544 THE IMPENDING REVOLUTION. 



So far they had been eminently successful. Fearing, 

 however, that the people might elect another Congress that 

 would repeal the obnoxious law of 1869, the bondhold- 

 ers now set about to have the old bonds exchanged for new 

 ones, and the contract written on the face of the bond. 

 This was secured by the Funding Act of July 14, 1870. 

 The debt was now payable in coin of a fixed standard of 

 weight and value and no Congress had a right to annul the 

 contract. One would naturally think that with the 

 consummation of this infamous scheme, that the greed and 

 avarice of the bondholder would have been satisfied. But 

 they desired the banking system to be perpetual, and as the 

 bonds were the basis of the system, the bonded debt also 

 must be perpetuated. The only way to accomplish this 

 was to make it more difficult to pay. In 1873 they secured 

 the passage of the law demonetizing silver. This provided 

 for the payment of the debt in gold only. The people, 

 however, became so indignant at this assault on silver 

 money that they elected a Congress that partially repealed 

 the law and provided for a restricted coinage of silver. 

 The fight upon greenbacks has also been continued in a 

 manner that indicates that it is the purpose of the money 

 kings and their tools the leaders of the two old parties 

 to eventually wipe them out. 



President Hayes, in his message to Congress December 

 2, 1879, sa Y s: 



".The retirement from circulation of the United States 

 notes, with the capacity of legal tender in private con- 

 tracts, is a step to be taken in our progress toward a safe 

 and stable currency, which should be accepted as the pol- 

 icy and duty of the government and the interest and 

 security of the people of it." 



On December 3, 1879, Senator Bayard (Democrat) 

 offered the following resolution: 



