The New York herald., 1874-07-17
Revival OF RepudiatiOn-A stuPendous
Democratic Blunder.

| nlunaeH'
The democracy of Indiana who held their
State Convention on Wednesday, adopted
| platform which should fill the wise men OF the
party in other States with profound spprehen-
sion and misgivings. The Indiana democrats
have revived, indorsed and promulgated the
reputation doctrines on which Pendleton
made his unsuccessful and inglorious canvass
for the democratic nomination for the Presi-
dency in 1868. 1t would have seemed incredi-
BILE, previous to the fact, that body OF sane
men, assembled for opening political can
vass, should pick up the dead horse OF repu-
diation, set it on its legs by party propping,
and gravely mount it in the expectation OF
winning the race. How is it possible that
they could so msconceive the public sentiment
of the country? The assembled Indiana
democrats have the amazing folly to declare
that 1--WE are in favor of the redemption of the
fve-twenty bonds in greenbacAs;" that ''we
are in favor of the repeal OF the law OF March,
1862 which assumed to construe the law so as
to make such bonds payable exclusively in
gold;" and that 1--WE are in favor Of the repeal
of the national banking law and the substitu-
currency" We can conceive of no greater
blunder which the democratic party could
perpetrate, in the present state of public sem
stiment, than to unbury the Pendletonism Of
1868 and present its corpse as q candidate for
reception in living political society. This
issue killed Pendleton as a candidate, although
it received trimming Endorsement in the
! 1,,lof Tba lot4c 1afa %al t1,a
actual candidate, who had made able and
vigorous speeches against its principle, and
was as strongly committed as statesman
could be to a faithful payment of the public
debt. If the people ever decided anything in
a Presidential election, and decided it IRE
versiby, it was the greenback controversy in
1868. When the republican Congress, in the
extra session of March, 1869, enacted the law
of which the Indiana democrats now demand
the repeal, it merely gave legislative express
sion to the popular will as then recently
declared by all overwhelming popular vote.
The democratic party discreetly acquiesced in
that verdict, and have never sought to disturb
| it until now.
| Nothing is more certain than that the East
ern democrats will never countenance this
revival of detunct repudiation, which they
rejected when it was fresh and had
the seductive gloss of novelty. It's re-
Endorsement in the West tends only
! to distraction and division at time when the
moral influence and political success OF the
party depend on compact unity IN defence Of
sound principles. 1t is astonishing that po-
litical leaders can be so misguided and throw
away the tairest opportunities. There was
never so splendid an opening for the demo-
cratic party as is furnished by the present
financial condition OF the country and the
egregious failure Of the republicans to meet it
by any measures of relief If the democracy
were capable of watching the situation with
adequate sagacity and foresight the path to
success would lie plain before them. But it is
only as ON organized phalanx, moved by one
purpose and strenuously acting together with
perfect singeness of aim, that they can gain
controlling ascendancy over the public
mind. If they only had the wisdom to 'un-
derstand their epoch" and stand as q compact
host for sound monetary and fiscal principles,
fighting again the great battle won in a former
generation by Jackson aud Benton, they could
carry the country with them in An assured
march to victory. But the Indiana demo-
Gratis, at least. are smitten with political
blindness.
Besides sowing the seeds of internal schism
and setting the party by the ears by committing
themselves to doctrines which its wisest men,
bers detest, bringing the organization into the
situation of an army whose battalons dis
charge their fire into each other instead of
doing execution against the common enemy,
the Indiana democrats are supplying the re-
publicans with destructive weapons They
put it in their power to charge the whole
party with reputation tendencies Party war
fare is never scrupulous or discriminating,
and when tho democracy of On important
State like Indiana declare openly for repudia-
ton it is mere customary tactics to hold the
whole party responsible. There is no West
ern State where this folly could have SO dam
aging general effect as in Indiana. Its DEM
ocratic Governor, who was the presiding Off
Ger of the Convention, is one of the three OF
four statesmen most talked of as democratic
candidates for the Presidency. 1t has been
heretofore supposed that his financial views
were sound, and he ought to have had infu-
ence enough to prevent the passage Of such
insane resolutions. Indiana is also the home
of Michael G. Kerr, one OF the most upright,
judcious and respected democratic statesmen
of the country, and a candidate tor election to
the next Congress. There is no public man
in the democratic party who has better
titles to influence than Mr.. Kerr, OF
who has been uniform and
strenuous an advocate of sound principles
in every branch OF fiscal policy. Why did he
and Governor Hendricks allow the perpetra-
ton of SO stupendous folly? Why did they