ngerous." He protested vigorously against making any part of
the public debt payable in foreign countries.

--Mr. John Wentworth of Illinois argued in favor of contraction,
maintaining that the purpose of the pending bill was to make the
Secretary of the Treasury master of the situation. "If we expect him
to compete successfully with the most desperate body of men in the
world we must confer upon him the necessary powers. The real question
is, Shall our Government pay its pensions and all its employees and
creditors in depreciated paper, when by borrowing a little money at
six per cent it can bring its paper to par?" He charged that an
immense lobby against the bill had thronged the hall, and was surprised
to find importers among them. "But the importers have found," said he,
"that a bloated currency bloats the fashions." He earnestly indorsed
Mr. McCulloch as a cautious man, who would not be precipitate, no
matter what power might be conferred upon him: "If we adopt his policy
we shall wake up some morning and find the paper of our country at par."

--Mr. Pike of Maine doubted the necessity of enforced contraction; but
if contraction was necessary, he was for taxing the circulation of
national banks out of existence, and afterwards retiring greenbacks.
"Once upon a specie basis," said he, "let the business of the country
regulate itself." He proposed also to allow the States to tax the
bonds of the United States.

--Mr. Price of Iowa asked: "Would any prudent and sensible business
man who had given his note payable at his own option, without interest,
be likely to give for it another note for the same amount payable at
a certain time, with interest at six per cent semi-annually, in gold
coin?"

--Mr. Scofield of Pennsylvania asked if the legal-tender notes were
not, upon their face, payable on demand.

--Mr. Allison of Iowa insisted that "the Secretary of the Treasury does
not propose to return to specie payments immediately, but he expresses
the opinion that the reduction of greenbacks by the sum of one hundred
million dollars will secure that result."

--Mr. Boutwell of Massachusetts was content to try the experiment of
converting the interest-bearing obligations into long bonds, but was
unwilling to go farther.

--Mr. Sloan of Wisconsin proposed an amendment to make "bonds and all
other obligations of the United States hereafter issued payable in
lawful money," but the suggestion met with no favor.