ter, as in all other purely business affairs, the law of supply 
 and demand. At all events, the claim that the national- 
 banking system is a monopoly wdiich places the control of 
 the currency in the hands of a few favored persons or corpo- 
 rations, is absolutely groundless. 
 
 2. Another objection to the system is that it costs the Gov- 
 ernment a large sum annually in the shape of interest on 
 the bonds used as the basis by the banks. This objection is 
 equally unfounded. It is true the United States pays inter- 
 est on the bonds held as security for the national-bank cir- 
 culation, but it is not true tliat one tarthing of this interest 
 would be saved by tlie abolition of the banks. If we should 
 strike out of existence all the naticMial banks, the bonds 
 would still remain, and the Government wonU continue to 
 pay interest upon them unless prepared to re[iudiate. We 
 would save nothing in the way of interest on our l)onds by 
 abolishing the banks, but on the other hand we would lose 
 a large sum in the form of taxes now paid by them. The 
 taxes" paid by the banks to the State and National G(wcrn- 
 ments, will average over sixteen millions of dollars per an- 
 num. The 3im[)le truth, therefore, is that by abolishing this 
 
16 
 
 system we would i;-aiii nothing in the saving of interest, and 
 would lose at least $16,000,000 per annum in taxes. I do 
 not say that our banking system may not be improved. 
 Sooner or later, I have no doubt, it will be amended so as to 
 use as the basis of it a four per cent, bond, but to abolish it 
 and substitute an indefinite issue of greenbacks (and any 
 issue left subject to the determination of Congress must be 
 indefinite) would be the extreme of folly. 
 
 3. It is sometimes said that the national banking system 
 tends to concentrate and strengthen the money power. I 
 submit that the national banking law is as free from this ob- 
 jection as any banking system can possibly be. It is as free 
 from it as any incorporation act can be made. It is as free 
 from it as is any law authorizing the formation of corpora- 
 tions to engage in any legitimate and honest business, 
 whether it be trading, manufacturing, or banking. The 
 money power would be just as potent, and probably far more 
 potent if wholly excluded from the privilege of carrying on 
 national banks, and obliged to invest in other enterprises. 
 It is diflicult to see why the national banks are any more 
 dangerous on this account than an equal number of private 
 banks or other private corporations representing an equa 1 
 amount of capital. This argument, if it means anything^ 
 is aimed at the very existence of capital, and can be used 
 with equal force against railroads, steamship companies, 
 manufacturing corporations, and private bankers and 
 traders. 
 
 4. One further objection I have heard to the national 
 banking system. It is that it contemplates the perpetuation 
 of the national debt. In answer to this I have to say that 
 whenever the Government wishes to pay any of the bonds 
 now held by the banks, it is the right of the Government to 
 pay them, provided they are due and payable. If by this 
 mode the banks shall at some time in the future cease to 
 exist, the country must when that time comes take care of 
 the interests and the currency of the people. This can 
 scarcely happen during the next quarter of a century, and it 
 
17 
 
 is therefore ]>roiiiatui'i' to diseiiss if now. For iiiysfU", liow- 
 ever, I have no hosltiition in saying that I hi-liev'e it would 
 be for the best interests of the (iovcrnnirnt and the pi-ople 
 to keep outstanding a sntficicnl ([uantityol' t'nur pt-r (('iit. 
 bonds to furnish the basis of our nationahhank currency, i 
 know of no other system of currency so stable, so sate, and so 
 reliable. If a better system can be devised, when the time 
 comes to pa}^ otf the bonds we can adopt it, but certaiidy 
 the plan proposed by our o[)ponents is not such an one. And 
 this brings me to consider, briefly, the objections to their 
 plan. 
 
 I. As already suggested the financial [»lan proposed by our 
 opponents leaves the amo((?i< of currency uncertain, and tliere- 
 fore of necessity leaves its value uncertain, for notliing is 
 surer than that the value of a currency depends u[ion the 
 certainty as to redemption, and this depends u[)Ou the (quan- 
 tity to be redeemed. The all-important thing in any system 
 of finance is stability. You must have an assurance that a 
 dollar to-day will be exactly the same dollar to-morrow and 
 next year. 
 
 If the volume of the currency is to be regulated by con- 
 gressional enactment from time to time, how can an}' man 
 predict how many greenbacks the next Congress will au- 
 thorize ? Who can tell what quantities may be issued to 
 put an end to " hard times," or stave off a panic, or other- 
 wise satisfy a clamorous constituency. Such a system would 
 necessarily destroy all confidence, and prove in the end the 
 worst possible. If carried on for a long period it could end 
 in nothing short of both public and private bankruptcy and 
 ruin. 
 
 II. Another objection to the attem[)t to issue by act of Con- 
 gress in time of peace, notes of the Government, to be a 
 legal tender and circulate as money, is the grave doubt 
 which exists as to its constitutionality. 
 
