Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1875-02-10
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.
Influence of JOhnsoh's Election on
the Financial Question.
pOndence Knoxville Chronicle

Correspondence Knoxville Chronicle,j
NEW YORK, Feb. lst, 1875.
There now! And what are the Dem
ocrats going to do? If Johnson is ell
ected, will not the Devil be to pay |?
Among the many opinions of high
officials, that Of Gen. Logan is I: Hes
just the man we want. / think be
will rip up things. He is not going to
let Thurman be the leader Of the
Democracy in the Senate.n
That is true. In fact, johnson will
be the leader of all the Democracy
South and West. But here comes the
rub, and it explains what Logan
meant-Johnson can not and will not
only fail to lead the Democracy of the
East, North and Northeast but he
and they will fight each other like
well drilled Roman tigers. Why d?
Because the financial question is, and
will be, the iChdle which will swallow
up all others. And Johnson's theory
of equitable" payment of the bonded
debt-that is, the payment of such
part thereof lin currency, not in coin }
as would now represent the gold price
paid them for the bonds, il exactly
what the hard-money Democracy Of
the East, North and Northeast say
their biggest No to. And, note the
fact, the mode OF payment of
our bonded debt, properly speak
ing, Is the grading of the road bed
which is to lead to the place of specie
payment.
Mr Tohpsopia tbaor,, "a 49, v,,o.A
as set forth in his Senatorial canvass
is, TO use few heavy charges of "repu-
diation powder and blow from a half
to three-fourths of the distractions
national obligations) clear out OF the
wsy-much thereof, so far away, that
its debries will light down upon Eu-
rope. But, bear in mind, such blast
will fire much of the financial day.
light out OF the strongest and most
powerful Democracy of the country.
Mr.. Jobnson's grading blast would
plunge whole magazine of heavy
solid shots through Wall street,
raking that locality from "stem
to stern" 1t would plug the
political and monetary bread-bask-
cts" of such Democrats as Tilden,
O'Connor and ]. q. Adams & Co.,
with large-sized and very explosive
shells. The Republican, and better
Democratic, theory is, to remove those
distractions in an honest, regular way.
In short, to fight it out on the line of
honorable good faith payment, If it
takes all summer"
This question will be the one of the
campaign of 1876. Already the
shrewder Democrats of this great com
merciai centre are earnestly scanning
this new phase of the largest figure OF
the problem. They all admit that Mr..
Johnson's leadership will be large and
probably controlling in the Democratic
ranks; but are quick to suggest
Surely his views on this question are
not so extreme-or, if 80, he will recede
from them" But the reputation of
A. Us political backbone is rather
stiff.
Mr.. Maynard gave him q good OPP
portunity to soften his views on that
question, but there was not much of a
melt.
If, therefore, Mr.. Johnson pushes
forward his views-fnancial-as ex.
pressed in his Chattanooga and Nash
VILE speeches, in October last. suffer
me to indulge in a small bit of proph|
ecy: He will become readily such q
leader of the Democracy of the South
Southwest and West, as to place his
name at the head of the Democratic
ticket in 1S76-to be defeated, o
course, unless mistake very much
the moral temper of the country.
! At any rate, some Democrat is tC
lead that party of the West, South anC
! Southwest substantially on the ques
ton as now attributed to Mr.. johnson
and the fight, with ballots, will b.
carollary to the contest, with bullet
and bayonets, in 1875. The Democ
racy involved in the rebellion have NJ
taste for the payment Of our NatioEa
debt, either in part, or in whole
whilst the War Democracy as the,
were called, will unite as readily will
the Republicans in maintaining invio
late the National Faith, as they did Il
; 1879 in sustaining its honor and exit
tence.
1t is quite mistake to suppose the
the elements of the two great politics
parties of the country were as much a
formally indicated in the elections {
last November. Lines more porter
tious of significant organization an
positive results are to be drawn durin
the next twenty months. In view {
our vast resources of wealth and mG
, terial power, also our National chara
= ter for honor and good faith, the flint
5 result will not likely be unfavorable.