The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1875-07-29
ALLEN AND PENDLETON.

Gov. Allen and Hon. George H Pen
dleton made speeches at Gallipolis on
Wednesday of last week. The meeting
was a tremendous affair, some fifteen
thousand persons being present. We
have read these speeches carefully, and
with an eye single to giving them fair,
honest, and candid construction We
must be utterly too stupid to understand
the English language, or these men have
fatty contradicted each other. Gov. AL
lens speech is like all of his speeches.
rough, coarse and unfair. Pendleton's
exhibits the gentleman, scholar and
statesman. Both of them said many
things to which we cordially assent. To
show what we consider contradictions
and inconsistencies, we reproduce few
extracts. Gov. Allen says:
In the first place we want to know
what makes a silver dollar worth 100
cents. If there be a bar of lead a bar of
iron, and bar of gold lying here, as long
circulating medium. A piece of pig-iron
is just as much money as piece of gold
until public authority has stamped it and
said it shall be taken for so much. 1t is
public authority, and that alone, which
gives piece of metal its characteristic of
money and makes it circulating medium.
| Now you will observe that none but the
| Government of the United States has this
power. The State can't do it, private
man can't do it. 1t has got to be done
by and with the authority of the United
States. When silver has passed through
the mint of the government and comes
nl ho1 IL ho
comes money. Suppose that instead of
bar of silver or gold the Government of
the United States takes piece of paper,
called greenback, and says this shall be
legal tender in receipt and expenditure
of all government dues, and in all trans
actions of the people. Suppose this gov
ernment to be of good standing and
sound credit, responsible for its words
and for its paper. This dollar thus
stamped like piece of metal, is, to all
intents and purposes, equivalent to a sill
yer dollar. You want specie payment.
How much specie would be used if spe-
Gle payments were required to be made
Perhaps few ten-cent pieces or quarters
to take the place of shin-plasters, which
wear out so quickly and are very incon-
Yenient. Up to that point specie would
be used, and no further.
If we can understand anything, that
means. that Gov. Allen is opposed to spe-
Gle payments, and thinks such scheme
impracticable, and a delusion. And this
from an old hard money Democrat
Now hear Mr. Pendleton, on the other
side:
1 speak for myself alone. l do not as
sumo to speak for the Democratic party.
Its convention has spoken for it. But |
believe I interpret truly its opinion and
platform when l say that we are in favor
of coin as the basis of the currency; that
a paper currency should be convertible
into coin at par; that we desire return
to specie payments as speedily as the in
terests of labor and business will permit !;
that we would be glad to return imme-
diately if honor and good faith and JUS
tice would permit and it were possible.
We are not now and never have been in
favor of an unlimited issue of Igreenbacks
or bank notes.
And again he says:
/ cannot foresee what truths investiga-
ton may evolve in the future For the
present, 7 repeat | am hard-money
man. l believe that a return to specie
payments should be kept steadily in
view in our legislation and action, and
that wise craftsmanship will seek the
means OF reconclIlng Such return with
the true interests of labor and business,
and justice to the debtor.
1t is well to keep in mind that these
two leading men in Ohio politics made
these speeches to the same people, and
on the same day.
The Democratic party is now urging
the continuance of a financial policy that
it has always opposed, and declared un-
constitutional, and Mr.. Pendleton in this
same speech said:
And if 1 may do it without egotism
let me say that l was in Congress when
the legal-tender act was passed. l voted
against it. l believed the law unconsti-
tutional, and the policy unwise. have
never changed that opinion.
Well, well. The Democratic party is
strange anomaly, any how.