flooding the whole country
with these irredeemable notes, and producing, in time, a state of
financial confusion and distress that would ruin any administration.
The proposed issue of government notes guards against this effect
of inflating the currency by the provision to convert them into
government bonds, the principal and interest of which, as before
stated, are payable in specie."

Mr. Morrill of Vermont supported the bill proposed by the minority
of the Ways and Means Committee. He described the legal-tender
features as "not blessed by one sound precedent, but damned by
all." As a war measure he thought "it was not waged against the
enemy, but might well make him grin with delight." He would as
soon provide "Chinese wooden guns for the army as paper money alone
for the Treasury." Mr. Morrill declared that there never was a
greater fallacy than to pretend that as "the whole United States
are holden for the redemption of these notes, they will, if made
a legal-tender, pass at par." He contended that, as currency, "no
more of them can be used than enough to fill the demands of commerce."
He directed attention to the fact that of the Treasury notes already
issued, payable in specie on demand, "the government succeeded in
circulating but $27,000,000 of the $50,000,000 authorized, and of
these the banks had held $7,000,000." The sanguine feeling in
regard to the length of the war was disclosed by Mr. Morrill.
Speaking on the 4th of February, 1862, he ridiculed the suggestion
that "the war would be prolonged until July 1, 1863." He declared
that "we could close the war by the thirtieth day of July next, as
well as in thirty years.' This opinion was the one commonly accepted
at the time in Congressional circles, though discountenanced by
the wisest among those holding important commands in the army.

Mr. Bingham of Ohio spoke earnestly in favor of the bill. He could
not "keep silent" when he saw "efforts made to lay the power of
the American people to control their currency, a power essential
to their interest, at the feet of brokers and of city bankers who
have not a tittle of authority save by the assent of forbearance
of the people to deal in their paper issues as money." Mr. Bingham
argued that as there "is not a line or word or syllable in the
Constitution which makes any thing a legal-tender,--gold or silver
or any thing else,--it follows that Congress, having 'the power to
regulate commerce,' may dete