Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1875-11-17
The lEard-MOney Party.

Superbly modest as well as honest
fellows these Republican speakers are
to accuse the Democrats OF stealing
the platform. They at last begin to
see that the old Democratic principle
of hard money is the only safe aud
sound one for the currency, and ever
Mr.. Atkinson says he hopes the party
will wholly come owe, to it, by and
by OF all that party's fantastic per
formances, this charge that The De
mocracy have stolen its principles is
the most remarkable. Either Repub
lican orators know nothing whatever
of political history, or they are willing
to insult the intelligence Of the people
by presuming that it is the latter who
are so denscly ignorant From the
tirt year Of the century, the Demo
cratic party has beer no other than q
hard-money party, 1t is Scared all
over from the honorable wounds it
received in its long conflict with the
advocates Of paper money. 1t never
recognized, and while it exists it new
er can recognize any but a coin toun,
dation for the currency. The oppro-
brium it has been called to endure iii
its glorious career on account Of lis
settled devotion to this single doctrine
furnishes too good a certificate OF its
character on a question which its Oh
ponents have again made vital one.
Every epithet that the vocabulary Of
its enemies could supply has been
worn by it without finching, in order
that it might defend the first rights Of
the people by securing to labor and
capital alike the benefits Of honest
money. On this issue its position is
as mistaken as the existence Of the
Republic itself, aud its accomplish
ments in the past are among its chief:
est distinctions
1t was reserved for party that fol
certainly ten successive years has de
bauched the country with degraded
paper, which nothing but the rightly
of express statute could hold up with
in sight of the coin standard, to &C
cuse the Democracy Of unsouudnes'
on the subject of the curr cncy. Ever
M. Boutwell, does it, with that cir
cumslantial air which he seems tc
think immensely impresses the PEG
pie. He Is the very man who has to
admit that there is more paper IN cir
culation than there was atx,he close Of
the war; who persistently resisted
every movement oil the Democrats il
Congress, 70 the five years he was il
the Treasury, to return to 4 specie ba
sis who preached, in his official re
ports and before his fellow citizens
that an honest currency was not to be
thought Of before the payment Of the
public deot who, the other night
confessed to having inflated the cur
rency, that is, degraded its represen
tatiye value still more, by the illega
issue of five millions in single week
and who has nothing more to say 10
resumption now than Morton an'
Sherman, when they all declare to
pether for no contraction and no eX
pansion, which means simply stumbl
ing along as the country has been do
ing for the past two years. This i'm
pudent charge that the Democrat
have been stealing the Republican
platform on the money question i
sefrefuted by its preposterousness
If there has been any stealing, or Dor
rowing, on this question, it has no
been. because it could not have been
on the Democratic side. TO the last
ing principles and doctrines of til
Democracy its opponents have Away
had to run, as to an armory, as otte1
as they brought the country int
trouble. They are reluctantly learn
ing their lesson in nard money Of tn
Democrats now, and because the
have Just discovered what to them a
least is an entirely new doctrine the,
charge the Democrats with stealth!
it for claiming it as doctrine Of thei
own Boston Post.
is there anything in the worlc
I.