New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1868-03-01
NEW ORLEANS REPUBLICAN, SUNDAY, MARCH l, 1868

all such debts obligations, and claims shall
be held illegal and void
twill be seen by this amendment tina
rebels were 10 be excluded from office. but
the Democratic legislature of Ohio, BY lis
action, says rebels may be admitted as Sen.
ators and Representatives in Congress and
hold offices under the government of the
| United States and also under state author
ity.
The amendment says the validity of the
public debt, including debts incurred in
payment of pensions and as bounties for
services in suppressing the rebellion, shall
not be questioned; but the Democratic
legislature Of Ohio by its action says its
validity may be questioned.
The amendment says "that neither the
United States, nor any State shall assume
or pay any debt or obligation in
CURED in aid of instruction OF
rebellion against the United States, or any
claim for the loss or emancipation of any
slave, but all such debts, obligations, and
claims shall be held illegal and void, u
but the Democratic legislature of Ohio
says by its action that the United States or
any State may assume or pay any such
debt or obligation, incurred in aid of in
surreetion or rebellion against the United
States, and may pay any claim for the loss
or emancipation of any slave, and that all
such debts, obligations, and claims may
not be held illegal and void. These
amendments when under consideration of
Congress were voted against by Demo
cratic members and denounced as unjust
to slave owners, by the Democratic party
throughout the country. In like mar lei
in 1862 the proclamation of freedom was
characterized as impolitio unjust and
not warranted either by the constitution or
the necessities Of the country.
Thus is it, that the Democratic party
shows itself in sympathy with the extreme
views of the Southern men who were in
the rebellion, and we hold that the evil
dence here furnished is conclusive on the
point, that if that party gets into power
the government is in danger of being
made liable for sums of money large
enough to bankrupt all the governments
on the face Of the earth put together in
paying demands made by rebels for losses
oeeasioned by the war. For there would
be payment for slaves emancipated, pay
ment for damages done by the march
of armies, payment Of the rebel debt.
State and confederate, and not unlikely
payment to widows and orphans of rebels
10 pcllslOuEls Ol TUE governments duu llbD,
! if not an open reputation OF our debt.
created in Efforts to save the country from
destruction by these same rebels and their
Democratic allies in the North. that debt
would be held to he no more sacred than
the rebel claims ard so, by the rebel addi-
/ tiuns, the magnitude of the amount would
/ be so great as to sink the whole into
/ worthlessness. Such is the feast 10 which
1 tho iu invita1 If hn &,
| party get possession of the government
and eau control a majority in congress.
And they seem determined to get into
| power by some means or other-if not
fairly, then by force for it is urged by
| Democratic paper in the West which is
said to have larger circulation than any
other Democratic sheet in the whole land,
| that if, at the next election, there are more
votes polled by the Democratic party than
by the Republican party, exclusively Of
the colored mems votes, though that vote
should put the Republican party in the
majority, that the government be seized,
and the Democratic nominee be inaurura-
ted President of the United States. In
short, another rebellion is advised if they
are again defeated at the polls, if such de
feat is aided by eolored mems votes Are
we ready for such a crisis2 Will we yield the
! government if we are entitled to hold it by
virtue Of u majority of votes including col
ored votes? Our opinion is that since the
Republican party and other friends of the
government were able to conduct their last
war 10 a successful termination in spite of
rebels in arms, and Democrats acting in
their interest giving them aid and comfort;
that when this same Democratic party gets
up another rebellion they will meet with
no better success than in their last effort to
destroy the government, but will in like
manner come to a miserable end and be
| despised and hated of all men.
/ We have spent several years in the
/ SOuth-have seen and conversed with many
| Southern men, and we know that they look
| to the Democratic party for countenance
| and support in getting remuneration for
emancipated slaves, and for damages
done by the war. We know, more
/ over, that some of them are open and
avOwed advocates of Reputation of the
! public debt. One man bOastflIlly said to us
some months since that he hoped to see the
| day when greenbacks and United States
bonds would come 10 be on par with the
/ confederate currency and bonds. which all
know are worthless Others would be glad
to see the whole debt paid off in greenbacks,
and then let that kind of currency take its
chance of ever being paid, aud any one at
all acquainted with the effects on property
of an over redundancy of currency can
easily tell what must be the fate of green
backs issued in any such quantity as would
pay the whole of the public debt. They
must depreciate until they would simply
be worthless. What terrible calamity to
the public credit would this be. First
feeding the country with some two thou
sand five hundred millions of an irredeem.
/ able paper money and then adding to the
| public debt until the amount reached the
| sum of the debt of all the nations of the
earth put together, an amount so great that
ltcouid not be paid; and whether 1t was all
| put into currency OF portion Of it re-
tanned in bonds, the amount would be so
( great That all. even the best men Of the
country, would give up in despair of ever
meeting 1t; and so all would yield to one
general willingness for Reputation. The
/ public morals would be debauched and the
country sunk into an infamy so deep as
never to recover TO the latest generation of
men. And yet as deep as would be the in
fanny, as lasting as would be tile disgrace to
the country in the event here indicated,
leading Democrats in the West are to-day
advocates of policy that would be the
foundation stone to these results. Mr..
Pendleton, appointment candidate for nomi-
nation for President by the Democratic
party, openly and avowedly advocates the
policy of paying off the present debt of the
United States in greenbacks without any
provision in his plan eff how the green
backs are TO be paid, and his party in the