The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1874-05-21
From the Crawford County Forum.
THE NATIONAL FINANCES
Letter From Senator Thurman to
judge Jackson.

Letter i
Judge JaoIksOn.
GWe know our readers will be glad to |
read the following able and unimp passioned |
letter of Senator Thurman written to
Judge A. NJ Jackson, of this place, who
has kindly CONSENTED to it's publication IN
our celumns.-Ed. Forum
WAsH1EeToE, D. c., Apr. IS, IA.
M Dear JNdge-I would be heartily
ashamed of myself for not having sooner |
answered your friendly letter of last No
vember, did not my conscience acquit me
of any Intentional neglect. The truth is
I have never been so hard worked In my
life as l have been for the last FIVE months,
and it has been simply impossible for me
to keep up my correspondence. / receive
on an average, perhaps twenty letters a
day, and had nothing else to do. would
scarcely have time to answer them all.
Being compelled to postpone replying to
some Of them, have postponed those
written by my best and most intelligent
friends, believing that they would make
all due allowances. Besides, ewing to an
affection of my eyes, l am prohibited from
work at night, and, even IN the day time
have to employ an amanuensis. You
see how 1 am abused and misrepresented
for standing on the platform of our last
State Convention on the currencv question.
That platform was unanimously adopted
by that Convention, and it is the last au-
| thoritative expression Of the will Of the
| Democratic party of Ohio upon the SUBJ
| iect. Ii was supported by every Demo-
! cratic newspaper, and by every Demo-
cratic speaker during the canvas, and VIC
tory was the result. Now is 1t not strange
that should be called upon to repudiate
that platform and contradict every speech
I made on the stump; and, not only that,
to set my face against the uniform teach
inps of the Democratic party from its very
foundation +? Is it not strange that a
Democrat from his boyhood, who COM
menced his political career by supporting
old hard money Jackson, should be asked
to become an advocate of irredeemable
paper money now and forever Is 1t not
strange that he should be expected to ad-
vocate a currency condemned by the ex.
perience of the whole civilized world anC
which the Democratic party have evel
taught is abe poor mans worst enemy; or
as Webster expressed 1t, is "the most ef.
fectiye instrument ever devised by the wi
of man, to fertilize The rich mans fed b
the saOsGt of the poor mans bTOIO 2" M
, man sympathies more than I do with tn
prevailing distress, or is more anxious t
do all in his power to alleviate it, and if
could believe that initiation Is the tTu
3 remedy might feel bound to advocat
: it.
: But if there is one truth more certai
than another in the science Of polltlcs
economy it is that, under such clrcum
!, stances, an imitation of irredeemable ps
: per money In the end aggrayates the ev
: and benefits no one but the gamblers !
r gold, bonds, and stocks and reckless {
o improvident speculators. 1t never hs
= had and, in the nature Of things, 1T new
d can have but one result, and with 1t Wild
, spread rum and bankruptcy. 1t is cles
from the action of the two Houses OF Col
~ qress that we are to have about nlnei
r millions added to the present volume
70 lrredeemable paper money, making Il
whole volume of dishonored paper eig
30 hundred millions more than twice Il
O. amount of currency (specie and paper bo
OF included) that we had only fourteen yea
i ago. The result will be to stimuls
g. speculation and increase the amount
OF Government, corporate and individual i
In debtedness; to end with q crash far mo
I'll severe than that of last fall. Should t
Al rage of speculation, with its apparent b
ne unreal prosperity, be at food tide in l8I
lrt the Radical party party will claim all I
y credit and, their lease of power for anot
nc er four years, will be almost assured.
if the crash came before that time, th
will be the same clamor for imitation Il
'er we hear not and with redoubled for
Looking then at the subject, either in
light of political economy or of party
en. terest, it seems to me that nothing col
me be more unwise than the policy OF mi
1rt ton. And our own States has pecul
me interest in opposing this policy. OHIO
on IN very large degree GlgTte'tIt'LrGh a
Ieo for some years past G9rIctLEtatTe mas D.
ars scGreelv TemuaeT0ttUe, certainly not pr
the trbLs. The chief reason for this has b.
lew and is that the cost of production to
ter, farmer and the cost of everything he b
AZ is enhanced and measured by an Tired
ars mable paper money standard while
the price Of his chief products are fixed by
tne gold standard of Europe.
ap Az But tbs time for me to stop, for do
Ihe L propose to write an essay. The passa
De- in your letter on the subject Of fnan
distress, and which are so forcible expT
ent ed, have led me into this disquisition
'ne have only one-thing more to add. Il
IN the daty of every man to honestly tell
3 Oi people that there is too much indebted
N.Y. in the country-federal. State, munici
iol, corporate and individual,-and that
sno sI true remedy is, not speculation and a
~. indebtedness, but economy from the
I1s eral Government to the smallest tc
81 - ship and in every corporation, family
was individual.
:ney hope, my dear Judge, that you
II ines not let my delay in answenng your /
yney prevent you from writing to me soon
I've at often. send you copy of my sp
Saeo me-. on the currency. 1t was an of ham
! 1IIeI fort, for l had no time, owing to Com
Dy tee duty and i'll health, to make q
llieI speech. Perhaps I may fad time
lslSl so before the end of the session. ?
~ 70 remember me to my friends and be
when a Tvupnr