Indiana State Sentinel, Volume 24, Number 5, Indianapolis, Marion County, 8 September 1874 — Page 2

THE INDIANA STATE SENTINEL, TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 8, 1874.

THE UNSOLVED PROBLEM. OXcCTJLLOCH ON THE CURRENCY.

NATIONAL FINANCE. THB CURRENCY AND THE TARIFF AN OPEN LETTER FROM AN M SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY. The Hon. Hugh McCalloch baa addressed the following letter on the national finances to gentlemen In Cincinnati, who had invited Um to give a public expression of his opinions on that subject. The letter as given in the Cincinnati papers of yesterday is as follows: THE CURRENCY. My opinions on the subject of currency are reil known to those who took the trouble to read my Fort Wayne speech, and my reports as secretary of t.e treasury from 18C5 to 1S69. . The opinion I there expressed, In language as strong and unequivocal as I could command, have neither been changed or modified. On the contrary, they have been confirmed and strengthnedby further observation and reflection. I thought It to be the duty of Cor gress, considering the subject in its moral as weil as its financial bearings, to adopt its decisive and effective measures to bring about specie payments, and that the time for the adoption of these measures was at the close of tbe war. I did not think that "the way to prepare to resume specie payments was to resume, ' bat 1 did not think. It of vital Importance to th . beat in teres ta of the country that the restoration of the specie standard should be tbe end and aim of all legislation bearing upon tbe subject of the currency. My conviction was clear aud decided that this could only be effected, within any reasonable tine, and before any such financial disaster as lias recently occurred would overwhelm the countrj, by retiring so much of the paper currency in circnla ion as would te necesaxy to bring up the remdue to par. 1 thought that this could be accomplished without the occurrence Of the apprehended disaster o the business of the country, and without affecting in the least the real value of property : 1 hat by a curtailment of the amount of inconvertible note In circulation the purchasing or measuring rxw-r of the remainder would be proportionately increased, and that consequently the amouutof real money In circulation would not be thereby diminished ; that the measuring of property by a false standard could not add to lis vlue, nor, ny a 'rue standard, reduce it. There ws, it seemed to me, but one class in the community the debtor - elass who could be benefitted by a depreciated currency, and I was anxious that deckled action for relieving the country of auch a currency should be taken immediately after the close of the r, when individual indebtedness was less than it had been for many years. It seemed to me a.o that the injury to this class from a reduction and consequent Improvemmt of tbe currency would be altogether less than was feared by them ; that what honest and energetic debtors needed was i ot legislation to enable them to pay their debts in a depreciated currency, but legislation that would give activity to well-directed, not speculative, enterprise and stability to business; that as, in fact, one debt is in the course of trade usually paid by the creation of another, and the general Indebtedness of the i eople is not ordinarily from year to year materially reduced, the debtor class itself was in no serious danger of being injured by the elevation of the standard values, acd that if debtors were to be Injured by it the injury would be small in comparison with that which has been inflicted upon creditors through THE LEGAL TENDER ACTS', which compelled them to receive in satisfaction of existing contracts a currency of far less value than that which was the only lawful money at the time they were made, and who generally bore their lo ses without murmuring as a sacrifice required by the government n Its struggles with a gigantic rebellion. At that time, in language which made up by explicltueKS what it may have iacited In strength. I pointed out the danger and the Immoral influences of an incontrovertible and depreciated currency, üy every argument I could make, and every illustration I could bring to bear upon the subject, I endeav- . ored to prove in each of my reports that a depreciated currency was, an J never could be anything else than a positive, unmistakable injury to the people, morally and financially ; that in regard to such a currency there could be no '-stand-sUll-until the-country grows-np-to-it" policy: that by wise legislation we should move toward specie payments, or by unwise laws, or by drifting without chart or compass, we should find ourselves upon financial breakers before we were conscious of Immediate danger. In my earliest utterances upon the fluaucia question, in a free talk with my Fort Wayne friends, I remarked that wul'e 1 regarded an extensl ire metallic currency among an enterprising Ud commercial people an Impracticable tblng. I regarded an Irredeemable paper currency as an evil which, In extreme circumstances for a season might render a necessity, but which should ever be sustained as a policy; that the legaltender notes were l&ened as a war measure, and as the war had been brought to a successful termination measures should be taken for letiriug these note s altogether, or bringing them up to the specie standard ; that 1 had no faith in prosperity that was based upon depreciated paper money, and that I saw no safe path to tread but that which led to specie payments ; that the extremely high prices prevailing in tbe United States were an unerring Indication that we were measuring property by a false standard ; that the United States were becoming the best country in the world for foreigners to sell in. and the worst to buy in; thattne longer inflation continued the more difficult would it be to get it back to the solid grouid of specie payments; that, if ConKress bbould. early in the approaching session (lü65-6), authorize the funding of the legal tender notes, and tbewors of reduction should be commenced and carried on resolutely but carefully and prudently, we should reach the solid ground without embarrassment to legitimate business. If not. we might have a brief period of hollow and seductive prosperity, resulting in -wide spread bankruptcy and disaster, buch were my sentiments then, and such are they now. The troth is, gentlemen, and the reiteration of It ought not to be necessary, gold and silver are the only standards of value, and as long as we are a Dart of the great familr of na tions, and are a commercial people, we can aoopi no interior standard witnout oeing greatly the loser by it. A 80UND CURRENCY 'is the very life-blood of a commercial people. Hone but bankrupt nations with the exception Of the United States keep in circulation anir , redeemable paper currency a currency which, In their cases, tends to produce and perpetuate , the poverty It Indicates. To the United States such a currency is utterly disreputable, since there la not the slightest necessity for it. That a nation so rich as ours, so grand in Its