The Portland daily press., 1876-02-16
Cautions LEGISLATORS.

AAS ASoOAueiSl Al iCSdlu " LuC ll1duCeS
offered in the House Monday BY Mr.. Hale of
this state was certainly clear enough. There
could be no doubt as TO its meaning. Yet
the Democrats did not dare express their
minds upon it, and their leader on the floor
suggested that it be referred to the committee
on banking and currency. Mr.. Hale desired
no such reference, wishing to have the opin-
ion of the House, and moved to suspend the
rules so that that opinion might find ex-
preston. BY vote almost strictly party
one his motion was defeated.
An analysis of the resolution may, in view
of its defeat, be profitable. 1t opens with a
statement that the currency now in use
among the people of the United States con-
sists of national bank notes and greenbacks,
the latter being the debt of the government
widely distributed among the people, and the
former being redeemable in greenbscks and
subject to like fluctuations with it. One
would suppose that this proposition admits
of as little dispute as the multiplication table !;
but the Democrats had to go to the COM
mittee on banking and currency to learn if
our currency does really consist of greenbacks
and national bank notes. Intelligent legisla-
tors! Foilei in the matter of reference they
declined to commit themselves to the state
ment. Courageous legislators
The second proposition advanced in the
resolution was that the United States Treas
ury has thus far failed to meet its obligations
and to redeem its notes, thereby depreciating
the valne of the peoples money and keeping
it at large discount. For years the Democ-
racy have been telling us the same thing, but
when the resolution was brought before them
they turned to a committee to see if they had
been telling the truth. Honest legislators
Not succeeding in obtaining reference they
declined to endorse the statement that the
Treasury has failed to redeem its notes. Con-
sistent legislators!
Mr.. Hale's third proposition was that Con-
gress and both parties by their platforms
stand committed to an early resumption of
specie payments. Apparently the Democrats
had suspicion that the document $50 wide
ly distributed in 1872 as the Baltimore plat
form was forgery, and so they desired to
refer the question CT authencity to commit
tee. Cautious legislators! Defeated in that
they refused to give their assent to the state
ment that the Baltimore platform declared
in favor of early resumption. Cunning legis-
lators!
The purview of the resolution declared that
prompt measures should be taken to secure
resumption by placing in the hands of the
Secretary of the Treasury the necessary
powers to carry it out. In order to discover
what their opinions were on that point the
Democrats wished to consult their banking
committee. What task that committee
would have had! Had they discovered the
financial policy of the Democratic party they
would have accomplished what all men in
the land gave up months ago as an impossi-
biity. But the resolution was not referred,
and the Democratic representatives declined
to commit themselves to the truism that il
specie payments are to be resumed by the
Treasury then the Treasury must have
power to resume. So long as no effective
steps were taken toward resumption they
had no great hesitation in declaring them
srlves resumptionists, but when practical
measures to bring about specie payments are
brought forward they at once defeat them.
1t is but just, however, to say that they have
no objection to declarations in favor of re-
sumption, as the platform of their last ma
tional convention shows; their only objec-
tion is to carrying the declarations into effect.
They occupy the same position in regard to
resumption that Ensign Stebbins did in re-
gard to the prohibition of liquor, '.for the
law, but agn its enforcement" Mr.. Hale's
resolution savored too much of practically to
be supported by Democrats. There was not
enough remoteness and ideality about it to
meet Democratic ideas. 1t had all The ele-
ments of Democratic compromise it is true,
in which one faction surrenders everything
and the other nothing; but the wrong fac
tion had to do the surrenGering. 1t is con-
trary to Democratic ideas that the soft.money
men should yield anything. In their party
the bullionists are the great conceders.