Show ar aft ciff by ELMO SCOTT WATSON lie announcement was made each denomination of the new currency w Is to be issued on july 1 of this year aa to beir a differ ent portrait of a als american new corfe congressman wrote to secretary mellon of the treasury department part ment as follows I 1 am informed that the portraits on the new bills will include washington jenerson Je with a picture of monticello on the obverse side with the lincoln memorial on the obverse side hamilton with the treasury building jackson with the valte house grant with the capitol franklin with in dependence hall as well as mckenley cleveland madison and chase I 1 notice with regret the absence of albert gallaton ln secretary of the treasury under jefferson and madison ha was a great secretary of the treasury surely he should be remembered by a grateful nation by havone his picture on a series of these bills of all foreign born citizens who hive risen to power and fame in the united states albert gallatin tn was the most he made a deep impression on american history directly after the revolution and served his country honorably as a member of congress united states senator minister to france and minister to england and peace commissioner at the treaty of client and last but not least he was one of your honored predecessors the purchase of louisiana was the measure of jefferson first term but it was gallaton ln who arranged for its payment and did so without in the lightest degree deranging his plans for the funding of the national debt when the war of 1812 came upon us great financial burdens were placed upon the treasury department but gallaton ln with great skill and wisdom discharged them successfully although Altho urh portrait will not appear upon the new money that the grateful nation of which the few aorl in spoke has not for gotten entirely his services Is shown by alie fact that last acir congress passed a joint resolution authorizing the erection of a statue to and directing that it be plated on the steps of the treasury building in washington with that of alexander hamilton to remind americans that our financial system Is due to these two great men unfamiliar though the story of gal latles life may be to many amer leans it was nevertheless a and an important one he was one of the earliest examples of B foreign adro citizen rising to a of prominence in the united states alln was born in geneva in and received a good education in that city which was then one of the centers of learning in cu rope having been left an orphan gallaton ln decided to emigrate to ainer lea especially as it offered an for an adventurous life in the wilderness which he desired there Is a legend that an unfortunate love affair droe him to this dedsion hut the truth of the legend Is it I 1 interesting to note that he wax offered a commission in alie forces of thy I 1 of hesse wh ans fur soldiers to hie I 1 ing for sen ice the ame icons hut that declared be bould nev arsene a tyrant arriving in boston in he spent some time there until he grew weary of its monotonous life and puritan tone then he embarked upon n trad ang expedition to the frontier of maine but when this proved able he returned to poston and became an instructor in french nt liar vard college after staying there n year gallaton ln proceeded to new tork which was then 1783 still in the hands of the british and their in science to the young swiss Is said to have been responsible for his leav ing there very soon and going on to philadelphia and richmond while in virginia he became inter ested in the lands south of he ohio as a promising field for speculation and here he purchased a thousand acres which he bought for a hundred pounds in virginia money here he loped to mal e his home as he had definitely decided to become an amer lean citizen soon after tills land transaction he became the pinner of a french gentleman named salary de and together they bought warrants for acres of virginia land between the great and little kanawha rivers was to have the nonage mani of this land and in 1784 lie set out to look it oer he found alie country north of the virginia line more desirable and finally located in fayette county where he built himself a log house and also had a store it was here he farst met general washington the story of this meet ing as narrated by gallatin Is given in a paper or the new york historical society written by william keach lawrence gallatin hod a cot bed in the office of the surveyor of the district v hen ft who had lands in the neighborhood and was desirous of effecting alon between alie rivers came there mr bed was given up to him 4 ing on the floor tm mediately below the table at which washington ws writing washington was endeavoring to reduce to paper the calculations of the daiy diy gallatin hearing the statement ement came at once to the conclusion and after waiting some time be himself gave alie an which drew from washington such a look as he never experienced before or since on arriving at his conclusion washington turned to gal inton and said lou are right young man of this incident jachn austin stevens who wrote the biography of gal latan in the american statesman series published by company says he look which washington Is said to have given mr his its counterpart in thit with which he Is also said to have upon goliver neur morris when accosted by him familiarly with a touch on the der after the incident at the log cabin on the pennsylvania frontier wash ington la to have tried to secure the services of as his land agent but the later declined the offer gallatin boon rose to prominence in his adopted ie was a of the pennsylvania assembly conven alon he was a member of the logs injure was elected united states se but could not qualify because he had not long enough a citizen of the country for thirteen years he had then been in america and declared tits intention to be a citizen ahree eara it Is believed that he was unseated on ac count of having been too inquisitive regarding the manner in which the finances of the nation were being ad ministered it proved fortunate for alie country at large that gallatin was in amette county and not in jhb senate for it was through his alint the insurrection did not result jn war through the secession of several counties in western pennsyl vanla and virginia ahe people wen not only redy to fight hut had a flag of own ady to float from their pole good acne annl management saved the adny for law and order he lias been criticized criticised tor living on the frontier instead of in the cities lie liked the life there where con did not rule and there was greater equality As he expressed it from the suburbs or philadelphia to alie banks of the ohio I 1 do not know a single family that has an extensive in luence an equal distribution of prop erty has rendered every individual in dependent and there ts among us true and real equality in u word as I 1 am lazy I 1 alle a country where living la cheap and ns I 1 am poor I 1 like a country where no person Is very rich in 1801 he became secretary of the treasury in jefferson s cabinet and held the office for twelve years dur ing this time he made the work of his department intelligible through the budget system and borne assert that as a financial genius he ranks with hamilton gallaton ln did not care for the position as he would lave pro ferneil to study law and practice it in mcw york city or in philadelphia hut when appointed secretary lip falt it his duty to accept although be feared lie ms not equal to ilie husli on leaving the Gallat ln served his adopted country quite as effectively as a diplomat according to henry adams far more than con temporaries ever supposed or than Is now the treaty of ghant was the special work and the pecullar triumph of mr gallaton his shrewd nesa ind tact won the day ft here an other ann differently endowed might have failed following his successful and adroit diplomacy in bringing about the treaty of ghent insuring peace between and america sir Gallat ln na sent as minister to prince and later to the mission to angland gal latles life hut not his intel activity retiring to york he spent the lust years of hla life in pursuing his favorite studa 0 ethnology and promoting education in this manner he usefully out his eighty years dying in 1849 the historian henry adams franj son of john kutncy adams and gnat grandson of john adams in hla life of gallaton ln bivs that as of the treasury during years of jeffersons Teffer sons presidency and for four bears while madison was president gallaton ln deserves recognition with hamilton as the founder of our financial system hamilton a theory was that the fl policy of the country should originate with the secretary of the treasury and that congress should acquiesce in registering his will al hert while fl member of con gross organized the waya and means for the pin pose of holding alie secretary of he treasury in check new york recognized ahe high position won by by giving his name to one of its great banking institutions |