resources, so vast In its productions a nation which has challenged the admiration of the civilized worM by the rapid reo net ion of its public debt, commencing that reduction at tbe close of a war the 1 most expensive that has ever been carried on. nu actuauy reaucing its inaeoieanesg at me rate or nearly a hundred million of dollars year mat men a nation snouia for so long a Deri od maintain a depreciated eirnn. latin e medium, maila lawful money by statute, la to intelligent foreigners an inexplicable mystery. The specie standard cught to nave been restored before now, and I believe it would have . been if that great power in the land, the press, had given the doctrines enunciated from the treasury department from ltfio to lt9 the hearty indorsement It has given to similar doctrines when proclaimed by the president in 1H74. If the financial trouble that has come upon , us, and the consequent prostration of business in nearly all branches of trade, notwithstanding the plentirnlness of currency, shall tend to correct the public sentiment n regard to the nature jtnd offices of money, they will not be entirely without compensation. It required the sacrifices of a great war to uproot slavery; perhaps it re2a ires the experiences of a great nnancl 1 isaster to teach the people the danger of discarding tbe true measures of value and substituting- therefor the uncertain, fluctuating standard of irredr ernable legal tender notes. It will be lamentable indeed if, instead of having profited by experience our financial trouble, the result of our financial mis- . takes we shall cause a still wider departure from the paths ot wisdom and safety. Keal money and the world always has had, and ever " will have, plenty of it for legitimate usesleaves or avoids countries that have an Inferior substitute for It, no matter what other standard may be adopted by law, or how the fact may be attempU d to bediRgulsed; for the value of all Sroperty la tili regulated by it. Tbe legal-tea-er act compels the people of the United Btate to treat the greenback dollar as if it were a dollar In fact, but, except In payment of debts, it la not one. It has ot the purchasing power of one. Its value has ben forty-five cents; It is now ninety: a year hence it maybe ninety-five, or what it may be no man can tell. It is the paper dollar, not the gold dollar.that fluctuates.and is, therefore, an uncertain and dangerous standard. Can it mnte doubted that it is the duty of Congress so as to legislate as to make, as soon as practicable, tbe paper dollar, of which it authorises thelssue, equal to the gold one? The question then arises, what legislation is required to effect this most desirable result? Our new sec .jetary is a gentleman of ability, and he belongs

a m. aiatm In whlrh arrntl financial seed WSS SOWn

at an early day, as has been proved by her high financial credit and tne soundness of her banking institutions. I know not what his v'ews are, but he would not be a true scion of Kentucky stock if he were unsound npon the financial question. If the management of our finances were in his hands I, for one, should be willing to 'ake him UfOn trust, not doubting that he would pursue tbf right course to relieve the country from the burden for so it is of an irredeemable currency. Bi4 such is not the fact. Ill hand are tied. Congress is to determine what shall be our financial policy, and this determination may depend on the result of THE 4PPROACHINQ ELECTIONS. As parties now stand, the financial question can not be made a s rlctly party question, nor will it be, as In the bitter part of the late session it was feared might be the case, a sectional me. It is a question npen which there will be differences of opinion tmorg men of the same party, and the same State. That there should be speedy legislation, and a definite policy established, every who is a gambler in business admits and desires. Nothing but further In Hat ion can be worse than uncertainty upon a matter so important to the well-being of the country as the currency. It is for these reasons that I now feel at liberty t give my opinion upon the financial legis atlon that is re ulred. I state my views tranaiy, not as presenting tne vuiy j,uuii that which seems to me the most Certain and direct path for reaching specie payments. If a wlsr plan Rhall be adopted, no one will be morr pleased than myself. 1. Congress should fix a period, ay the 1st ot December. 187 the time is not material if it be remote after which Un ted States notes should cease to b a legal tender. ! 2. Tbe secretary of the treasury should be authorized to retire, by the use of the hurplus revenue, (and if this should be lnsumcieut, by Ktates notes per ai.num. until a 1 have been re tired, and he should be prohibited rrorn reissuing the notes thus retired under any p:etext or circumstances whatever. 8. In .leu of the United States notes retired an equal amount of bank notes, if they should be re quired, SncUlU De lw-.ueu to uauouai uttiinp. 4. wneu tne specie stanuaru iisaueeu re-cstau-lished, by tbe repeal ot the legal-tender acts, banklnz should be made free, and Congress should cease to Intel fere with the currency, except so far as may be necessary to prevent Illegal Issues, and to provide mat every aouar in circula ion bv authority of law shall be secured be yond contingency, as is now the case, by a de po-it of united states nonasin me ireasury. It is obvious that as long as United States no es are a legal tendtr, the specie standard will not be restored. These notes should be grad ually retired, because until the vo'ume is re duced, they will not permanently improve in value, and oecanse. until me oanas perceive that the reduction is actually taking place, they will make n i effort to supply themselves with coin for the protection of their own circulatlo:-. it will be s ite to provide for an issue of notes for supplying the place of United sta'es notes, as they mav be retired, because the banknotes will not be applied lor it the business of the country does not require them, and because they ought to be furnished if it doe-. It is not liaeiy that an issue or bank notes, corresponding to the amount of United Slates notes withdrawn, will be required, as the vaiue of both kinds of our pap r money win oe steauiiy increasing. and specie will be taking the place ol paper as a reserve of the banks, and ultima el y. as a circulation among the people. This will be a self-regulating matter. As the United Mates noted are retired tne nanus win ioriny memselves with coin, so that when the time of coin redemption comes round they will be prepared to meet the calls wmcn may De maue upon them, but which can not be large, as t he preparation for this state of things will have brought the business of the oountyintoa healthy condition, and there will be little demand for coin for exportation. Nor will this withdrawal of United Htates notes preparatory to A RETURN TO SPECIE PAYMENTS nor the return itself, affect the value of property or disturb business. Some intelligent men, who are anxious to stand agln upon so'ld grc.und. are apt to kpeak of the "shrnksge" which might occur