Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1876-06-17

on entirely new ana sectional grounds.
Whether we shall have a specie or a
paper currency is q question which
demands careful consideration at the
hands of the business men of the whole
country. The value of money, as a
medium of exchange, depends upon the
confidence which the people have that
it will be received in exchange for
produce at q permanent and uniform
value. Now specie is the most stable
representative of value. Therefore it
is the duty of the Government to re-
turn to specie basis, and the only
question, as to the time. The ques-
ton of contraction or expansion is
prominently a sectional issue, and
when we apply the test heretofore in
dieated to it, we will find that it Is not
entitled to place on the platform of
the National Democracy. Is contrac-
ton or is expansion principle of the
Democracy of every State? 1t is said
that the greatest common divisor OF
two or more numbers is the greatest
number that will divide each of them
without a remainder. Now to apply
the test will contraction go into the
Democracy of the South and West ?
If not, it is no part of the National
Democracy. Or: Will expansion go
into the Democracy of the North and
East? On the contrary they are clam
orous In their demand for contraction.
Then, conclude that neither con-
traction or expansion is any part of
the platform of National Democracy,
and that neither should be recognized
or condemned In the St. Louis Con-
vention.
There is something refreshing in
the plain, clear, common sense of these
two paragraphs, after so much
defamation beside the purpose it is
too Late for it to do anything now, the
Nashville Convention has been held,
and the dominating section in it has
acted in all respects on the opposite
principles to that put forward in Mr..
Goodpasture's address. But other
conventions, State and National, have
yet to be held. and it may be as we'll
to give few thoughts to the use of
Conventions and the right way to carry
them out.
The purpose of Democratic Conven-
tons is to give voice and force to the
recognized Democratic principles, in
those issues which are now in contro-
versy between the Democratic and
Republican parties the questions re-
lating to the currency, its imitation or
contraction, are not such questions on
the contrary they divide both parties.
The extremists on the imitation doc
trine, such asAllen of Ohio, and Enoch
Ensley of Memphis, stand exactly on
the same line as some of the bitterest
radicals of the North, Ben Butler,
Wendell Philips and Kelly of Penn,
and again more moderate men, who
are disposed to take conservative
course, are to be found among the bet
ter class of statesmen in both the
Republican and Democratic ranks so
that the final policy to be adopted,
whichever party gains the preponder-
ance, can never be settled by party
conventions, whatever platforms or
resolutions may be adopted, and it is
to be hoped that having now blown off
the gas which was in them, and had to
come away, the Democratic politicians
will open their eyes to the fact that
Democratic platforms are for the ad-
vancing of those purposes on which
Democrats agree, and not for wrang-
ling about those on which they differ.