The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1868-10-01
The Dix Letter.
From the st. Louis Dispatch.

Our minister at the court of France has
written letter in support of Grant and Col
| fax which does not, we think, add to the
strength of the radical cause. He makes
.wo objections to the democratic ticket-one
personal, the other political one. He says
that Seymour lacks frmness Of purpose, and
that the payment of the j.20's in lawful
money would be an act of national turpi.
| tude." The first if we admit its trath is a
complete answer to the clamor about the
| supposititious new rebellion. Dix pictures
Seymour as cautious, timid and indecisve
but withal San amisble gentleman Of un,
questionable private character and respecta.
bic talents.S Such men are never revoIu.
tionists. On the contrary, they are and
must be conservatives The leaders in rebel.
lion are always bold, desperate enthusiasts,
or adventures. The character of the revo-
ZIONIST is the very Rntithesis of Gov. Sey-
mour's. Therefore, when radicals say that
his election will be followed by another war
that he will inaugurate open or covert re-
bellion against a government of which he,
himself, is the head, it is only necessary to
to point to the portrait of him drawn by
Gen. Dix.
Our minister scars to a high moral alti.
tude in his reference to the payment of the
public debt. The contingent payment ofthe
POS in greenbacks he denounces in the
very strongest terms. We will not repeat
the conclusive arguments in favor of the lie.
galty Of such pay rnents, but content our
selves with observing that the moral sense
Of the nation is the only faithful Interpreter
of the national honor, and the only reliable
guardian Of the national credit. fit be an
act of national turpitude to pay the public
debt in greenbacks, then the American PEG.
pie are already indeliby disgraced. There
are very few states in the Union that have
not paid the interest on their public debt Of
late years in greenbacks, that is, when they
have paid it all. Such of them as have
paid off any portion of the principal, have
liquldated also in greenbacks. These debts
were all contracted while gold was the only
| legal tender SO there could be, and there
can be no question as to what the spirit OF
the contract requires. Let US see, further.
| more, what the collective judgement Of the
nation is upon the morality Of the question
as far as the 5-20's only are concerned. In
the first place the democracy are all but
unanimous in the opinion that there Is no
Iurptude in paying them off lawful money.
In the second place the radicals have as
party committed themselves I'd the sherman
funding bill, which is not the law-mereiy
because the President refused to sign it.
| That bill proposed to substitute four, per
! cent. bonds for the six per cent. 500 bonds.
Whether you pay off bond in "deprecia-
tedpaper,' or reduce its value by
any other method the result is the
same as far as the question OF public moral
ity or national honor is involved. If the
one be an &C. of national turpitude, so is the
other. What difference there may be will
be a difference of policy, not OF principle.
But there 10 no turpitude IN either course.
The concurrence of both parties in the mat
ter is conclusive on the point. Mr.. Dix is
in the midst of influences which are hostile
to American interests and antagonistC to
American sentiment. He has suffered him.
self 10 become the organ of the European
bankers. The foreign bondholders are the
men for whom he speaks. Their interests
are identical with those of our domestic
bondholders. The confederated money pow
er of Europe and America is arrsyed in
this contest against the American people.
1t is arrayed on the side of Grant and Col
fax. five wish TO fill the souls Of the Lon
don, Paris, Frankfort and Hamburg bank
ers with Joy and their Golfers with American
gold wrung out Of the sweat of the Ameri'
can people, let US by all means elect Grant
aud Colfax. If, on the contrary, we deem
it better thing to scatter plenty Ger the
smiling land, and introduce comfort and
simple luxury at the poor mans hrende, let
US vote for Seymour and Blair. Those who
cry out so loudly about acts of national tur.
pitude, oupht to be told that our first duty
is to be Just to our own people-the tax
payers.