before this can be brought about, not re flecting that tne real value oi property is not ar fected by the standard it is estimated by. Property is not dependent for ltJ Vklu upou a fiction We sueak of the price of gold, of its rise and fall. and some ef us set m to think that we are richer as it rises and p orer as it falls, while its real value is ptruianenf, except so far as it is affected by tbe yie'd of the mines, In spite of the legal-tender acts, it is to-day, and it must con lnue to be, the real measuring standard of property. There is one foundation, therefore, for the apprehension of a shrinkage in value or property as a conse quence of a return to specie payments, nor is there auy more foundation for the apprehen sion that such a change in our flna cial policy will make money scarcer and times harder. As 1 have already sa'd, money, whether It be gold or paper. ge where it is wanted. The advocates In Congress of an Increase of the currency were chiefly from the Western State. How truly they reflected the sentiments of that section 1 can not say, but 1 am sure that what is needed In the West is not so much more mocey as better money, ar.d greater and cheaper means for the transportation of its products to markets Thi re is no class of men who are so much in jured by irredeemable paper money as the agri culturists, it is ine larmer especially wn.. is cheated by fictitious money. It is said, I know, that he pays his taxes with it, and for what he needs to purchase, but it is not true alsotht it Increases his taxes, and adds largely to the cost of what he buys? The cotton, sugar and rice of the South, and he grain, beef and pork of the West, are needed at home and by the foreign nations, and these necessaries will always command money. The people who have them to dispose of must decide what kind of money it shall be money in tbe form of broken promises, or gold and silver and convertible bank no es. I have been for a long time absent from the country .but I am greatly deceived If the demand of the West for more currency does not come chiefly from those who have little or nothing to sell, and who would be consequently injured by a compliance with their demands. There may be at p esent depression in the rice ot agricultural products, but this is not owing to scarcity of money, but to a falling off in the demand, tonsumption. at home is less, and the foreign demand is smaller than it has been. Many of our manufactures are idle, and European markets are disturbed by our financial troubles. It is these causes that are only temporary and not scarce money which occasions the depression which at present exists. There has never been a time when he products of the West ( i can speak advisedly of this section) have failed to bring what they were really worth, according to prices at the home and foreign markets, for want of money to pay for them, and there never will be. I know that these products have commanded at various times extremely low prices, but this was owing to tbe lack of means of transportation, r of a supp y superior to the demand. The fact that nine out of ten of those who have been engaged in buying and shipping TH B PRODUCTS OF THE WEST to the seaboard, where prices are usually reguulated by the European markets, have failed in business, is an evidence that those products have not been sacrificed, or sold at home for less than their value, by reason of a scarcity of money. There need then be no apprehension on the part of the farmers of the West that they will be injured, or that there would be a scarcity of money by reason of the withdrawal of the United States notes, or a reduction of paoer circulation. For every dollar of deprecla' m1 currency withdrawn they would have a do.' ar, in value at least, of convertible paper or of specie. What is true in regard to farmers Is equ ly true in regard to manufacturers, merchants od laborers. My own deliberate opinion is tnat we shall never have really cheap money, as we can never have reliab'e money, until the United States notes are stripped of their false character, retired from circulation, and their place supplied by specie and perfectly secured convertible bank notes. Speclethen will cease to flow oat of the country, as now it does, but will commence flowing in so soon as we drive out of circulation the notes which have deprived It ot its monetary character. The products of our gold and silver mines now leave as because we have no ose for them. As the precious metals are not circulating mediums nor bases for money, they would be a burden if retained. In regard to the substitution of bank notes for greenbacks, I have only to say that this ought not to be, and there will not long be two kinds of paper money In circulation. One kind or the other will occupy the field. This I think inevitable. We shall get rid of the United States notes or there will be an lrresistable demand for more of them. I advocate the substitution of bank notes for United öta es notes, because the latter stand In the way of a return to specie. The government lacks the means and machinery to keep in circulation a convertible currency of its own. To main t in such a currency, the treasury department, or a department to be created for the purpose, would necessarily become a bank of issue. Such a bank would be as nnsulted to our institutions as it would be defflclent in the power required to give flexibility to its issues, and secure a lust and equal distribution of them throughout the country. For such an experiment we are not prepared. As long as we nave legal tender paper currency we shall have an in con rertl ble curren cy. I advocate the Substitution ef bank notes for United States notes also, because I regard it of exceeding importance tnat tne subject cr tne currency shou d be withdrawn from politics. Politicians are necessarily agitators. They can not be otherwise. They need capital, and agita

tion is their capital. That this capital should not be made bv a perpetual interference with

what affects every man's interest Is an obvious truth. A government currency, therefore, is not what is meded for a circulating medium. No political party should be Intrusted with the power of making money, or what is called money, scarce or plenty, at pleasure. Let the United States notes, then, be retired . Let the restraints npon bank circulation be removed, LET BANKING BE FREE, and the business of banking be managed by those who embark in it. Let the circulation of banks, secured by the bonds of the government, be regulated by their ability to redeem, and by the requirements of the country, and we sbai have that freedom from political interference, and that flexible, yet stable, because convertible currency, wbicb is needed to stimulate enterprise and secure to labor its proper reward. Tbe loss that, the people would sustain in the matter of interest by tbe withdrawal of the United States notes would not be fel'. If this loss should not be made up by the taxes assessed nnou the banks, and tbe facilities which they render to business. It would be small in comparison with what would be gained by the withdrawal of the currency que tion