The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1870-04-15
EoUTTAnLE ADJUSTMENT.

ions about the meaning of two |
words of every day use. The pay
ment of the public debt has never
been question between parties; the
manner of its payment has. The Re
publican party, with the exception of
such men as Ben. Butler and Thad.
Stevens, insist that the debt shall be
paid in coin. The Democratic party
say that it shall be paid in coin where
coin was promised, in lawful money
where coin was not promised, and
this proposition has given rise to the
terms, according to the contract" and
equitable adjustment. These terms
are convertible and they have been
employed, one or the other, in every
National and State Democratic Plat
form since the debt became n ques-
tion in politics. No man, wheth-
or he be Republican or Democrat,
has any warrant for saying that
they carry n covert meaning. The
position of the Democratic party upon
the debt question has been too often
repeated in platforms and too often
elaborated in the speeches of its
statesmen, from Pendleton down, to
permit any misconstruction.
The Democratic Platform cannot.
by any just Interpretation, be made to
declare for reputation. The same
rules that court of law would apply
in the construction of statute, where
there was an ambiguity in the terms
thereof, are proper to be applied in
this matter in order that we may lie
enabled correctly to understand what
the convention meant by the terms
equitable adjustment. In the first
place the language itself does not i'm
ply reputation. In the second place
Reputation cannot be gathered from
the context. Therefore, unless it was
the intention of the convention to adopt
a Reputation platform there is no
shadow of warrant for such an asser-
ton.
In our issue of last week we show
ed that the party in 1866 and 1SGS
was openly and Enthusiastically opposed
TO reputation, showing that the only
expressions heretofore had on the
subject, so far from furnishing any col
: lateral evidence with which TO bolster
up the assumption that equitable ad.
justment' means reputation, go di
rectly against such construction. The
proceedings of the convention show
conclusively what the feeling of ma
jority of its members was on thii
:, question, and the adoption of Huma
sons amendment instead of the reso
Il. lut on, as originally reported by th'
committee, proves beyond a peradven
ture that the words, equitable nd
:, justment, were simply used to con
:, yey the idea that the Democracy o
Oregon, in common with the Democ
;, racy of the whole United States, per-
un,ciiiing 10 pay gold ,ci,e1, legal tender
,ceTe intended to be f,aid-and nothin,
!, more; in other words that they wer
willing to pay the whole national deb
according to the terms of the contrac
and not according to the dictation c
the bondholder or any other man.
/ hat th<.yn
few disordered spirits, who, while al
= tempting to play ''d dog in tn
' manger," were loud in their ejat
:. ulations for reputation proves notl
% ing. Eighteen hundred years ag
Jesus Christ found it impossibl
to get twelve apostles without
ie Judas Iscariot being among the nun
Der. The intention of the conventio
therefore is manifest from the actio
!. of the majority-and that was mo-
;, decidedly and emphatically against r.
h, pudiation.
its It is a melancholy reflection tn
lite the committee on resolutions ever +
c ported the 9Th resolution as they d
hc but for their mistake the Democra
H. ic party is not and cannot be held r
80 80 sponsible-the party is only account
ble for the action of the convention
me whole-and as such, we think
al. has not soiled its hands with tn
nj. pestilential abortion called repudiatio
tic Every pulsation of the great Der
ar ocratic heart is honest, honorable al
Ills patriotic. Those who are trying
d. bring discredit upon Democratic pri
las ciples by loading our platform doy
- - with false and preposterous assum
,od tons will find ere long that they a
of sowing the wind and inevitably mu
f reap the whirlwind.
IS. -.---------.
A communication containing Sol
ara very undemocratic and absurd prop