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Wisconsin State Agricultural Society. 
finance-cocoanut. Interest is tlie cancer which is eating at the 
very vitals of industry; it is taking the profits from every per¬ 
son in the broad land who is engaged in the varied avenues of in¬ 
dustry. I think 1 see in this principle of an interconvertible cur¬ 
rency that which will largely regulate interest. If the govern¬ 
ment fix the standard of interest at 3.65 per cent., it will be a 
great governing power. Whenever there is a large demand for 
money, interest will naturally increase, and persons who hold bonds 
will convert them into greenbacks, because they can make more 
money thereby. If interest rises to four, five, or six per cent., 
holders will convert their bonds into greenbacks, and use them as 
long as they can to better advantage than in bonds, when they will 
convert them into bonds again at pleasure. Mr. Leland intimated 
in his paper that we did not propose to pay these greenbacks until 
the end of time. I believe in paying these greenbacks when¬ 
ever Uncle Sam says they shall be paid. If they had been payable 
on demand there would have been no occasion for their issue; for 
if the soldiers who went into the field to fight the war of the last 
rebellion had received these little bonds, and they had been made 
payable on demand, they would have called for the gold immediate¬ 
ly. Why was the government compelled to issue these little bonds, 
called greenbacks, at all? Simply because the gold of the country, 
meanly and coward-like, found its way into the pockets of the 
money-kings and misers of the land. Like a coward, it refused to 
aid in putting down the rebellion to the extent of a dollar. W r hen 
Secretary Chase demanded gold of the banks, to put down the re¬ 
bellion, not one dollar could be had. They said to him, we will loan 
3 r ou our faith and credit, but not one dollar in gold. What did he 
say? He said, we will issue bonds on the faith and credit of the 
government, which is ten times better than the faith and credit of 
any private individual or public corporation. That currency we 
desire to make convertible into these bonds, and re-convertible at 
the pleasure of the holder, thereby appreciating the value of green¬ 
backs, so they shall be equal to gold. 
Dr. Steele: I want to hear Mr. Leland answer with reference to 
the currency restriction. Mr. Benton spoke of currency regulat¬ 
ing itself. I am not quite able^to say that. I sympathize with Mr. 
Benton’s views all the way through. There is a point there I want 
to see elucidated. I do not want to hear one side all the time. I 