from the arena of politics. I am noadvocateof banks, f thty did not exist I might regard the creation of them a question of doubiful expediency, but they are so interwoven with our financial inter ests that they could not be destroyed without financial revolution. And it must Dorne in mind, in considering onr banking sytera, that it is a vry different one from that it superseded, inasmuch as it gives to the people a circulation of uniform vaiue and un questionable solvency. It is undoubtedly the best syt-tem now in existence. nd It should be sustained until a better one Is devised, or nutll the country Is prepared to do without banks al together. In what 1 have said In regard to tbe United States notes I must not be understood as reflecting upon the financial minister who ad vocated or tbe Con Kress tnat authorized the issue. In regard to the wisdom of this measure, there are now, as th-re were then, differences of opinion; but, admitting that this was not the wisest measure, tne advocacy oi it ought not to detract from the great merit of Mr. Chase, to whoe administration of the treasury the successful termination of the war is very la-g ly to be attributed. II Mr. Chase lacked financial training and experience, he possessed what was better in the trying circumstances in which he was placed courage, nerve, faltn. On at victo ries In the fie d are but seldom won by a strict adherence to the scientific rrdesofwar. Great commanders are seldom found in distinguished military engineers, inesarae is true in great financial contests, and the struggle ror supremacy betw en the government and the Southern States was as much a contest of dollars as of arms. If the government had broken down financially the rebellion would not have been suppressed. That it did not breakdown was largely owing to the qualifications of Mr. Chase for the position he held. He undoubtedly made mistakes, but there Is cause for wonder that hed d not make more.' I do not believe there was another man la tbe Union who would have made less. There is another subject to which I shou'd not allude if there was not a'piauK."in the "plat form" adopted by the rt cent democratic con ven tion at Indianapolis in favor of the payment of the flve-twen'y oonusin greenbacks. Although it is known that party platforms are usually made to be disregarded a d "spit upon," the ex pression of such a sentiment by an intelligent and highly respectable body of rueu, claiming to represent a i reat political partv, wtuwn record up. n financial questions has been most creditable, is calculated to mislead well meaning peoDle. if not o damate the national credit. This subject is rapidly losing its interest in a pecuniary point o! view by the fact that the six per cent, flve-tweuties are being r pidly converted into Ave per cents, wh'ch, in o der to prevent any question in regard to the currency in which they are to be paid, are, on their face, made payable in coin. 8i ill, presented as the reso ution has been for the consideration of THE VOTERS OF INDIANA, it is not without importance. 1 feel it to be important because it affects the good name of mv own State. That such a proposition should be revived by men claiming to represent democracy indicates a want of political sagacity on their part, and an abandonment by ti em of principles to which tbe democratic party in the palmy days f its greatness and power conscientiously adhered, and which it must again avow and adh' re to If it is to become the par' y of the future as it has been of t e past. If this resolution of theconvention truly expresses or reflects the sentiment of the democracy of Indian, it is hoped that the spirit of Jefferson an i Jackson.of Benton and Wright, and th- host of other democratic worthies whose fame is the nation's pride, do not witness tbe apostacy of those who claim to bo their followers. Thf.t tbe ne-twenty bonds should not and can not be base upon depreciated greenbacks is evident for the roiiowtng reasons: 1. These bonds are national obligations, intended to be circulated and held in foreign countries, as well as in the United States, and all such obligations are always understood o be payable in the enrrency which alo e Is recognized as money by the common consent of the great family of na ions. 2. They can not be paid in greenbacks, because it could not be done w thout n creasing the issue ot legal tender notes beyond ffcAl.O o.iOU; and a lanre portion of these bonds were issued after the faith of the government had been pledged by act of Congress that thish- U'd be the limit; and, also, because Congress by a special act in Itm, declared that these bonds were payable in coin. 3. Because it was the exoress understanding between the government and the people wten these bonds were issued that the principal as well as the interest should be paid In coin. The language of the Indiana resolution, "We are In favor of the redemption of the five-twenty bonds in greenbacks, according to the law under which they were issuf d," If noth positively untrue, is calculated to mislead. That these bonds should be paid la greenbacks is not in accordance with the law nnder which tbe issue was made. The reverse Is the fact. It Is true that the law does not expressly state that they are payable in coin, but it is provided that the interest be so paid, if it is silent In regard to the principal, it Is because no one at that time regarded the United States notes as anything else than a temporary currency, which was to be redeemed, or retired by conversion into bonds, long before tbe boi ds by their terms would be brought under the control of the government. Who, in fact, ever heard of a national obligation the interest on which was pays be in one kind of currency, and the principal in another and depreciat d kind? And what would be thought of a people who should take advantage of ihe technical construction of their own law, and comptl the holders of their bonds tots ke in payment their own dishonored paper, notwithstanding their servants in the treasury departme t. their agents who solicited subscriptions, and the public presK. with the full knowledge and approval of the law-making power, had represented the principal, as well as the interest of the bonds, to be payable in coin ! By every member of the House and of the Senate, who participated in tbe debate, when the subject of the Issue of the bonds was under consideration, and who in terms alluded to them, they were spoken of as gold bonds. To repudiate all these promises now, the people of the United States would reach a greater depth of degradation and dishonor to which no nation has yet descended. The statement of the proposition, stripped of all its disguises, is enough tocondemn it in the estimation of all honorable men. It is not. I am sure, In harmony with the sentiments of a majority of the democrats of Indiana. As a bid for votes, the rt solution of the convention was a blunder, which, In politics, is worse than a crime. Morally and economically considered, as w-il as politically, If it was an expression of the intelligent sentiment of its members (which I apprehend It was not). It might Jointly be pronounced a crime and blander combined. THE TARIFF. I have said so moih upoa the currency question I have neither time nor space to dwell long upon the tariff. Nor is it necessary that I should, as It Is a question which Is being discussed by those who have given to it much more attention than I have, and who understand it better. I favor a revenue, not a protective tariff. The present tariff has been highly productive of revenue, and it is therefore contended that it Is, In fact, a revenue tariff; and that, inasmuch as a large portion of our revenues are to be derived from customs duties ; the difference between a tariff 'or protection and a tariff for revenue must always be more imaginary than real. Now, while it is true that since lt2 the Importations into the United States have been heavy, and the revenues from this source have consequently been large, it does net folfow that the present tarl'T, in the proper meaning of the term, is a revenue tariff. It was intended and framed to protect certainnterests in the United states, and it has been done, and is still doing this, by preventing fair competition between borne and foreign manufrcturers, thereby Increasing to consumers the cost of many articles of common and indispensable nse. It is true, also, that this, to some extent, must be the effect of any system of raising revenue by customs duties ; and free trade, desirable as it may be, la not likely to be adopted as long as large revenues are needed for the payment of the public debt and for defraying tbe expenses ox the government. Indirect taxation, especially taxes upon Imports, is undoubtedly the most expensive and demoralizing, if not the most unequal, mode of raising revenue that has ever been resorted to; and yet It is the most popular, because it is not inquisitorial, and does not introduce the tax-gatherer to the consumer, and is felt only in the enhanced prices of the articles which are subject to it; the cause of such enhanced prices is not often considered. The policy oi raising

revenues by taxes upon imports is not, however,

to De aDanuonea, ana it win not oe poss Die, evm If it were desirable, to frame laws which will yield men revenues as will be required from this source without giving home Industry liberal protection. Now, what I think the peor le should earnestly and consistently contend for is a tariff in which revenue should be the object, and not the Incident - that a commission, fairly representing the lifferent stctlons of the country, be appointed by Congress to prepare a bill, the aim of which should be to raise the ntcessary re ve nues from the smallest number ot articles, discarding the policy of protection, and which should oe so clear in its provisions and language that common people could understand lt. 1 suggest that such a bill should be prepared by a commission, b cause it seems to me the only means by which an intelligible, symmetrical, and consistent bill can be ßcured. As long as I tariff bills are prepared by committees that do not com n and the confidence of the House In a sufficient degree to insure their p tt-saee through that body without Important alterations, and such bills are subject to still further alteration by the Senate, and receive their final touches from committees of conferences amid tbe hasie and confuklon dl. -tingushing the closing bouf-t of the session, we shall have inconsistent taichwork, difficult founders and. and fruitful o' fraud and litigation, instead of s nrmetrical, consistent, and intelligible laws, it is true that the work of a commission would be subject to the same ordeal as would the reports of the ways and means and fl ancial committees; bn as the commission would be selected for t e single purpose of prepaiing a tariff, it would be m re likely to fairly repre ent the different sectlous of the country, than a committee. It would have more time fothe preparation f a bill than a committee, and if coiapo ed. as it ou?nt to be, of able anl up right men not partisans, nor the r presentatives of par' icular interests I believe such a commission would pr pare a bill that could be carried through both bouses without change. It can not be den ied, I apprehend, that by the present tariff both the revenues and THE PEOPLE ARE BADLY CHEATED; that It Is in regard to some articles prohibitory; that it Increases the cost of many things without yielding revenue enough therefrom to cover theexpemeof collecti"n, thereby profiting home manufacturers to th amount o that Increased cost without bemntlig the government; that by Its heavy duties upou some kinds of raw materials it has rendered unprofitable and gradually destroyed industries ihat, before tbe war, were prosperous and profitable, and, finally, thaMl Is difficult of interpretation, at) d on some points Inconsistent, thus opening the door to, if not inviting, iraua on tne part oi importers, and giving opportunity for oppressive and dishonest practices to theofficeisof the customs. Whether the protective principle be retained t.r not, there is no question that the present tariff should be subjected to a thorough revision; and I believe 'his will only be done in the manner in which It ought to be done through theagem y of a commission, i policy oi protection snouid, in my judgment, be abandoned, because it favors by direct legislation particular interests; because it Induces the manufacturer to rely upon the government in a contest with foreign competitors, Instead of cultivating skill, economy and a spirit of self reliance, which are so important for success in all branches of business; because, as we can not sell liberally unless we buy liberally, it diminishes tbe foreign demand for ou agricultural and other products, and, consequently, lessens the price of them ; because it is inconsistent wiih the spirit of the age, which demands that all unn cesj-ary obstacles in the way oft be reest exchange of pr ducts be tween na ions should be removed; and, finally, because its ends, it not its aim, is to enrich the tew at the expense of the many. In its essential character, a protective tariff is barbarism, -such a tarift may be defended for a time, like an Irredeemable currency, on the ground of necessity, bat not as a permanent, national policy. I am not prepared to say that there nave oeen penous in me History of our manufactures when protection was uecessary, in order that inducements might be offered to capitalists to engage in tturo, aud that labor might be properly educated; but such periods have passed by. Our manufacturing interest-, long fostered by government, no longer need prot ction against foreign capital and skill. 1 they were not abie, in their infancy to stand alone, they are able now; but even this tlvfv will not be required o do, as they will have the advantage over their foreign rivals which duties for revenue and the cost of transportat on afford. That this will be sufficient uot only to enable them to continue businesl, if economically conducted, but to make handsome profits, i heie can be lilt.e d ubt. If there be any kltd of manufacturing In the .United stales- httcan not live with Kuch ad vantages as a .nli-lous revenue tariff and the costs of franco tation from distant countries give, It is very clear th-t it is unfitted to the eountryor the habits of the people, and that It ought not to be encouraged. 