 Before entering upon a policy of this character we should 
 be well assured that it will stand the test of the Constitu- 
 tion, for if we should abolish the banks and issue a national 
 
18 
 
 currency in lieu of the bank bills, only to find in the end 
 that the new money cannot be made a legal tender, dire 
 confusion and disaster would result. The question is, has 
 Congress in time of -peace the power to authorize the issue of 
 Government notes to circulate as money, and to make them 
 a legal tender? The Constitution empowers Congress ""to 
 coin money," but it is not pretended that this includes power 
 to 79/•^■?^^ money, or to issue paper money at all. The power 
 to issue greenbacks and to make them a legal tender, has 
 been asserted as an implied power, and it has been held by a 
 bare majority of the Supreme Court of the United States, 
 after a long controversy, that the legal-tender act of 1862 
 was valid. But this decision rests mainly, if not wholly, 
 upon the ground that the issue of legal-tender notes was 
 necessary as a war measure, and therefore a power implied 
 as a necessary part of the power to declare and carry on war. 
 The first decision of the Supreme Court was the other way, 
 but with a full bench and a re-argument, tlie final result 
 above stated was reached by a vote of five judges to four. 
 No one can read the opinions of the majority without being 
 iuipressed with the importance given to the fact that the 
 legal-tender act was a loar measure. Thus Mr. Justice Mil- 
 ler said, "The power to declare war, to suppress insurrection, 
 to raise and support armies, to provide and maintain a navy, 
 to borrow money on the credit of the United States, to pay 
 the debts of the Union, and to provide for the conmion 
 defense and general welfare, are each and all distinctly 
 and specifically granted in separate clauses of the Constitu- 
 tion. We were in the midst of a war which called all 
 these powers into exercise and taxed them severely." And 
 again, speaking of the necessity which compelled the pas- 
 sage of some such act, he said : " The coin in the country, 
 if it could all have been placed within the control of the 
 Secretary of the Treasury, would not have made a circula- 
 tion to answer army purchases and army payments, to say 
 nothing of the ordinary business of the country. A gen- 
 eral collapse of credit, of payment, and of business seemed 
 
10 
 
 inevitable, in wliidi taitli in tin- ahllity <»l' tin' < invcrnnicnt 
 would haw Itccii (lestroycd, tli(.' rehi'Uioii would have tri- 
 uiii}»lied, the States would have been left divi(UMl, ami \\\r. 
 people impoverished. The National Govt'i-iiMicnt would 
 have perished, and, with it, the Constitution which we arc- 
 now called up(Mi to construe with such nice and critical ac- 
 curacy. That the legal-tender act i)rcvented these disastrous 
 results, and that the tender clause was necessary to prevent 
 them, 1 entertain no doubt/' (8 Wall., t):)o.) Mr. Justice 
 Strong, who delivered the tinal ()[»inion of the majority, pro 
 sented forcibly the same view, and among other things said: 
 *' Plainly to this inquiry a consideration of the lime ichcn 
 mid the circumstances in which the (lovernmett then stood, is 
 important. It is not to be denied that acts may be adapted 
 to the exercise of lawlul power and apjiropi-iate to it in sea- 
 sons of exigency, which would be inaiipropriate at other 
 times." (12 Wall., p. 540.) And Mr. J ustice Bradley declares 
 that the power in question is "a power not to be resorted to 
 except upon extraordinary and pressing occasions, such as 
 war or other public exigencies of great gravit}- and impor- 
 tance." (12 Wall., 567.) 
 
 It is entirely clear that the legal-tender cases settle noth- 
 ing except that Congress had the power to issue legal-tender 
 notes in the midst of the war and when the life of the na- 
 tion was to be saved thereby, and even this was decided by 
 only a bare majority of the court. A\'lio will he hold enough to 
 say that an act of Congress, passed in time of peace, justified 
 by no exigency or emergency, making the iSTational Govern- 
 ment the banker for the people and providing for indefinite 
 issues of paper currency to circulate as money and be a legal 
 tender would be sustained? At all events, such an exi)eri- 
 ment would be exceedingly dangerous and should not be 
 adopted, even though its success might promise to be a bles- 
 sing, much less when success would be a disaster scarcely 
 less ruinous than failure. 
 
 III. To adopt this jiolicy would be a shameful and disgrace- 
 ful repudiation of an express promise made by the nation to 
 
20 
 
 its creditors. The promise I refer to is embodied in the act 
 of Congress of June 30, 18(34, entitled "An act to provide 
 ways and means for the support of the Government." This 
 act provided for the issue and sale of bonds of the United 
 States in order to raise money to carry on the war. It was 
 of the utmost importance that ca})italists should be induced 
 to subscribe for these bonds, and thus furnish money needed 
 to carry on the war. Indeed, the salvation of the country 
 depended upon our ability to place our bonds. It was at 
 that time foreseen tliat Congress might be urged to issue large 
 quantities of greenback notes, and thus im[)air the nation's 
 credit and interfere with the pa^'ment of the bonds about to 
 be issued. To reassure capitalists upon this subject and to 
 induce them to come forward and loan us money in that 
 time of dire need and extremity, the following solemn prom- 
 ise was made by the United States and embodied in the act 
 I have referred to: 
 
 "Nor shall the total amount of United States notes issued 
 or to be issued ever exceed four hundred millions of dollars, 
 and such additional sum, not exceeding fifty millions of dol- 
 lars, as may be temporarily required for the redemption of 
 temporary loans." (13 Stat, at Large, p. 219.) 
 
