The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1876-06-28
The Reason Why.

that party to the "green-back poll
cy," it is said to be inconsistent for
an advocate Of that policy to sup
port the republican ticket; yet there
are good reasons why such an one
may do so without proving Fecreant
to his principles. First: what bet
ter can he do? To vote for either
the independent ticket, or the tenn
perance ticket, is to throw your vote
away, for there is not the remotest
chance for either of them to be
elected. The good citizen does
not neglect to cast his vote, and if
one votes for a ticket that he knows
has no possible chance of election
it is tantamount to refusing to vote.
1t may be urged that such voting
has moral effect and increases the
probability Of the future success of
the principle: involved. This may
be true when the issue is of a moral
nature, but the financial question is
not moral measure, in any sense Of
the word, but a matter Of business.
And, moreover, it is a question of
the present and not Of the future.
1t is. for immediate relief of the bust
ness Of the country from embarrass-
ments that are now producing wide
spread distress. This relief must
come soon. Within two years either
a modification Of the greenback the
DRY will be adopted and healthy
commercial condition restored, or
contraction Of values attended with
general bankruptcy and ruin Of the
debtor class will reduce us to that
"golden" level which the hard mon
ey advocates look forward to with
joyous anticipation. Ere another
presidential canvass shall have ar
rived this financial issue Will neces-
sarily be settled, hence it can avail
nothing to vote the greenback ticket
now unless its success were prob
able.
The next best thing to advance
the principle involved in the green
back theory, then, is to endeavor to
place in power the candidates of the
party most likely.to favor it. We
have no other alternative than to
choose between democrats and re-
publicans. The question then arises:
which is most likely to adopt the
greenback policy? An answer to
this can be obtained by a close in
spection Of the elements compris-
ing these two organizations. We
find the former absolutely controlled
by the agents of the three great
banking houses Of the world, and
comprising in its membership all
that conservative element of the
nation which boasts Of its opposi-
ton to progression. No single
prominent member of it advocates
the greenback theory while its ira
ditions are all opposed to it. In the
latter we find that a very large pro-
portion are progressive men, whose
views are not circumscribed by i'm
:passable conservative limits, and
are anxious to do what they can to
promote the welfare of the country.
It's traditions are all favorable to pa
per money, and several of its most
prominent members are leading ad-
vocates of this very greenback the
ory, although acting with the party.
The probabilities are far more
favorable to the expectation that
the @greenback theory" will be &C.
cepted and put in practice by the
republican party, than that the DEM
ocratic party will ever agree to its
adoption, or that any new party can
possibly carry it into successful op-
Grafton. Hence, the intelligent and
sincere friends of the preenback