1 have so high an opinion of the faculty for invention and aptitude in the use of machine j ol my countjymen that I am satisfied there is no branch of manufactures suited to the conn rv that has prospered under exlblln laws which would cot continue to pr sper even nnder a system of absolute free trade, it Is very certain that under a wise tariff many new Industrie's would come into existence, but o Lers which have died out, or are languishing under existing laws, would be restored to lite and quickened into prosperity. I have time to mention but once instance. Iron steamships can even now be built as cheaply in the Uulted States as they can be in Euro?e. With a reduction of duties upon the materials which are used in their construction they could be built cheaper, o that the great ship yards for buiidlDg Iron ships, not only fr the United States, but for other nations, would be found, at no distant day, on the Delaware instead of the Clyde. The great State of Pennsylvania, an empire of itself, clings to protection as if her prosperity depended upou it, but she-will never know how great her resource and power are nor what her people are cap ' ble of accomplishing, until she cease i to look to the government to protect her interests and LEARNS TO RELY UPON HERSELF. There is no more reason why she should ask the government to protect her Iron manufacturers against foreign competitors than against the competition of Missouri, Virginia and Tennessee. The plea that American .a bor must be frotected against what Is called tbe "pauper abor" of Europe Is, If 1 may use the expression, "played out." Pauper labor In the factories and furnaces of Europe is a myth. Skilled labor is in as real demand, nd Is as costlv, estimating the differences in the expense of living, rn the other side ot the Atlantic as on this. It it were not o the difference would be more than equalized by our superior machinery, and onr superior cleverness in the nse of it. We have in the United States the best cotton mills in the world, with all the capital that is needed to run them; and we are producing more cotton than can be grown elsewhere. Is It possible that the cotton spinners of New England need pr jtection against the cotton spinners of Great Britain? We have Iron literally cropping out of the earth mountains of it. In fact of the best quality, and coal for smelting and manufacturing it in its Immediate neighborhood. In Ureat Hritian iron is only found hundreds, if not thousand of feet below tbe surface, a large portion of which has to be transported at great expense to the coal districts to be manufactured, and at still greater expense when manufactured, to the markets of the United States. Do the Iron-makers of Tennessee, Missouri and Pennsylvania need to be protected against competition from England? Co 1, the producer of tbe great motive power of tbe world coal, whicn is found in inexhaustible apply throughout this country, which Is Indispensable In manufacturing, and In the older States is used by almost every family for fuel, should coal be increased in price, a tariff which prevents t he Introduction i-f (t from the Dominion of Canada? Is it right that every family in the United States should pay an extra price for tbe salt it uses for the benefit of the few who are manufacturing it, and who can make It ts cheaply as it can be made In any other country? These questions and the number can be largely Increased are not new, but they lose none of their interest because they have been frequently asked. The present is a good time for the people to ponder them. No protection laws were ever so abiy defended as the corn laws of England. No interest ever seemed to demand protection more than the agricultural interests of that ccntry. It was thought proved, as clearly as figures and ar?;uments could prove any thing, that free trade n corn would be a death blow to the owners of landed property. Whatl abolish the si Wingscale of import duties and open the English porta to the cheap grain of the continent and of the United States? The very suggestion of such a proposition by English re'ormers was regarded by land owners as evidence that the world was moving In the wrong direction, and that crackbrained theorists were aiming to control It Now, what has been the effect of the repeal of the English corn laws? Low prices for lands? Neglect In their cultivation f Prostration of agricultural Interests? Tbe reverse are the facta. Land, instead of declining, advanced in vlue. The cultivation of it was at once improved, and the Interest which it was said was to be prostrated by free trade in breadstuffs speedily became vastly more prosperous than ever The English land-owner who should now advocate the reenactment of the corn laws would be considered a fit subject to be handed over to the surgeon to be operated npon for the "simples." The same will be true in regard to the protection laws now In force in he United State, it will, at no distant day, be as difficult to find a protectionist In this country as it now Is to find a land-owner In England who would acknowledge that he ever favored the corn laws. The United States, with their rich soil, abounding resources and intelligent people, will

prosper, no matter what laws mav be noon

their statute books. But they will never make the advance which they are capable of making In wealth. In morals and civilization, until they have a sound currency and more extended, because freer trade with foreign nations. I have tne honor to be, gentlemen, your obedient servant, HCGH MCll'UOCH. To Messrs. L. B. Harrison, Ed. Sargent, C. Reemlln, John A. Uano, John 11. Ob borne and others, Cincinnati. THE POLITICAL FIELD. OHIO REPUBLICAN CONVENTION. A TV;0-FACED PLATFORM SOMETHING IS SHERMAN'S LINE THE PRESENT 8TATE OFFICERS RENOMINATED. Columbcs, 0., Sep-. 2. The republican State convention has just adopted the fol lowing platform with great unanimity: PLATFORM. Resolved, 1. That' we re-affirm the principles and policy of tbe republican party as announced Dy its national conventions. mat we ae proud ot its history and great services, and we especially commend the vigor and force by which it maintained the no ion, abolished slavery nd secured equal civil and political rights to all citizens. We demand that these rights be enforced by appropriate legislation, so that all citizens shall hae the equal enjoyment of their rights. We demand of our public agents fidelity to their principles, the honest execution of tbe pledges made to the people, purity, integrity and economy in the discharge of their officia1 duties and to the prompt and fearless examination and punishment of those who violate any of their obliga'ioiis. 1. That we are in favor of a tariff for revenue with such incidental protection as may foster and encourage American industry. 