The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-08-03


The True Motives of the Democracy.
MANY people, and among them must be reck-
oped the members Of the New York Conven.
tioD, have been agitatng question which all
thinking men must deem to be prejudicial to
the public credit. We refer to the ultimate
payment Of the public debt. This discussion
might have been tolerated on the grounds Of
necessity if any such necessity existed which
would call for its settlement at the present
time. But when it is seen that as well as
being injurious, it is also perfectly unnecessary
to have word said on it, the unpatriotc con-
duct of the Democracy appears in full colors.
1t required not only a needless but also a
vicious man to provoke any such agitation as
that which now depresses our country. The
issue which has been forced on the nation by
the semi-Rebel and wholly repudiating De-
mocracy is whether or not the Five-twenty
bonds issued by the United States shall be
paid in greenbacks or in gold We have said
that the discussion is unnecessary. These
bonds do not fall due for twenty years if the
Government sees fit to let them stand. In all
human probability such will be its course.
that not only will the debt be not paid of be-
fore maturity, but that at the time when it is
due it will be taken up by new loan. There
is no need for its payment until an indefinite
time has elapsed, and then only to have it
satisfied by such gradual installments as will
not cripple or in fact injure the national re-
sources. 1t being, then, probable that 1888
I'LL Lat Al
the gold or greenback issue is to be expected,
why then agitate it now? We cannot tell
what day will bring forth, much less what
quarter of a century. But it requires no pro-
phetic vision to foresee that before that day
comes return to specie payment will have
been secured. The natural tendency of trade
is towards gold basis. Before that time the
equilibrium will have been restored; the
balance will have adjusted itself. What,
then, does 1t matter whether the debt be paid
in gold or greenbacks They will be one and
the same thing. They will be equal in every
particular-the one interchangeable into the
other and receivable at par. Why then injure
the national credit by any such discus
sion as that which is now being forced
on the nation by the Democracy? The answer
is, we regret to say, too plain. The leaders of
the Democratic party are demogogues of the
worst order. They care nothing for the
national good. They seek but for place and
power. They nnd q faotioa of .i.o se~e.a~Ae.t
of the land grumbling over the possession OF
wealth by others more fortunate than them
selves. They concur in sentiment in favor of
semi-repudation solely to catch the popu-
lar tide of discomfort. They sacrifice the
nation without moments hesitation, to gain
few votes. In this they are at least consis-
tent. Throughout the whole war such has
been their course. They have been ever will
ling to lay all claims of country at the feet of
party. They did so in the darkest days of the
war. They do so now, when we are recover
ing from the effects of Democratic Rebellion.
1t is but another of the reasonable steps
which they have been pursuing, and the peo-
pie who have watched them with loyalty in
the past, and who view them with suspicion
still, will teach them the truth of the motto,
"Whoever sacrifices principles to policy, de-
serves to fail in both policy and principle.
THE IMPORTANCE of life insurance has in