The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1871-08-26

outrage or mischief in the South every es
caPade of political knight-errant in the
North every speech Of dying leader Of
the dead rebellion in which the flame oi
secession hiekers like a remnant candle in
its socket and ask you to Judge from them
what the party will do, and not from
Thurman, Grosebeck, Pendelton, Ranney
Morgan, McCook, Ward, Hendricks,
DOolittle, Cox, Hoffman, Adams, she &C.
knowledged leaders Of party, its State
Conventions, and its nearly unanimous
press. Why, fellow citizens. take all the
boltIng leaders and papers in the Democrat
ic party to-day, and, with the masses. the
mere name of the great, sincere, Val.
landgham has more power to charm than
they
Mr.. Morton and Mr.. Sherman seem
specially and even painfully solicitous about
the good faith Of the Ohio Democratic
platform on the constitutional amendments
They misjudge US, but probably not inten-
tiOnally. They reco!lect how Ih ir pledges
to the people fared-the pledge Of the
Crittenden resolutions, on which we all
won the war-the pledge to redeem the
5.2Os in greenbacks, on which they won the
Senate-the pledge to let each State regu-
late suffrage for Itself, on which Grant
won the Presidency. Mr.. Morton, two
years ago, delicately alluded to these vio-
lated pledges as " milestones on desert
ed road And Mr.. Sherman, in bis COL
umbus speech, says that the policy of his
party, built on broken faith. has become
sanctiied by success :" Think Of it
sdncttfed by success! 1t seems to me
code not unlike this was taught by the
Florentine moralist, Nicholas Machiavelli,
the gentleman after whom, it is said, the
sold nick" was named. His " Prince, I"
however has never been favorite Demo
cratic textbook, and think Mr.. Morton
and Mr. Sherman are needlessly alarmed
lest the Democracy shall adopt their pollt-
ical ethics.
THE KU-KLUX LAW.
| would like, very much, fellow citizens,
to discuss the differences between tho two
parties already developed as to the con-
Struction and execution of the amendments.
And especially to show how the Repubi>
can party, by fragrant misconstructiOn Of
the constitution as it is, has assumed to
confer on General Grant the power, when
ever he thinks the authorities of any State
fail to give any person or per,ons equal
protection of the laws, to suspend the
privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, stop
/ ~ f,,0nRSnn. &c tia a.xy1l nnI
declare and wage war on the people. This
extraordinary power is vested in General
Grant obviously to enable him to re-elect
himself and bis party next year, by con-
trolling or breaking up the elections in tie
/ SOutheln States, with the fedora army and
the black militia. He combines all the
/ qualities to make him tit instrument for
sGch designs. He Is both ignorant and
careless OF the duties and obligations of bis
high ofice-has probably never read the
constitution, for it is not published in the
Army Regulations or the Stud Books
bold, unscrupuloDs- au~Li.iO~., Q. ltisb, -..d
rs cruel and cold az bayonet. If be don't
use that law next year With that purpose
and effect, it will be because the northern
people show in the elections this year a re
turning sense Of the value Of constitutional
liberty, or because the KuKlux and car
pet bagger combined can concOct sufficient
ly plausible pretexts, or because Horace
Greedy beats him, for the Republican nom
iuation. Let US Lope, for the honor of the
country, that all these contingencies will
happen
But, fellow citizens, the topics Of present
interest aud importance in federal politics
are so numerous tha; am Obliged to select
q few Tor exclusive discussion. l shall,
therefore, ask your attention only to the
Finance and Land policies of the Republi-
can party, and their effect on the general
weltsre-to the position Of the Democratic
party on these subjects, as shown by the
votes Of the body OF the party in Congress,
and BY the Democratic platform in Ohio
and to some ofthe characteristic traits and
tendencies of these two parties in the poll
tics Of the country.
THE DEB T AND THE CURRESCY-REPUB-
LICAN POLICY, PAST AND PRESENT.
Among the most important questions to
be considered in this campaign are those
affecting the management of the debt and
the currency. Before the war, we had no
national currency, and comparatively no
national debt. The modes Of managing
them were not topics of immediate interest,
and therefore we're little studied or discuss
ed BY the journalists and statesmen Of the
country, and were not in the least under
stood by the people. During the war, its
exlgences left the government neither time
10 elaborate nor freedom to adopt such per
manent policy as would be best for the
country and when it ended, our people
were burdene@ with o debt such as no na-
ton but England ever created or carried
before. But the business of the country
was good, credit expanded, and production
large. If the Republican party bad been
controlled in tie interest Of the masses, it
would have Ihencefortb so shaped its legis-
lation as not to check the general business
OF the country, especially as a million and
a quarter of soldiers were just returning
from the field, and seeking occupations in
\ - 'AaO' 81 uo " HCublJ WIN NhS
debtor class, which comprises the mass of
the men of business in every community /;
and 50 as to Tighten, by every fair expedi>
ent and construction, the enormous public
debt resting on the masses who had borne
the heat and burden of the war
But no such just policy was adopted.
The bondhOlders, the national bankers, and
all the parvenues of the war combined,
had control Of the Republican party, and
through i managed legislation 50 as to per
petuate the power Of the national banks, to
increase the value of the 5-20's by declar-
ing them payable in gold, and to enhance
the relative value Of money and Of all
bonds, notes, and other Investments calling
for liked sums of money. The effect Of
this system Of finance has been to increase