3. That we denounce all forms of open or covert repudiation and declare that justice a' d tbepubllc laitb alike.demand that thedebtof tbe United States be paid in accordance with the letters and spirit of the law under whh h it was created as declared in the act rf Congress of March 1-, lwüt. and it is theduty of the national government to adopt such measures as sha.l gradually but certainly restore our paper money to a specie standard without fbock to the business interests of our country. 4. That when the currency shall have been reStored to a specie value banking should be made free, so that the circulating medium may be ex-panr-ed or contracted according to the demands of commerce and trade. 6. That the democratic party, by Its uniform opposition to ihe Improvement of our harbors and our great national water courses, has shown Itself incompetent to deal with the vitally important question of cheap transportation, and all internal improvements: that tbe cheap and prompt transportation of the products o indus try should be promoted by tne national and 81 ate governments by appropriate legislation. 6. That we heartily endorse the present repub lican Congress in repealing ihe law Increasing official salaries, in reducing expenses by more than rJt'.OOp, ouo. In successful! resisting all lobs. 1 abolishing the extravagant government of the uisuict oi coium' ia, in reiormmg anales generativ, whereby the republican oartv was proved to be worthy of the continuous support of tne people. 7. That the recent outrages and murders in the South, of which unoffending colored citizens have been tbe victims, committed in pursuance of the avowed pur. ose of maintaining an exclusive white man's government, demand, and hereby receive, the indl.nant condemnation of tbe republicans or otno. 8. Tiatthe restraint of intemperance and its causes to the full extent of the legislative, J dicial and police i owers of the Stale, and the forfeiture of public trust for intoxication, is demanded by the moral and material welfare of society and the State, . We d preca e the action of the present general assembly in reorganizing the penative and benevolent institutions ot the mate, for mereiy partisan and political purposes, as tending inevitably to the impairment of their efficiency aud usefulness. NOMINATIONS. The following ticket was also norxinated : For secretary of state, A. T. WvkofF, of Adams: for supreme judge, loDg term, Luter Day, of Portage; for supreme Jndge, short term, W. W. Johnson, ol Lawrence: ior t-choolcommissioner.Thomas A. Harvey, of Lake; for clerk of tbe supreme tourt, Rodney Fooi, of Clinton; for member of the board of public works, Stephen A. Ilosmer, of Muskingum; these are all renominations, except Johnson, who is nominated f r the uuexpired term uf Judge Stone, resigned tnis a ay. ; MISSOURI PEOPLE'S CONVENTION. NOMINATION A NERBOSK PLARFORM IT WOULD 8EPERATK STATE FROM NATIONAL ISSUES CONTRACTION OPPOSED. St. Louis, Sept. 2. The people's State convention met at Jefferson city at 10 o'clock this morning. After tbe transaction of tbe preliminary business, it adjourned till 2 p. M. At the afurnoon session Judge jeese if. Alexander wa elected permanent president. Albert Griffin, secretary, ai,d a full list of vice-prtsidents. A cmmittteoi conferet.ee, consisting of three from each congressional district, was appointed to select a ticket, but after perfecting an organization and reading and reterring a number of resolutions the convention adjourned till 7 o'clock. On reassembling to-nlgfctWm. Gentry, of Pettis county, was nominated for governor by acclamation, and S. W. lie ad lie, of Greene county, for lieutenant governor, after which the convention adjourned till to-morrow, having first adopttd enthusiastically the following platform: We, non-partisans, citizens and voters of the State of Missouri, in view of the evils which we have been suffering from disorder and partisan rlDgrule, deem it necessary for tbe best interests of the Utate that the people therof should take tbe management of their affairs Into their own hands, and have therefore assembled In convention Independent of all old party organizations. A long and painful experience has taught us that tbe custom of lectins State and local officers upon national Issues, which have nothing to do with State and local affairs, has served to confuse the minds of the people wi th regard to State and local questions to be decided by such election and has thus become one the chief causes of reckless partisan hip and corruption in public a ft airs, and we believe it Is time that the people should conduct their government In all its branches upon strict business pilnciples, and should choose btate officers with re erence to fitness for their respective duties and questions of State policy alone. This State needs order and the faithful enforcement of law that capital and immigration may be Invited and that Industry may prosper. We demand the suppreselon of lawlessness and mob violence and the fearless execution of the laws without regard to popular feeling in f particular localities. All law abiding citzens mast be treated with equal justice and be made to feel that all their rights and legitimate interests are fully protected by a government law. All proscription on account of former differences must be suppressed that the industrious emigrant may again be at tracted to this State. Every dollar derived from use of the public money belongs to the people. Every officer entrusted with public .unds should pledge himself, as the treasurer nominated by this convention stands pledged, to account to the treasurer for all Interest received from the money of the people, and that we favor the passage of such laws as may provide for the proper and safe disposition of moneys of the State, as will yield to the tax payer tbe re enue derived therefrom. Honesty is the best policy for a people in their corporate capacity as for Individuals. No go ernment, national, State or local, cn serve the Interests of the people without strict fidelity to EVERT HONORABLE OBLIGATION. We are opposed to any further increase of the public debt of the State. We are opposed to all combinations which tend to Increase the cost of transportation beyond a; fair renumeratlon to the carriers. We believe that all railroad corporations being creations of the legislative power, it la the duty of the legislative branch of the government to subject them to such wise and Impartial enactments as will protect the people from extortion without Impairing the rights or usefulness of such corporations. The safety and permanence of our free instltutlots depend on tbe Intelligence of the peop e, and we are, therefore. In lavor of onr public school system nnder the same principles as now, and are determined to perpetuate it ana lmp'ove It by all the appliances o culture and intelligence, so that every child may have the advantages of euncatlon, and ve believe that the maintenance of tbe Inviolability of the school fund beyond the reach of accidental majorities, or corrupt officers, or mercenary peculators, la one of the

most sacred duties of the Btate ro -ernment

