New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-12-06
The Meap,o. Of the Late Elec,ion,,L.


in Europe, writes 40 follows to the Phila-
delphls Press:
After every catastrophe there are always /
many people trying to find out why it hap. !
pens, and not nearly SO many equal to the |
duty Of repairing the damage. Oar Eng |
Iish cousins are not unlike thu Americans !
in this respect. On Friday, the third Of |
last October, at 800 A. NJ. a terrible ex'
piOsion o: gunpowier occurred in a boat on |
the canal passing through Regent Park. |
which destroyed a large amount OF prop.
erty, including damage to hundreds OF |
houses and considerable loss OF life. The |
newspapers began immediately 10 DISCUSS
the causes Of the accident, and the discus !
sion is still going on, bearing curious dis |
proportion TO the efforts to raise money on
behalf Of the sufferers. The catastrophe !
which happened last Tuesday to the Re |
publican party Of the United States, in the /
elections held On that day, has already ex. !
cited a good deal OF inquiry even here IN I
London, and I can readily conceive that |
there j. more difference between the Dolit- |
icai doctors in America in their diagnoses Of !
this contagion than III regard to the proper
remedy tor it. One Get will charge II dl-
rectly 10 the third term, another to carpet. |
bag management in the South, and still! |
another to the 4uarveis among the pOiti. I
clans. But without stopping TO examine
these manifestly incidental causes. think
the chief source Of this extraordinary reVo- l
luton may be traced to what common men
call the ''Aard times" and perhaps, IN stat
ing the ease IS IT presents Itself to me, after
good deal OF intercourse with business
men of both countries du ring the last four
months, may De able to suggest = means
by which the United States may be eXtrlca-
ted iron. wha. u conceded 9 NEST dep!ora-
Bile die NINA.
A. The close Of the rebellion in 1865,
nearly halt the entire Union was without
money: the Confederate currency was ex-
tingnished, and into the vacuum in that
section Immediately flowed a large proper.
| ton OF the circulating medium which mad
been provided only for whOt were called
the .'loyal States;" and about the same
| time. or little after. the great continental
| railroad was opened to the Pacific carrying
| with it q further considerable proportion OF
| the same currency. Mr.. McCulloch. Andrew
! Johnson's Secretary Of the Treasury. subse.
quently began his policy OF contraction.
! which has more or less continued down to
| the present time, notwithstanding the SO.
called relief Of the past long session OF Con.
| gress. The great business interests. previous
| " custOmed 70 the money OK the country.
uader which they had tlourished 10 an unex'
! ampled degree. soon began to suffer, and IN
order to supply the wants OF currency ISSUED
! their commercial paper. \ very large amount
| OF our government securities was St mt to and
| sold in Europe. and many individual and
corporate American enterprises We're formed
! in the Old World, thus. as it were, substl
| tutng for debt which otherwise would be
! ewing among ourselves vast amount OF
| heavy obligations in foreign nations, upon
which we have to to pay the interest in
| gold. This state OF things continued until
| the panic in 1878. which struck us between
| wind and water, and. / regret to say, so far
| from having sensibly moderated, is still felt
I in all the States of the Union. And not
withstanding the loud and earnest appeals
of the great body of the people. the last
session Of Congress adjourned without
I affording any means Of material relief. 1t
was in the midst of this paraly sis, unparal'
leled in the United States, that the late
elections were held with equally unparal
leled results. The Republicans have been
endorsed everywhere, but noteworthy
they have suffered most in the great
manufacturing and industrial centres. and
| in the far West and far South. The coun.
trv is drained of its specie to pay the heavy
amounts of interests owing abroad. There
isinot only not enough currency to supply
the general wants, but commercial paper IS
everywhere gone to protest, and notwlth'
| mating the gold Standard. we are motto.
ruusy further from the resumption OF
| specie payments than we were one year
ago. While the wants OF the country have
increased. our great productive establish.
meuts have many OF them closed or are
! working reduced forces. The business OF
our great railroads has largely decreased,
| extensive enterprises of all kinds have
! stopps d midway. and heretofore tlourishlng
CORPORATIONS have passed their dividends.
| Thousand. OF workmen are out OF employ
! :rent the trade of the great cities has never
before been So dull az at present. and the
panic. now more than fourteen months Old,
still hangs like heavy pail upon the entire
country. Precisely what had happened be.
fore has again taken place, with supevadded
been held responsible for the gen.
eral disaster, and the people have voted IN
this resentfui sense without thinking
whether the party in the ascendant today
can afford any means OF redemption from
its catalogue OF theories. Every antei,g .;ar
observer must decide that no Organlzatlon
will dare to attempt to cure the prevailing
distress br resort to any OF the known
ideas. such as hard money or specie pay
ments. The one strong fact bears equally
upon every mind, that we have now very
little more currency for the whole OF the
country than we had at the close OF the war
for a little more than half the country.
What, then, is the duty of the Republican
party in the present situation: ! claim
that. having created our financial system,
having fought the war through with the
| presen. circulating medium. having pro-
tected industry and contributed unspeak.
ably to the prosperity of the nation, it is
the bounden duty of that party to take care
of the institution it established, and to DO
this at the coming short session OF Congress.
The American people have declared that
thew want the means by which to live. and
This can he furnished by the simple process
| of stopping the reduction Of the pnbilc
debt. increasing the circulating medium.
! and building our transcontinental railroads.
| am writing not IN the interests Uf any
marty. although believe these will! be the
means Of putting the Republicans III Sight.
iu- trim for 1876. What ! suggest can not
be safely opposed by any political organiza'
tion. and must at last be adopted even by
IN. Democrats, with all their tendencies TO
free trade ana hard money. Our country
has suffered sufficiently for what has been
! coldly called the 'crucial test" The rich
have only grown richer in the course OK
this fierce and grinding process, ana the
! moor poorer. 1t would be a startling ex'
| kibit if we could find and print the proofs
Of this assertion, showing how much the
wealthy have protited and how Tuch the
! destitute have agonized since the collapse
of September. 1873.
The Republicans are in an Overwhelming
majority in the two houses OF N9ner. ~
which meet on the first Monday ia Decehl.
her. 1874. and adjourn on the tourth y
! March, 1873. Let them to the goo" "orH
~ once. and throw themselves upon me
counrry. and they will be Vlndlca'ea az tAe
noils. Let them do this IN defiance OF pro,
tests from whatever quarter. ana ,hey WIN