National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-12-08
EIGHT PAGES.
THE PRE8LDENTs MESsAGE.

THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.
The message of the President, which
was sent to Congress yesterday, will be
much more satisfactory to the people than
to the majority of the politicians and So
called leaders. The views he expresses on
the currency are not likely to find much
favor in a body that less than a year ago
sent him a bill for his signature in which
directly opposite principles were main
tanned, and which he returned to them with
III condemnation. OF course there can be
no hope - prospect of agreement between
those who favor more paper money on the
one hand and on the OTHER those who de-
sire to return to the universal money of the
world. The two ideas are as opposite as
night and day, and the President need
not hope that that portion of his message
which bears on this subject will receive the
approval Of those who believe that the sole
remedy for the distresses under which we
labor consists IN turning the steam on the
greenbaCk presses, stamping out a couple
ofhUndred more million promises topay, and
L4adhl4l LAAOLlNN lANAAty -
under the late Southern ConfederaCy or in
the happy isle of Hayti at the present time.
1t will be seen that the President places
the whole responsibility of returning to a
healthy condition of affairs exactly where
it belongs-in Congress. Congress will
lot like this, we suppose, but there the
first steps must be taken and nowhere else.
He makes several recommendations, look
ing to the appreciation of the national cur
rency by the repeal of the legal tender
clause, with certain conditions and restric-
tons, and to the accumulation of gold. A
day must be definitely set for return to
specie payments, and then free banking.
This portion Of the message will undoubt-
edly be popular except among those who
are specially interested in retaining their
present monopoly. But we have little
faith that the suggestions of the President
will be adopted, or that, in fact, there will
be any agreement on the whole subject
within the next ninety days.
The President strikes the keynote of the
situation when he says that some means
should be taken to reconcile labor and
capital and to induce the employment of
the workingmen. We have again and
again pointed out that the causes of the
recent reverses at the polls were attributa-
BILE solely to the hard times; that the duty
of Congress at the present time is to so
shape legislation that it will revive the in
dustry of the country and put the working
20 DrorSIo,4 =, /,
sage says: ''Our commerce should be en-
"couraged American ship building and
carrying capacity increased; foreign
"markets sought for products of the
'sOil or the manufactures. And again:
GO have stated that three elements of pros
"perity to the nation, capital, labor, skilled
"and unskilled, remain to US. To direct
''the employment of these is problem de-
serving the most serious attention of Con-
" gress. If employment can be given to
all the labor offering itself, prosperity
" necessarily follows. l have expressed
1.-the opinion and repeat it, that the first
" requisite to the accomplishment of this
lend is the substitution of sound cur
"rency in place of one of a fluctuating
"value. This secured, there are many in
terests that might be fostered to the great
profit of both labor and capital How to
induce capital to employ labor is the
"questiOn. The subject of cheap trans
"portation has occupied the attention of
Congress. Much new light on this
"questiOn will, without doubt, be given by
1.-The committee appointed by the last Con-
"gress to investigate and report upon this
" subject"
We have already alluded to this subject
Of cheap transportation in these columns,
and pointed out that if Congress would
only boldly carry out the suggestions and
of Mr.. WINDOWS report,
the expenditure would in a few years come
back ten-fold to the Government, and be of
incalculable benefit to the producer of the
West and the consumer of the East But
as the bank monOpolies stand in the way
of measures calculated to redress the finan-
cial disorders of the country, so the rail
road mOnOpOlies block the construction of
the internal water lines of communication,
and their newspaper organs have been set
upon us to denOunCe and ridicule the pre-
ject. Let us wait and see who are their
champions in Congress.
What may be characterized as the politi-
cal portion of the message will be accepted
by all who have the least conception of
American citizenship as the language of a
patriot rather than of a partisan. The
troubles and discussions in the Southern
States are characterized in terms the truth
of which must be acknowledged by every
man, and the whole cause of the
misrule and outrages that disgrace and de-
grade that section is laid here in the single
sentence: Treat the negro as a citizen and
" voter as he is and must remain, andso
" parties will be divided, not on the color
e line but on principle. Then we shall have
emo complaints of sectional prejudice"
To every Southern Republican who has for
years been hunted, prosecuted and threat
ened with death for opinions sake, the
ringing words while l remain Executive,
'aIl the laws of Congress and the provi-
" sions of the Constitution, including the re-
" cent amendments added thereto, will be
"enforced with vigor, but with regret that
"they should have added one jot or
&c title to executive duties or powers, " will
carry cheer and consolation.
The message is probably the best and
most statesmanIike the President has writ
ten. Calm, dignifed, with little in it which
can be said to have been written for effect |
or to catch the passing cheer, its utterances
are those of a man who evidently feels all |
that he says. He has given policy to the |
Republican party in Congress something
which they sadly needed. Will they come |
up to it?
THE ARKANSAS QUESTION: