New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-09-22
SENATOR THURMAN CORRECTED.

SENA1OR THURMAN COHhEClCN'
Our special correspondent at Columbus, Ohio,
in his letter which we published on Saturday.
tells us that Senator Thurman thinks the
Eastern papers have made great mistake IN
treating the Ohio Democratic platform as an
initiation platform and denouncing it as dan
gerOus. The platform does not, the Senator
says, call for initiation. We find that this same
assertion is made in other quarters with regard
to the Ohio and Pennsylvania platforms, and
we cannot help thinking that it is exceedingly
disingenuOus. We remark, in the first place,
that those platforms are satisfactory to
all the inflatiOnists in the country, 80
far as heard from. Gen. Butler, Congressman
Kelley and Wendell Phillips have no fault to
find with these Ohio and Pennsylvania resolu-
tons. On the other hand, hard-money men
throughout the country, professional politicians,
and few editors of partisan newspapers ex-
cepted, interpret the resolutions to mean infia-
ton. Is it possible that the whole country is
mistaken, save only Mr.. Thurman and his
apOlogists9 Can it be that the venerable Gov.
Allen and his noble companion, the immutable
Cary, are mistaken in their Interpretation Or
are we to persuade ourselves that the patriotic
pair have been making hard-mOney speeches
from the start
The propositions of Euclid have the same
degree of mathematical certainty as the axioms
from which they are deduced. 1t Is impOs-
sible to assert the axioms without asserting tho
propositions, or to maintain the truth of the
propositions without asserting to that OF the
axiOms Similarly it is out of the question to
accept the declarations of the Ohio and Penn
sylvania Democracy on the currency without
asserting to initiation, or to believe in imitation
without accepting the platforms. The proof OF
this is simple and mathematical The platforms
agree in demanding " that the volume of the
"currency be made and kept equal to the wants
"of trade" This implies that the currency
is not now equal to the wants of trade,
and that some change in it is required But
do the resolutions leave us in uncertainty as
to the nature Of the change? Is it left in
doubt whether they dictate an increase or
decrease of paper money! Not at all, for they
expressly dcnOunce "the contraction of the
currency heretofore made by the Republican
"party, and the further contraction proposed
"by it," Initiation, then, is the thing wanted
The resolution has certainly the appearance
OF calling for something. Contraction it de-
nOunces, and also the passive policy, for 1t
plainly intimates that the currency is not now
and for two years has not been equal to the
wants of trade. Ii must therefore be under
stood to call for imitation. Again, the resolu-
ton imputes the disasters to the business OF
the country and the threatened general bank
ruptcy to the insutliciency of the currency,
denounces as, ruinous the "growng up "pol-
icy, which it falsely describes as contraction,
and demands change; is there room for
doubt that the change demanded is an increase
in the quantity of the paper money or, In
single word, initiation 1t is as plain as any
proposition in geometry that tho resolution
means imitation and cannot possibly be made
to mean anything else.
The ninth resolution calls for violation of
the Constitution. To retire the entire National
bank circulation and replace it with greenbacks
would nearly double the existing issues of legal
tender notes, which in the first instance were
only justified by the exigenccs of war. Moth
ing is more certain than that if the Govern
ment will pay its notes in coin on demand, as
an honest Government, with ample resources,
should do and that without unnecessary delay,
the banks will be forced to pay theirs. The
Government has now but 1914 100000 in
creenbacks to pay. By taking into It's hands
the entire bank circulation it will have $780,
600, 900 Of paper money to maintain at par III
coin. Having got that far, the Ohio and Pcnnsyl-
vania Democracy will still require it to keep
the volume equal to the wants of trade"
leaving the restoration of legal tenders to their
face value in gold to he brought about by pro-
noting the speculative spirit of the people.
Senator Thurman knows that the currency can
never be restored to par in that way. He
knows that that is the road to discredit and
reputation. His mistake consists in not boldly
speaking out his true sentiments. Gov. Allen
and his yoke fellow Cary and The Cincinnati
Enquirer have made the contest hinge on in
fiation, reputation, and abuse of the bond
holder and Eastern capitalist. Though the
platform had never existed, the State of Ohio
cannot choose to the highest offices Of her
civil government the two men who head the
Democratic ticket without disgracing herself
and menacing the credit Of the entire nation.
Party spirit is curse when it works such