ely,
and $5,000,000 per month during the balance of the year. The sale
of four per centum bonds will be continued by the treasury department
as heretofore, upon the terms and conditions of the last circular,
and the proceeds will be applied to the redemption of six per centum
5-20 bonds.'

"This certainly will be considered a very favorable negotiation
for the government."

Among the numerous letters received at this time, I insert the
following:

"Viroqua, Wis.,, April 14, 1878.
"Hon. John Sherman, Secretary of the Treasury.

"Dear Sir:--We have a Honest Money League started in Chicago, of
which you are probably aware. The secretary is the Hon. Thos. M.
Nichol, who aided us so materially in carrying the state last fall.
He is one of the ablest defenders of honest money that we have in
the northwest. Any information you can furnish him will reach the
people of the northwest. I see by the dispatches you have completed
arrangements whereby you will be able to resume by January 1, 1879.
I hope Congress will have the good sense not to throw any obstacles
in your way. I used to, when in the army, tell the boys to trust
in General Sherman and keep their powder dry, and now I feel like
trusting in Secretary Sherman to keep our money honest. I have no
fears of the result if Congress will let you alone.

"Yours truly,
"J. M. Rush."

The eastern press, almost without exception, gave its hearty approval
of the contract made, and the mode and manner of the negotiation.
The leading papers in New York, including the "Herald," "Tribune,"
and "Times," gave full accounts. In the west, however, where the
greenback craze or "heresy," as it was commonly called, prevailed,
the press was either indifferent or opposed to the contract and to
the object sought. It is singular how strong the feeling in favor
of an irredeemable paper currency was in many of the western towns
and among the farming people. United States notes, universally
called greenbacks, were so much better as money than the bank notes
were before the war, that the people were entirely content with
them, even if they were quoted at a discount in coin. They were
good enough for them. Any movement tending to reduce their number
was eagerly denounced.

At the very time when the negotiation was being made, the Senate
finance committee was discussing the expediency of agreeing to the
bill repealing the resumption act which had passed the House. The
indi