CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



139 



James G. Elaine, of Maine, as Speaker in the 

 House. 



Subsequently, on December 22d, Matthew H. 

 Carpenter was elected President of the Senate 

 pro tern. 



In the House, on December 8th, the bill for 

 the improvement of the currency and the re^ 

 duction of the interest on the funded debt was 

 considered. 



Mr. Maynard, of Tennessee, said : " This bill 

 was introduced by my friend from Pennsylvania 

 (Mr. Kelley) and was referred to the Commit- 

 tee on Banking and Currency, who instructed 

 me to report it back with an adverse recom- 

 mendation, and to ask that it be placed on the 

 calendar. It has been placed there, and is the 

 bill which is known very well by members of 

 the House as the 3.65 convertible bond bill. 

 That involves a question of a great deal of 

 public interest one that has entered very 

 largely into the discussions of the country 

 during the last few months. It seems to me 

 we may as well take up this bill and consider 

 it at this time as at any other period of the ses- 

 sion. We probably have as much leisure now, 

 and our minds are as little preoccupied now as 

 they will be." 



Mr. Kelley, of Pennsylvania, said : " Mr. 

 Chairman, suppose we have the bill read. I am 

 afraid that gentlemen are not aware of its 

 purport." 



The bill was read as follows : 

 Ee it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 

 tives of the United States of America in Congress as- 

 sembled^ That the amount of United States notes in 

 circulation be limited, except as hereinafter provided, 

 to $400,000,000 ; and that any holder of said notes 

 presenting any sum not less than fifty dollars, or 

 some multiple thereof, to the Treasury of the United 

 States, or any of the assistant treasurers, shall re- 

 ceive in exchange therefor an equal amount of bonds 

 of the United btates, coupon or registered, as may 

 by said holder be desired, bearing interest at the 

 rate of 3.65 per cent, per annum, payable semi-annu- 

 ally, which the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby 

 authorized to prepare and furnish for that purpose ; 

 and that when any person shall demand of the 

 Treasurer of the United States, or any assistant 

 treasurer, redemption of said bonds, it shall be the 

 duty of said Treasurer or assistant treasurer to pay 

 in United States notes the principal of said bond or 

 bonds, with accrued interest, and cancel and forward 

 the bonds thus redeemed to the Treasurer of the 

 United States forthwith, in such manner as the 

 Secretary may prescribe. 



SECTION 2. That the Secretary of the Treasury 

 shall cause to be prepared United States notes of 

 the several denominations now in use to the amount 

 of $50,000,000, which shall be held as a reserve or 

 redemption fund for the purpose of securing prompt 

 payment of said bonds when demanded, and the 

 United States notes so held in reserve shall be used 

 only when needed for the payment of said bonds on 

 their presentation, and shall be withdrawn and 

 placed again in reserve out of any United States 

 notes not otherwise appropriated, received by the 

 Treasury Department thereafter; and the whole 

 amount of United States notes received by the 

 Treasury Department in exchange for said bonds 

 bearing 3.65 per cent, interest shall be appropriated 

 and applied by the Secretary of the Treasury, as 

 rapidly as practicable, to the purchase or redemption 



of any bonds of the United States outstanding at the 

 passage of this act. 



SEC. 3. That national banks are hereby author- 

 ized to hold said bonds bearing 3.65 per cent, inter- 

 est instead of the reserve of United States notes 

 now required by law. 



Mr. Kelley : " The President's message was 

 read to us yesterday, and it contains one short 

 sentence that should be printed in bold letters 

 and bright colors over the door of every dwell- 

 ing and workshop in the country. No truth 

 could be more pregnant or more instructive to 

 the American people than the one contained 

 in that brief sentence so pertinent to this dis- 

 cussion. It reads thus : 



Debt debt abroad is the only element that can, 

 with always a sound currency, enter into our affairs 

 to cause any continued depression in the industries 

 and prosperity of our people. 



" Why, sir, foreign debt, carrying gold in- 

 terest, is what is crushing the hearts and the 

 hopes and undermining the morals of the la- 

 boring people of our country. It is that in- 

 debtedness which is filling our almshouses 

 with people skilled in many industries and 

 eager to toil for their living. It is that foreign 

 debt, that annual gold indebtedness for inter- 

 est on the principal, that is stripping the 

 thrifty and industrious laborer of his earnings 

 hoarded through years in savings-banks ; that 

 is compelling him to see his humble but mort- 

 gaged home pass to the capitalist at a nominal 

 price, because he has not been permitted to 

 earn the little stipend that would enable him 

 to pay his monthly dues to the building asso- 

 ciation, or his semi-annual installment to the 

 capitalist. It is that foreign debt which is 

 causing a vast tide of emigration to flow from 

 our shores, and repelling hundreds of thou- 

 sands of immigrants who hoped and expected 

 to find shelter, freedom, and prosperity under 

 our republican institutions. 



"And, sir, the bill just read by the Clerk is 

 a proposition to abate this foreign indebted- 

 ness by authorizing the Government to avail 

 itself of the resources of the American people, 

 and to so locate a large part of the public debt 

 immediately, and all of it ultimately, that 

 when it shall pay its interest it will pay it to 

 those from whom it has drawn the money by 

 hard and heavy taxation. 



" This is my sole object in proposing the 

 issue of convertible bonds, and I stand not 

 upon the phraseology of my bill. I am ready 

 to accept amendments. What I ask is the 

 inauguration of a system by which the honor 

 of the Government may be vindicated by its 

 acceptance of the currency it issued and which 

 it now repudiates, and that the people may be 

 relieved of the curse of this debt 'debt 

 abroad ' which is the only thing that can 

 interfere with our prosperity. 



u When the Government issued greenbacks 

 it acted with wisdom enlightened by the expe- 

 rience of history. Thaddeus Stevens, then the 

 great mind of this House, knew the story of 



