The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1874-08-25
The Tap.Root Of Mischief.

The Tap.Root Of Mischief
The discussion growing cut of tue y
tempts of the inhationists to increase I'd,
volume of irredeemable currency X h = a,
to make money cheap" viii ., 40. If cor
tirely improbable or unPro%d ossrs P 81
resnIts The speeches of Messrs. Ihelp
Hawlev iof Connecticut COX, an
o.hnrs' m the House, ana
Wassrs schurz. Fenton, and Others
.Ie es son.te have added greatly to the en-
Embtenment of the people upon snp)ec
~ the utmost importance, but which, DC
vond the limited circle of students OF pc
fitical economy, is little understood. Il
the light which has been thrown upon
during the debates in congress and IN
discussion of the general question by IN
nress. it has begun to dawn upon the pup
liz mind that the kernel of the matter Is
after all. more moral than political-tha
lisa question of political morals, more thar
political economy, that gives the flnancia
issue its most important aspect. The inlq
uitous attempt--for it is nothing else tic
dilute the unpaid promises of the govern
ment by the further issue of notes unse'
cured by anything having the remotest re-
latiops with value, has called public atten
ton to the quality of the transactions
which the government note attests.
Here is a promlse-here, indeed, arc
four hundred millions Of them passing
from hand to hand The promise was
made in the stress of great trial, IN the
face of appalling national peril and under
the pressure of war. The stipulation, ex'
press aud implied, in the act providing toi
their issue and in all the antecedent condl'
lions of the transaction, was that just SO
soon as the peril was passed, the govern
ment that handed to its creditor its en-.
graved promise to pay that creditor one
honest hard dollar should take immediate
steps to raise the dollar and fulfil it's prom.
Use, Has it done it? Has it attempted
to? Has there been any indication OF al
intention, nay, even of desire, to pay OF
the part of the government? In loose
and wordy way all parties have agreed, II
the queer rubbish called platforms have Sc
forth their understanding of it, that some
time speedily" they are pleased tc say
the promises should be redeemed and
the use of medium having value be re-
sumed. The President has said 50, the
parties have said so, congress and every
body has said so, and there has been I
sort of nebulous notion that by and by We
shall strike upon specie in sudden anc
unexpected way, and, without feeling it at
all, be able to pay our debts and canoe
our obligations and go right on.
But the notion has been exceedngl.
vague and misty; there has been no detin
iteness of plan, no theory as to the time
nothing but happy go-ucky sort of trus
in the general tendency OF things. Nj
Boutwell, and the Great Minister of +
nance who succeeded him could not under
stand that there was any question OF cor
science or honor or honesty involved j
taking up one promise with another, an
buying up at discount with irredeemabl
promises obligations not due. And SO W
have gone on in an utterly blind way, havin
apparently no sense of the sacredness of
promise and no conception of the duty o.
doing in some precise way and at some
precise time just what we have covenanted
and agreed TO- And now a number of
mischief making politicians, who believe
that promises by Government are of nC
more consequence than promises by par
ty--that they are made only to be broken
come forward deliberately and shame
lessly, and propose to establish promise
for performance, to set the country going
upon road that leads away from redemp-
ton and down to absolute ruin. To the
consideration of this aspect of affairs and
this tendency Of legislation the conscience
of the country is summoned. It's ques
ton whether or not the Republic will speak
and act the truth. So long as the country
was going on smoothly and business was
prospering, there was only the sin ofcrn-
inal negligence in putting off the day of re.
demption. The Buffers, Mortous, and
Logans propose now to enact lying into a
fixed policy, and remove all prospect OF
performance from the way of loose, ire
sponsible, and irreieemable promises
Are we ready to do it?
We are fighting official corruption and
dishonesty. salary grabbing, and all the
train of iniquities that follow the engraved
falsehood called currency; but the toun.
dation and source of the greater part of
all the dishonesty the exposure of which
has 80 shocked the people is in the au-
thorized ialsehood beginning with 1.-The
United States will pay That is the
tap-root of the whole business. 1t is a
pernicious example, persisted in and fol
lowed up with no more sense of shame
than is experienced by the Massachusetts
Mephlstopheles when he is caught divid-
ing moieties, or by self styled Christian
statesman caught taking brides or buying
votes. The Senate and House have sol
emily enacted the doctrine that payment
is OF no consequence, redemption a matter
OF most trivial Importance. fulfilluent of
promises the last and least of considera.
tons. Promise to pay and promise to
pay. is the rule hereafter, until the people,
spurning the demagogue's delusion that
they are ready to be dishonest when they
can max dollar by it, rise up and thrust
out OF power the men who have misrepre.
sented and belied them. That dav will |
surely come. 1t is no farther off than &c
tober They will make short work of the
fallacies of the men who are trying now to
dlshOnor them with the authoritative die.
tum that "a lie well stuck to is as good as
the truth. There is no intermediate pro-
cess in their logic; no fooling with words |
or toying with phrases; they read the |
promise to pay" of the United States and |
they ask-when? aud how? That is all. |
NO Jugglery can blot out the promise, no
evasion or equiyocation hide the fact that
the promise is not, aud is not intended to
be fulfilled. The day of reckoning will
surely Come when the people will rise up in
their majesty and rebuke the uufaitbfull
and dishonest servants who have under
taken In their name to sanction organized
lying.-N L. Tribune,