New-York tribune., 1876-10-09

nation is directed are lawless i'll their OBJECTS
they ought beyond question to be broken up
If they are not, they can well afford to dis
pcrse, and have the satisfaction OF reassrrinG
the timid and establishing peace and order.
And all good citizens will unite in the here
that they will quietly disband and furnish no
occasion for the use of extreme measures.
WHAT 4 DEMOCRATIC VICTORY VOULD
BEING.
The great struggle at the West is nearly
ended. Within week we shall know the
result. Graver responsibility has rarely been
placed upon the people of Ohio and Indiana,
even in the most critical periods OF the war.
National dishonOr and financial ruin, following
the success of rcpudiating Democracy,
would make it utterly impossible for the
nation ever to suppress another rebellion.
Destroy the public credit and Texas alone
might raise the flag of secession with safety {;
the Union, after breaking its pledges to those
who have trusted it thus far. would be pow
crcSs to restore the authority of the C0nstitu-
ton. Public credit is at once the most vul-
ncrable and the most vital point of the national
life. As long ms the Union could command
money to keep IFS armies in the field, it WAS
Irresistible; without credit it would be without
power.
1t is VII to reflect upon these things, since
a solid South seeks the election Of Mr.. Tidcn
1t matters bttle whether he Is sincerely a
Union man, or whether at heart he sympa-
tlizcd with Secession, il the triumph of his
party would make il impossible for him or for
any other President to quell rebellion. Should
that time come, another rebellion would surely
occur; the desire for separation, however
dormant at the South, would awake again at
once The impotence Of nation without
credit would Immediately appear the rebel
lion of one State would be followed by others;
the lost cause would triumph at last These
are not wild fanc;es. The danger is not the
less hut the greater for the fact that those
whose policy means virtual population are,
in most cases. ignorant OF the consequences
which would probably follow. The Southern
leaders, we presume, do not now indulge any
hope of breaking the Union, for they do not
comprehend how fatal the triumph OF the
ID mocratic party would he to the public credit
The first step would be the repeal of the
Resumption act. This would be reputation
in itself, and il would shake public credit to
a degree which cannot now he estimated. But
il would be swiftly followed by other steps.
The South rules the Democratic party. The
Southern States want railroads, canals, lcyees,
and look with intense feeling tO The prosperity
which. as they suppose, has been mainly pro-
duccd at TIE North by the public aid granted
TO such improvements. They cry, BE just
and give MS some sharcw The cry will not
come in vain TO Democratic party if lifted
To power 10y the vGtcs Of Il solid South. The
Treasury is empty. hut bonds and bills can
be issued and the Western lunacy of initiation
would Join with the Southern hunger for
improvements Paper money by the hundred
millions would lc issued, ard Southern roads
and canals would be constructed. Then would
come war claims. We can tell what amount
of such claims would be granted, by Con
grcss controlled 10y the South, and having
power TO issue paper money in abundance 1t
has been estimated that S2,iOo 100000 would
not cover the claims which, ii any losses by
other than Union men for destruction OF prop
,Ity at the South are to bc paid, would he
presented with ample evidence. Does any man
believe that Southern members, from districts
in which nearly every white voter lost some
property during The war, would refuse To urge
such claims! Is there Il man who believe
that, the Southern members demanding pay
mcnt, the Democratic party would rciuSc2
Presently, then. the debt wouIn be doubled,
the currency enormously inflated, the public
credit broken. These results would come the
mG.e surely because 10 single audac.ous act,
but only a series Of Weddings 10 popular feel
ing and individual greed, would gradually pro-
duce them. A doubled debt means doubled
taxes. Presently some Southern state would
perceive that by secession il might escape its
share Of burdens grown too heavy for cndur-
nnce. At the same time il would be sure that
the credit of the Union had been so impaired
that new revolution would destroy it alto
gether. The desire and the opportunity would
match. Live coal and powder would meet.
Every memory of the four years struggle for
the furlcd banner would start up. Reyepseful
passions would give intensity to The excite
mcnt. Without set purpose, without deliberate
plan, revolution would come like the Chicago
fire, resistless, sweeping all before it. In a
month the struggle would be over. The Union
would cease to exist Those who had trusted
the Union would be left to prosecute, as best
they could, against separate States. The con-
Guered Confederacy would triumph in its ven
geance over those who had helped by their
faith in the Union to insure its success.
Fvcrv fhouObtful man knows that these re-