 Largely by the means of this pledge we succeeded in sell- 
 ing our bonds and in raising money to carry on the war for 
 the suppression of the rebellion. The Government may 
 have poiver to repudiate this promise, but I am sure no hon- 
 est man can say upon his conscience that it ought to be done. 
 'No nation can afford to disregard its plighted faith. Good 
 faith in a nation is its very life-blood, without which its 
 very existence must cease. It is essential to credit and 
 credit is essential to existence. The Republican party of 
 Iowa and of the Union will, I am sure, say with one voice, 
 let our Government be true and faithful in keeping all its 
 pledges in letter and in spirit. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 THE PRESENT SITUATION OF AMERICAN 
 FINANCE. 
 
 Letters from llio Actini!; Socrolary of the Treasury and romj)- 
 Iroller of llic ("iirrcni'V. 
 
 [Durinii" his remarks on Fiiiiincc Secretary McCrary liad 
 read the foHowing letters: J 
 
 Treasury Department, 
 
 Washington, August 19, 1S7S. 
 Hon. George W. McCrary, 
 
 Secretai'!/ of War : 
 Dear Sir : In reply to your letter of this date permit me to say — 
 First. The public debt of the United States, less bonds issued to 
 Pacific railroads, and less cash in the Treasury March 1, ISCI!. amounted 
 
 to !{;-2,707,S.')(),0()0 '22 
 
 August 1, 1878 2, or), .-,80, .124 85 
 
 Total reduction since ]\Iarch 1, 18G(') 072.275,475 37 
 
 Second. The annual interest due on the public debt of March 1, 186G, 
 
 amounted to sf 14:5, 73 7, 869 55 
 
 Annual interest August 1, 1878 05,181,007 50 
 
 Reduction of annual interest 48,55(),802 0.) 
 
 Third. The public debt March 1, 1800, amounted to. 4:2,525,403,200 01 
 August 1, 1878 2.035, 580,524 85 
 
 Total reduction since :March 1, 180ii 489,882,735 10 
 
 Fourth. The annual interest due on i.>il)lic debt of :March 1, 1809, 
 
 amounted to ij; 120, 389, 550 00 
 
 Annual interest August 1, 1878 95, 181,007 50 
 
 Reduction of annual interest 31,20s..( J2.i 
 
22 
 
 Fifth. The average amount of State taxes paid by national banks fo 
 the five years, 1872 to 1876, inclusive (estimated for 1873 and 1873 from 
 data derived from reports for other years, no reports of State taxes for 
 those years having been received), was $9,244,740 00 
 
 And the average amount of national taxes for the years 1873 to 1877, 
 inclusive, from the same source, was $7,124,305 (t3 
 
 Sixth. The total amount of 4^ per cent, bonds sold at par since March 
 
 1, 1877, is $200,000,000 
 
 And the total 4 per cent 139,000,000 
 
 Seventh. The premium on gold coin in New York March 3, 1866^ 
 
 34^ 
 was "^^s 
 
 March 4, 18G9 ^If 
 
 And at this date ^^s 
 
 Eighth. The average daily sales of 4 per cent bonds for the past sixty 
 business days has amounted to $686,875 
 
 Yours, truly, 
 
 JOHN B. HAWLEY, 
 
 ' Actinff Secretary of the Treamry. 
 
 Treasury Department, 
 Office of Comptroller op the Currency, 
 
 Washington, August 22, 1S7S. 
 Sir : In answer to your inquiries of the 21st inst., I have the honor 
 to present the following statement : 
 
 First. Amount of national bank circulation outstanding August 21 , 
 
 1878 $323,371,962 00 
 
 Second. Amount of United States notes outstanding, 
 viz : 
 
 Legal-tender notes $341,681,016 00 
 
 Old demand notes 62,267 00 
 
 Fractional currency 16,406,928 00 
 
 363,150,211 00 
 
 Third. Gold coin in Treasury, Au- 
 gust 10 185,273,016 85 
 
 Standard silver dollars 10,386,266 00 
 
 Goldbullion 0,539,657 89 
 
 Silver bullion 6,812,812 41 
 
 Fractional silver 5, 095, 246 38 
 
 214,106,999 53 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 lion. Geo. W. McCrary, 
 
 Secretary of War. 
 
 J. S. LANGWORTHY, 
 Acting Comptroller. 
 
LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 
 
 013 789 638 2 ^