Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1875-08-06
Senator Thurman's Position.
From the Cincinnati Gazette.

tne y
Senator THURMAN's attitude toward his party
had raised much curiosity as TO his first deliver
ance in the campaign. This was made Saturday
in Ricblaud County. He has been unspariug
censor Of the Republican party for departing from
specie money even in the necessities of defense
in desperate rebellion. He condemned it with
out stint for making United States notes legal
tender. He condemned ali its recent currency
measures as inadequate TO the necessity for re-
storing specie payment. He continually declared
specie the only constitutional money. BY all
this course he had made reputation as a man
of uncompromisingly sound views on money,
and he had so pronouncedly commit
to withdraw the government entirely from the
business OF issuing egal-tender notes, or curten-
cy notes of any sort that to abandon this YVES
equivalent to ahan 1onment Of character
But his Darty in Ohio had in their State Con-
ventiOU adopted platform which means the per-
maGont continuation of the emission of legal
.ender noles by the government; the abandon
ment of the limitation OF the amount, and an
| increasing emission, according to what the
majority OF the party may judge to be the ex-
| pauding wants of trade" Senator THURMAN
| till then recognized as the foremost Democrat
in the State, lacked courage to attempt to with
| stand this initiation stampede in the convention.
The trainers OF the platform, and man
ayers of the convention have
| opened the campnign advocating the platform
| hS ueCldIluE tOT lHlhllOu ldr UtNOuO Lnh present
enormous volume of currency, and all of them
setting up false figures of a currency of thou
sands of millions during the war, as the mark
of "the wants of trade"
| Because of all this there'was much curiosity to
! see whether Senator THURMAN would abandon
character, or would oppose the platform of his
! party. He has met the issue like q true Demo-
craL and has shown how baseless would be the
expectation that any Democrat would stand fast
| to his convictions when they ran counter to the
| In 1.
sonal ambition by trying to tnrn the course of
| his party, no matter if he beheved that it led
| to the ruin of his country. He has met it like a
true Democrat also in his brazen resort TO artful
| dodges, in order TO deny that the platform means
that which the convention meant and which all
the Democratic campaign orators, save
himself, are declaring as its merits.
| His points are substantially these:
| l. The platform does not declare
for "irredeemable currency now and forever"
for il does not say so directly, and he does not
| think that they who favor this formed a ma
plates that at sometime these greenbacks shall
be redeemable in coin. 2. 1t does not declare
directly for initiation. What it does declare for is
| for money enough for the wants of trade. There
fore it is for initiation to those only who think
| the present volume OF currency insufficient for
the wants of trade, while to those who think
it in excess of the wants Of trade, as he does, it
is declaration for contraction. 3. IL is only a
State platform, anyhow, for an election for
State officers only, who will have mo jurisdic-
ton over the currency question A. He has
clung to the Democratic party when to DO 50
was 10 incur opprobrium, and he is not going 70
desert it because he thinks it in the wrong. g.
| Platforms are glittering generalities, susceptible
OF all sorts OF Interpretation, and are of very
little consequence TO Democrat who votes the
! party.
Thus THURMAN. Thus Democratic Unite
States Senator for the great State of Ohio. We
think We may leave to him and his party TO
| say how much of character as a statesman gov
erned by principle he has left after this per-
! Torrance. He has not only practiced this inn
pudent deceit in regard to the meaning of the
platform, but he has evaded the real issue. and
affected to ignore the question which he affected
to make the vital one. He denied the power OF
the national government to make anything but
| gold and silver legal tender He charged il
with a breach of the Constitution in issuing
legal-tender notes. He pronounced it fla
grant departure from the constitutional
business OF government to issue cur
rency notes, and most dangerous
power to be exercised by party majority. He
declared that government should withdraw
from the whole business of emitting paper
money. Now he ignores all this, and affects ia
think that the only question at issue is whether
the government shall add more or less TO the
note legal-tender emission.
So much for THURMAN. lie has given up the
lead OF the party TO the initiation demagogues,
and has sunk beneath them, and that too wheT
he says that majority OF the convention and O
the party were opposed to imitation. As to his
diversion by attacking the Republicans on re-
construction and other Southern matters, it ha
no weight, because 1t is apparent to everybody
that this is a feeble device to divert attcntieI
sfrom his lame attitude on that which he ha
,declaredto be tho most.impsrtant question be
aLfore=tke eountrY.