only as a baMs of intelligent self government, and best safe guard of the public peace and good order, but as an Inda einent to industrious and intelligent emmlgratton. Frequent sessions of the legislature are productive cnlyof confusion in our laws, and largely increase the burdens npon the tax payers of the State by means of unnecessary and wasteful appropriations and expenditures Incidental thereto. Therefore we are in favor ol a constitutional provision requiring a session only once In four years, unless .n case of an emergency, In which event the governor may convene a special session, ecordislly Incite all good citizens of this State to unite with ns in tbe election of state officers pledged to the maintenance and enforcement of these principles. Resolved, That any furt her contraction of the national currency would be detrimental to the prodnclng classes, and we oppose any step in that dlreci ion. We recommend to the people of the several Congrt ssional districts to elect members of Congrtsa who have constantly in view the true INTERESTS OF THE PRODUCERS of the West, the Improvement of the water routes of the country, and other means of transportation to the seaboard, the reduction of the taxes, and an adjustment of the dutle on Imports to a revenue basis, the speediest feasible and safe red i tion and t cancellation of the interest bearing debt, the aboliiion of the monopoly features of our backing system, with as early a return to specie payments as can be effected without disaster. THE VERMONT ELECTION. FURTHER RETURNS A LIGHT VOTE USUAL REPUBLICAN VICTORY POLAND DEFEATED. Motstpelier, Vt., Aug. 2. ReturLs still come in slowly, but enough is known to indicate the election of Judge Pi ck. republican, as governor by ihe usual Vermoiit majority after allowing lor a lighter vote. The House will be overwhelmingly republican and the Senate marly unanimously the same wav. Oue hundred of her towna return bl republicans to the legislature to 21 democrats, there being no choice in five. The vote for frovernor in 113 towns stands, Peck 20,004, Bingham 8,501. In 1872 the vote in the same towns was Converse 24,636, Ileaton, democratic, 10,513. Tbe contest in tbe second corgressional district has been a very hot one, and resulted in the dfat of Poland. The bolters mainlv supported the Hon. D. C. Dennison, ct Hoyalton, in Windsor coutty, but their advice to their followers was to vote for anybody to draw votes frcin Poland. Tbe exac t result of the ballot yesterday, as far as heard from, in 42 towns out of H), is as iollows: Poland, 3.S52; Dennison. 5.251; Davenport, 1,390; scaltering.584. In 172 the vi in the same towns stood thus: Poland, 7,öGG; Steele (bolter), 2130; Davenport (Dem.). 1,872; scattering, 24.3. Tbe vote fir Pol ad has fallen eff 3,714, or one-half since 1872, and Dennison's vote, compared to that of Steele in 1872, hrs gait:ed 3,121. In 1872 Poland led the State la these tow ns 5.4 W, acd this year Dennison leads 1'olai.d 1 REDEMPTION OF BONDS. Eleventh call for the fi ve-twent y BONDS THB AMOUNT ALREADY REDEEMED. Washington, D. C ,Srjt. l.Tte eleventh all lor tLe redemption of tie 5-20 bonds of; 1S02 is just issued. t- .lows: ' j Treasury Department, Sept. 1, 1874. r Bv virtue of tbe autui rity given bv the act of Congress approved July 14, 1S70, entitled an act to authorize the refunding oi tbe national debt, I hereby give notice that the principal and accrued interest cf the, bonds herein below dainated, known as 5-20 bonds, will be psid at tLe treasury ol the United Stites, in he city ,f Vahington, on and alter the nrnt day of December,! 1874; and that the interest on said bonds will cease on that day; that is to say, coupon bonds known as the third and fourth series of February 25, 1862, dated May 1, 18o"2. as' follows: Coupon bond", third "series, 50,f numbers 14 501 to 17,874, both inclusive; ?100, numbers 45,101 to 54,-J H38, both inclusive; fsno. numbers 2K,-f 701 to 30.J63,bc th inclusive; f 1,000, numbers 70.201 to 78,132. both int lnsive; fourth serie, 950, numbers 1 to 1,310. ltb inclusive; $100, numbtrs 1 to l,t6, bt-tn inclusive; f5C0, numbers 1 to l,7c(i, b aIi inclusive; ?1,000, nuLibers 1 to 4,370, both inclusive; total, ?12,00 000. Registered bond: $50, numbers 1,751 to 1,800, both inclusive; $100, numbers 15.301 to 13,900, both inclusive; $500. nu nil era 7,701 to 7,950, both inclusive; $1,000, i.unihcrg 31,610 to 32,950, both inclusiv; $5,00t, nu tubers 9,800 to 10,150, both inclusive; $10 fHio, numbtrs 11,751 to 12,500, both inclusive; total, $3,000.000; grand total. $15.000,000. Of the amount out standi! g embraced In the numbers as above $12.000,000 are coupon bonds and $3,000,000 registered bonds.United States securities forward d for redemption should be addressed in the loan division, secretary's office, and ell registered bonds should be assigned t the secretary ot the treasury for redemption. (Signed) R. II. Bristow, Sec'y. Appended to the call i a statement of the ten previous calls for the redemption of the five-twenty bonds. Tiey commence with Sept. 1, 1871, and aggregate to August 1, 1874, $261,000,000, and with the present or eleventh call, $276,000,000. PUBLIC DEBT STATEMENT. DECREASE DURING THE MONTH OF $1,2S2,65Ö. Washington, Sept. 1. Pix percent, bonds $l,?n,22x,050 nve percent, oonus...... oii,u,aju Total coin Dorm tl,7215SS0 Lawful money debt. M, 678,01)0 2.57M10 3x-2,0T6,6Sr7 .vl,690,tt(l0 4ö,797,t.j Matured debt.... . Legal tender notes... Certificate of depositt racllonal currency . Coin certificates........... Total, without interestTotal debt... ..... Total Interest.-.... th in treasury, coin S Cash in treasury, ctarrt iicy ............................ Special deposits held for redemption of certificates of depo' t a aa 515,705.573 $2,257,215,263 29&6pl 71X83.923 li,619232 1 provide! oy law... lotal in treasury.... S 146.393,16 Debt less cash in treas Decrease durinz month 12,140,178.61 Bonds Issued to Pacific Railroad Cos., interest payable in lawful money, principal outstanding. Interest accrued aud not yet paid . Interest paid by the United states.. Interest repaid by transportation of mails, etc.. Balance of Interest paid by United I 64,623,512 640,235 24,325,3 5,388,692 139,138,701 states. TWO FOURTEEN. GOLDSMITH MAID BEATS HER RECORD ONCE MORE AND TROTS A MILE IN TWO MINUTES AND FOURTEEN SECONDS. Boston, Mass., Sept. 2. At the second day's races at Mystic Park to-day, a special puree of $2,500 was offered to Goldsmith Maid to beat her own record of 2:14 in three trials. The Maid appeared between the beats of the second race and made the first trial in 2:19Jf , going easily all the way round, accompanied by a runner attached to a buggy and driven by James Golden. The second trial was made under the most favorable circumstances. The track had been scraped close into the po'e. There was absolutely no wind. Budd nodded for the word Che first time be came down. The Made trotted the first quarter in seconds and the half mile in 1:00 lifting her head once just before she reached there. The last hall mile was trotted without the least show of a break and ehe made her beet recorded time, 2:14, amid the cheers of the assembled thousands. Forney writes that lion. Judah P. Benjamin is making 140,000 a year at the London bar.