Benjamnin F. Butler, Butler's Book: Autobiography and Personal Reminiscences of Major-General Benjamin Butler

[939] You will find running all through this letter of Secretary McCulloch an evasion of this question. What is the contract by law?

When the $900,000,000 loan, commonly known as the ten-forty loan, was issued, what did the Secretary of the Treasury do? Of the six per cent. five-twenty loan (which the gentleman from Maine contends was payable in gold) he says only some $25,000,000 of the $500,000,000 authorized had been issued; yet he makes the Secretary of the Treasury guilty of the absurdity of attempting to put on the market $900,000,000) of the five per cent. ten-forty loan as a competing loan, expecting to get that taken up, when he could not get his five-twenty six per cent. gold-payable loan in principal and interest taken up. Why did he do this? If both loans were payable in gold, he must have been entirely demented. But no; the ten-forty five per cent. loan was payable, principal and interest, in gold by its terms; and this same Secretary of the Treasury, through his brokers, advertised this ten-forty loan as the only one the principal and interest of which were payable in gold. And nobody objected in this House. I was not here then; but where was the eloquent voice of my friend from Maine protesting against selling this five per cent. loan upon an advertisement that it was the only loan payable principal and interest, in gold? Why did he allow the public creditors to think that the only loan payable in gold was the five per cent. loan; that the six per cent. loan was not payable in gold? This only illustrates the fact that, in interpreting public law, we must not deal with what members of Congress do individually, but we must be bound by the statute.

Mr. Blaine. Does the gentleman mean to say that the government agents advertised that the ten-forty loan was the only loan payable in gold?

I replied: Yes, sir; I do. Certain government agents, called the New York Tribune, the New York Times, or the New York Evening Post, contained that advertisement, and if the gentleman will go there he will find it.

Mr. Blaine. Authorized by whom?

I answered: Authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury, so headed, It was a little difficult at that time to find out who the negotiators were, That was the advertisement. You can find it. If I had known this question was to arise at this time I would have had the advertisement to present to the House.

Mr. Blaine. I gave the gentleman notice some days ago that I should speak on this subject.

I said: True. But while I presumed the gentleman would speak