Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1875-11-14
THEN AND NOW,

THEN AND NOW.
9ne wear ago our Democratic friend.
could scarcely find language sufficient
ly Joyous to express the exuberance o
their exuitatiOns over the result Of The
: elections in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New
] Jersey, sc. The tidal wave hal
swept away Radical power" ant
Grantism bad been crushed" auC
the Democracy was to be permanently
, enthrOned and invested with, not only
l the State Governments. but with the
powers of the National Government
,, A Democratic House of Representa-.
; tives was one of the results of theil
victory in 1874, and they were sure
that the elections of 1875 would con-
firm aud establish their power, so pos
itively as TO render certain their tri-
umph in the Presidential contest in
1876. We had passed through too
many political campaigns to be deceiv-
ed by the results of the elections in
1874. When we analiZed the votes in
the several States that seemed to have
changed from Republican to Demos
crotic, we found that in all those
States the apparent detection arose
| from tue lightness of the vote pOlled
in the several States, and not from
change in the political sentiments of
! the people. 1t was true that there was
great depression in business generally,
throughout the country; that enter
prlses had felt the effects of the gener-
al stagnation, and the people were for.
the time bewildered and at loss to ac-
count for the cause of the financial
trouble that had Overtaken us. We
knew that under such circumstances
it was natural that the people should
hold the party in power responsible
for such state of affairs, and there
fore were not surprised at the uIscon-
tent manifested.
The Democrats seized so favorable an
opportunity to decry and denOunce the
whole policy of the Republican party,
thinking that amid the discomfort and
under its influence they could array
the people against the policy of the
party in power. But they proposed no
remedy commensurate with the neces-
stiles of the case. The people listened
to their denunciations of the party in
power, but heard nothing that assured
them of wiser or better policy. They
remembered that but short time had
interviewed since our greenback cur
rency had been denounced by these
same fault>finders as unconstitutional,
and charged that it had been issued by
an unscrupulous and tyrannical party,
that was intent upon wrestling all
power from the States in order to con-
solidate and cent1alize all important
powers in the National Government.
Now, when this same party proposed
an unlimited issue of this same uncOn-
stitutional greenback currency, as a
remedy for the depression and the
evils we bear, the people were amazed.
| When Pendleton, who, while in Con-
! gress, was consistent in voting against
the issue of every dollar ofgreenbacks ::
and Allen, who had been an implaca-
be enemy of every Republican meas
ure, became champions of Initiation as a
remedy for disease, that had, in a
great measure, been produced by the
necessities of the country during the
war, they became distrustful of
such leaders, and have rejected
their counsels with scorn and con-
tempt. We have often charged upon
the Democratic party that they are
bankrupt of principles. They posi-
lively have nothing to offer the people.
They can scold, and find fault, and de-
nounce the policies of their opponents
like bawds, but when called upon, as
they were in the States that have so
recently held elections, to avow some
comprehensive policy that would lift
the country from its depression, they
utterly failed, and the people turned
away from them, saying: We asked
you for bread and you give us stone."
The country has gained much by
the discussions that have taken place
all over those States that held their
elections on the I'd of this month.
We shall be much mistaken if those
discussions in regard to the true causes
of our depression, will not continue to
have powerful influence throughout
the country.
Intelligent men have about arrived
at the conclusion that the wastes and
the destruction of values during the
war is the true cause of the depression
that afflicts us; and we are
not suffering from the want
of more currency so much
as from the exhaustion caused by the
enormous drains that have been made
upon the wealth and productive indus
tries of the country.
When we consider the losses of the
country and the load of debt that
weighs upon US, it becomes matter of
wonder that the people enjoy the COM