GREENBACKS AND BONDS. 543 



The result of this infamous law was to increase the 

 burdens of the people and put into the pockets of the 

 bondholder about six hundred million dollars which the 

 premium on gold would amount to at that time. If, how- 

 ever, we calculate the rates of discount at which they 

 obtained the bonds it will exceed that amount Senator 

 Beck, in the Senate of the United States in 1869, said: 



"The bondholders had, up to 1869, received one 

 thousand million dollars of profit before they got the prin- 

 cipal of their bonds made payable in gold. It can be 

 shown by the treasurer's reports, from year to year, giving 

 the amount of bonds sold each year, and the premium on 

 gold from 1862 to 1869, that the purchase of the bonds 

 with paper at its face value, and the purchase of the paper 

 at the discounts, gave a profit to the bondholders as 

 follows:" 



1862 $ 28,138,989 



1863 94>555>7 I 3 



1864 306,551,552 



1865 110,159,367 



1866 53,747)i83 



1867 . . . 167,915,741 



1868 i53^59>7 6 5 



On acc't of 5 per cent bonds 98,287,894 



Total $ 1,012,536,204 



The above represents the discounts which the 

 government made good to the bondholder by the law of 

 1869. ^ ne whole scheme is now made apparent. The 

 first thing was to cripple the greenback with the "exception 

 clause. " Get up a corner on gold. Buy greenbacks at a 

 discount and exchange them at their face value for bonds. 

 Institute a national banking system with bonds for a basis. 

 Burn up and destroy the greenbacks and have the bonds 

 made payable in coin. And through the national banks 

 issue the paper money and control the volume of currency. 



