The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1873-11-27
About the Hard Times.

verts, comes to the defence of the admin
istration, and endeavors to parry the force
of our question Who is responsible for
the hard times ?" That paper probably
feels local necessity impelling it to rise
and make some explanation upon the
point. But it commits grave error at
| the very outset, when it says
| But it rather bunts the edge of the Journal
argument, that it has always denied that the
| administration did deserve any credit for the
| prosperity Of the country. OF course if its
| former assumption was correct, its present one
| is false.
| This is 4 mISs-statement Of our position.
inasmuch as we have never admitted that
the so called prosperity had any real toun-
dalton. The spendthrtt practices and
| lavish habits Of the war. and IN inflated
currency which deceived the unthinking
into Z belief that the war was costing
nothing, induced 4 popular belief that the
| country was prospecting. The volume Of
paper money and the lavish expenditures
| OF the government kept up the deluson
years after the war was over. But the
laws which govern those matters are rs
fixed and interchangeable as the laws of ma
ture. \ top-heavy structure founded on
credit is as sure to come TO the ground as
the house that is builded on sand. Every
dollar that the currency was increased be-
You'd the ability of the treasury to redeem
il in specie was false and fictitious II
nominally increased values, quickened
trade and filled the purses of the people
but large part Of that which was called
money was as unsubstantial rs the foam
on the river. A transaction in the New
York stock market pricked the bubble,
and straghtway the fear that every one
secretly had of the day of reckoning took
shape in the belief that ii had come On
the wings Of fright it flew over the whole
country. and panic reigncd That is the
kind of prosperity that the country has
had-cheating itself into the delusion that
piece of irredcemable paper with ten
dollars printed on it would buy As much
as ten dollars in specie In fact the Free
Press itself. after beating about the bush,
comes down to the truth of this matter
but mingled. rs usual, with falSehood-
what il says
The fact is. we are going back from the con-
dition of an inflated currency-inflated by dem
ocratc active rebellion and democratic Sympa-
ty for rebellion to 4 specie basis.
The admission that an inflated currency
is the real trouble-an irredeemablc mass
of rag dollars -scttles the whole question,
and leaves nothing to argue.
And in addition to all the other sins of
the confcderates. the Free Press charges
them with initiating the currency of the
United States We had heard before the
charge that they inflated the Southern
currency until it was worth about the
price OF paper rags--but never till now
that it entered into their hearts to con
ceiyc that they had the power to ruin
the currency Of the United States also.
Why, what 4 set they are, these rebels
and democratic sympathzers, to sue
ceSsfully rob Salmon P Chase of that
which was his chief boast, that he was the
father of greenbacks and all their kind
red Truly their wickedncss is unbounded
Coming back to the consideration Of
the present and its troubles, we find the
situation one which admits of no explana-
ton except that of misgovernment Men
all over the country, and especially in the
large cities, Skilled mechanics. artizans,
GOOD ana rent,1l cltl7enS, arc Iulc anu then
families in danger of starvation. If there
had been failure of crops, and famine
were impending, all would bear their part
in enduring the great calamity as vista
ton Of God. and summon all their forti-
tudc But the land is rich with all abund-
ance The oranaricS are full. and the
barns run over with the harvest. Instead
of 4 cry for food, the demand is for means
10 carry away the enormous accumulation
10 feed the hungry. In this state of things
men, women and children, ready and
willing to labor are starving in the great
cities. And when we ask if this is the full
fllment of the boosted prosperity we have
been taught to expect, one Of the brilliant
organs Of this brilliant administration be
gins 10 talk about the participators and
sympathizers in the rebeliont Why, there
never went a rogue TO the whipping post
without better excuse for his offence
4 lady who was walking down the sidewalk
on the south side Of Hammond street, above
Fourth last evening, was knocked down and