e secured against the evil effects of a depreciated currency,
those friends of the soldiers and defenders of the nation's honor
proceeded to a systematic course of depreciation of the currency,
while the soldiers were too busy fighting, and the citizens too
earnest in their support of the government, to criticize its acts.
During the war the sentiment was carefully inculcated, that opposition
to the Republican party or its acts was disloyalty to the government,
copperheadism, treason; and protests against any of its legislation
were answered with an epithet. It so happened that very little
contemporary criticism was indulged in, from a wholesome fear of
social or business ostracism, or the frowning portals of Fort
Lafayette.

But from the very commencement of the war there had been felt at
Washington a strong controlling influence emanating from the money
centres. The issue of the demand notes of the government during
the first year had furnished a portion of the revenues required,
and had served to recall the teachings of the earlier statesmen
and the demonstrations of history--that paper money bottomed on
taxes would prove a great blessing to the people, and a just
exercise of governmental functions. This was only too evident to
those controlling financial operations at the great money centres. The
nation was alive to the necessities of the government; the people
answered the calls for troops with such promptness as to block the
channels of transportation, often drilling in camp, without arms,
awaiting production from the constantly running armories. Those
camps represented the people. From them all eyes were bound to the
source of supply of the munitions of war; in them all hearts burned
for the time for action, even though that meant danger and death.
There were other camps from which gray-eyed greed looked with far
different motives. The issue of their own promissory notes, based
upon a possibility of substituting confidence for coin, had proven
in the past of vast profit to the note-issuers of the great money
centres. The exercise of that power by the government would
inevitably destroy one great source of their profits, and transfer it
to the people. Sixty millions of the people's own notes, circulating
among them as money, withstanding the effect of the suspension of
specie payments by both the banks and the national Treasury, was a
forceful object-lesson to all classes. To the people, it brought a
strong ray