The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1875-08-05

a burglar. A Government officer ap
propriates to his own use q hundred
thousand dollars That ia not calle(
stealing, not at all. There is a dignity
about that kind of rascality, because i
is nothing but the peoples money tha
he has stolen. He is called defalter
not thief, and the people are Devil.
dered when they hear that Govern
ment officer b ,s d .faulted. That is
instead of putting the money in the
Treasury, he has put it into his own
pocket.
My friends, crime don't change
its character by being nicknamed.
Now, there are some curious facts
that arise in the history of politics
and we have a singular exemplifica.
tien of the statement at this time. We
hear it said by all of the newspaper
in that interest, and the most of them
in this State are conducted by pest.
masters We hear it said that the Dem.
ocratic party at Columbus, at its State
Convention, hoisted the flag Of "rae
money" Did they? What is rag
money! Who made it? Where did
it come from? Every cent of it was
made by your press gang at Washing.
ton City. run by the Treasury Depart
ment. Every dollar Of this "rae
Money" from the beginning to the
end, was made by you, gentlemen
who are now clamoring against "rae
money" [Laughter.] How came il
in circulation? Did the Democrats
circulate it? Oh, no. A Democratic
voice was not heard in the councils Of
the country when that immense vol.
ume of paper was issued, and when
the same Congress that issued it wrote
upon the back of it, this is legal ten.
der for all debts, and yeu must take it
except in paying interest to the bond.
holders and in the Custom House. By
this they made a discrimination in
their own currency; they impaired
one faculty to it and denied it another.
They paid their debts with it. and paid
the farmers with it when they bought
anything from them during the war
they paid the soldiers with it, paid
pensions with it. bat they won't pay
the bondhol1ers with it, although it
was specially provided that one Glass
Of bonds was to be paid in 1t. Why
is this?
The bondholders have a great ad.
vantage In holding this immense
amount of property, and at the same
time paying no taxes and getting their
interest paid in coin on it. But what
ever the currency is in quality and
volume, it is their work, not ours. If
they call the issues OF the government
''rag money" whose "rag money" is
it? Didn't yeu make it7 Laughter
You made the "rag money" Not one
dollar of paper money in the United
States was manufactured by the DEM
ocrats. And yet these fellows are
making a clamor as though we had
imposed upon the country all this
''rag money" They are repudiating
their own bantling. They are trying
to bring their own spawn into con-
tempt, and in doing that they are do
ing great deal more than they think
they are doing. Now, "-ag money"
as they call it, is promise Of the
United States to pay. That is all it is.
A bond of the United States is a
promise to pay; a bond of the State OF
Ohio or the city of Cincinnati is a
promise to pay all the railroad bonds
Of the Republic are promises to pay.
They all stand upon the same founda-
ton of credit, and the man who un-
dertakes to discredit the notes of his
government discredits the entire
amount of our private and corporation
Indebtedness as we'll as the individual
notes of people who will not pay
their public indebtedness will be
worth but little in the money markets
of the world.
There are in the United States, in.
Guiding all the bonded indebtedness OF
the Union, States, cities, towns and
railroads, about ten thousand millions
of dollars, and all this vast sum hangs
upon the preci,e thread that sustsins
the greenbacks and all the bank cir.
culation of the country. They are
based upon the idea of credit and that
credit is alone to be expressed in
fidelity to the institution that issues
that note or bond which it promises
to pay. They are all promissory notes
they are all intertwinea with eact
other, and form an immense credit
system in the United States and in
every country in the world that il
civilized. You would be surprised,
presume, it l were to tell you that the
whole trade of the British Empire
from Canada to INDIA, larger com.
merce than any country in the. world
old or young. ever had befere-is
transacted upon credit; every dollar
of it. Whenever; these people com
mence an assault upon the credit o
the country, called greenbacks, they a
the same time commence an assault
upon the entire volume of this prop
erty that consists solely In credit.
They talk about the Democratic par
ty being in favor of repudiation. LIE
-us see how that matter is. Who talk
Of reputation Why these very mel
themselves. They are sending wore
throughout all the stock markets o
Europe that the great party Of tn
United States called the Democratic
party, are in favor Of reputation
Well, now, if they could get every
body to believe that, what would thei