The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1874-04-28
THE INDUSTRIAL AGE THANKS THE Re
1G1 - PUnIArT0NlsTs. s.. 81

~ EuukAElONAoIb.-
In the last number of the Chicago In
dustrial Age, we find the following editor.
ial note: s@0' 70 b = So
Messrs. Logan, Morton, Carpenter and Ferry are
entitled 10 the thank OF the people OF the West for
the manly stand they have taken on the currency
question. ,sr
Mr.. s. NJ Smith, secretary Of the Far
mers' State Association, is one Of the edi-
tors of the Industrial Age, and we think
that neither he or that paper represent
the true sentiments of the Farmers on that
question much less the true sentiments
of THE people Of the West. u Senators
Logan, Morton, Carpenter, Ferry, and
Representative John B. Hawley, do not
represent the true sentiments of the West
on the financial question, nor do they de-
serve or will they will the receive the
thanks Of the people Of the West.
They, like Mr.. Smith and the Age are
infationists. An inhationist is a man
who objects to the Government being hon.
est, because he objects to its paying its
debts. He votes every time against the
fulhlment of its promises, clearly, square
ly, and explicitly made. He votes that it
shall hold the position Of liar and re-
pudiator of its obligations. He votes that it
shall'not only do this on promises andIobliga-
tons already existing, but that it shall 60 on
and multiply them still further by the mil
lion. He thus ranks himself among the
INSCRIPTIONS and unprincipled of man.
kind, He declares that Government shall
lie, and ought to lie, indefinitely. He can
not escape the charge that he is an i'm
moral and dishonest person. He disre-
CARDS and condemns even the heather vir
tue expressed in the ancient maxim: Let
justice be done though the heavens fall. 3"
And his intellectual obtuseness is as great
as his moral obliquity, for he rejects the
wisdom Of the more modern maxim of uni.
versal acceptance, that honesty is the best
policy"
1t should never be forgotten that the
whole question of imitation is first and fore
most question of morality. 1t is in the
first instance simply question of the pay
ment Of debts The failure to pay can be
excused on no ground but that Of actual
inability. No government, no bank, no
community, no individual has the shadow
of a right to issue promises to pay AMI
then refuse or decline to pay them, To do
it in any case is to lose both credit and
character. To do it wantonly and under
no pressure of necessity is simply to cheat
and to swiDdle the holder Of such prom.
ises, The latter is the position of the
Government Of the United States to- day
on its four hundred millions of demand
notes known as greenbacks and it is the
votes OF infationists that put and keep the
Government in this dishonorable and dis
graceful position.
Mr.. Flagg, president of the State Farm
ers Association holds correct views on this
question, aud he much more nearly repre-
sents what we believe to be the true senti-
ment of the industrial and business people
OF the West than does Mr. Smith or the In
d@stridl Age. He holds that value is not
merely an ideal thing and that dol
lar does not mean whatever Congress
may mean to make it mean. He holds
that whenever n respectable member of
the family of nations has given its solemn
promise to pay dollar" that promise
cannut he fulflled hv isSu;p, mora ,r.r;
SEES of the same sort and calling these
promises dollars. The people ofthe West
are not regulators, nor will they thank re.
pudiators for misrepresenting them.