The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1875-10-01
THE cAMPA:eh OPENED.
The Right Words from the Wright Man.
address of the Democratic os"te
COMMITTEES.
THE FINANCIAL QUESTFoN-EVIi-s of BAD
GOVERNMENT, ETC.
To tn. Electors of Pennsylvania

49,, Of snacie pavments [: nor has the time
, come to fir u time for that purpose. NO
voice has proceeded from the mills OF manu-
factories from the mines or the furnaces !;
nor from the farmers or working men ae-
manding either. Governments are estab-
Gshed for the benefit of the governed and
until the people who represent the indus
trial pursuits of the State ask for change,
it is worse than folly to agitate the questloh.
The people, therefore, of this Common
wealth. who are engaged in mining and
manufacturing; in agriculture ana Tue
other branches of industry, ana especiaiiy
labor, which is at the foundation OF the
prosperity of the State, should oe consuiteo
upon question of SO momentous chsr-
acter. as a change in the currency, orln the
eulal cement or contraction of its tsvolume.
How forcbly does this question present
ITSELF at a time when the indnstrlal pur-
suits of the people OF the State are SO 1ear-
fully depressed. She is rich III her mines
and her manufactures and in the prooucts
of her soil. Her great staples have been
made available in liberal allowance to
labor. but causes have arisen which have
retarded the march of her prosperity.
What has produced this is not the subject
of inouiry now, but such is undeniably the
fact .-
The country has now, and has had for
the last twelve years, paper currency,
irredeemable in gold and silver. Tins has
been adopted as the basis OF values. 'lhe
system was not the offspring OF Democratic
legislation. 1t is claimed, by those who
introduced it. as one of the necessities
caused by the Rebellion. Right or wrong,
the country accepted it, and since the close
of the war, to the present moment, ali our
business transactions have been reg ulated
by it.
Upon the legal-tender basis the farmer
has purchased his land, the manufacturer
put in motion his machinery, aud the work
ing man bought the lot upon which he
erected his home. To change this basis of
values suddenly, by the substitution of
gold and silver, would depreciate the price
of land and cause alarm auG distress III all
the avenues of trade. The change will be
n work of time and cannot be effected until
the country is in better condition TO re-
ceive it. And however much the politi-
clans of the country may interfere, the
solid sense and good judgment of the
masses will prevail and they will, by the
force and power of the ballot, prevent hasty
and ill-digcsted legislation on the question
of specie resumption.
However much we may complain OF the
want of wisdom that promoted the intro
duction of the present system, there can
be no doubt of the folly of attempting now
to destroy it. Whatever evils belong To 1t
nave allGAuN Open 1bdIlZcu, tilc puSliItFs VI
a whole decade and more has been based
upon it, and only those who desire to spccu-
late upon a breaking up of all values,
whether of labor OF of property, are now
advocating a contraction of the currency,
and it may not be Inappropriate to add
here that in nothing has the confidence of
the people in their government been so
strikingly illustrated as Ill the universal
acceptance and use of the money issued by
it. notwithstanding the bad management
of the administration.
we claim that the Democratic party has
ALWAYS been and is now in favor of 4 sound
and stable currency, and we have uniformly
opposed the mercinary inflations that have
So often disturbed and destroyed the busi-
ness Of the country. Composed as the
Democratic party is, in large part, of the
labor of the nation, it is essential to its best
interests that all needless fluctuations OF
the currency should be avoided, and it is
entirely safe to say that with the govern
ment in their hands lies the only hope of
| reaching the specie standard as the basis
/ of our currency. 1t is no part of its mission
/ OF it's destiny to abandon this idea. 1t will
! not. But that same party must be governed
by reason as to the time, the mode and
! manner in which the point is to be reached.
/ 1t cannot afford, even if il had the power,
I to march on to the objective point over a
I uCSbtdlc tilC lttitl VI It's
+ industries. 1t does not propose to commit
any such folly and, therefore, when in
council at Erie, the party determined TO
{ put itself in a conservative position and act
/ with deliberation and discretion when they
passed Notwithstanding that the
volume of money be made and kept equal
to the wants of trade, leaving the restora-
ton of legal tenders TO par in gold to bG
brought about by promoting the industries
,Nt dos
they but evinced sound Judgment, and
made no sacrifice of principle.
The effect of this is to make one common
currency, save where Congress has made
/ special provisions to the contrary, in the
national loan. There is no initiation in this
part of the Erie platform it is but supply
ing the people with the amount of currency
withdrawn by the National Legislature
from circulation.
The people of this State cannot be forced
into submission to a strictly commercial
rule in their business affairs. Commerce
camors for free tlade. The people en-
gagged in commerce carry on a traffic Will
4 all nations. They obtain and receive large
profits. They can well afford to pay th,
differences in exchange. Our mines, man
ufactories and agriculture want and cai
only prosper under protective revenue laws
Pennsylvania has always been a protective
State and is SO now, and she cannot dis
pense with this feature but with serious
loss.
The commercial interests of Pennsyl
vania, in common with the interests of the
Western States, arc identical in this par
ticular, and their common destiny lies il
the same channel. With the exception o
Philadelphia, and which may be classet
more as a manufacturing city, with a linn
tied commercial marine, they have no ship
uuOu the sea. Their trade and barter i.
at home. Their profits are comparativel,
!, small, and they are not in condition to NEE
sudden commissions in the contraction o
currency. The. Western States have real
lied this state of affairs, and they hav
boldly assumed a position in which th
Democratic party of this State has sus
|, The platform adoped at Erie takes th
/. position that bankers and brokers may no
4 have the control of the currency, that .h
industries of the State and the great ques
\ e LII. -clx.. hov<