Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1877-11-24

questions which divide the North
east from the Westand South? They
are questions rooted in distinctions
which can on no consideration be
set aside, because they are based
upon necessary diversities of inter-
est arising out of diversities of oc-
cupation. The conflict of interests
is between the people who produce
the great staples on which our COM
merce depends and those who, when
those staples enter into commerce,
make their subsistence by handling
them and specializing on them; in
other words, the antagonism is be-
tween the agricultural and the COM
mercial classes. 1t may be expect
ed that we should add the manu-
turing classes, but practically they
are one with the commercial; for
they too want to handle the pro-
ceeds of our produce and get their
profit out of it, and the means de
vised by them and their CONNER
cial allies for doing so is that when
the latter have pocketed all the prof
its which can be made to stick, they
hand over the rest to the manufac-
featuring communities by compell-
ing us to buy what they make at
their own price, the agent of COM
pulsion being known by the name
of tariff.
What are they, then, these ques-
lions denounced as reputation by
the Heard? These questions for
the advocacy Of which the Western
men are denounced as making "ef-
forts to cheat the bondholders who
had furnished the means of carrying
on the war, whose success was more
important to the West than to any
other'section?" They are the Silver
bill and that for the repeal of the
Resumption Act; and in reference
to these the Herald says, "The South
was never at any time more fully
represented in Washington by IA
natical and lunatic pro-slavery set
them is the West at present by a
fanatical and lunatic set of sill
yer money repudiatiOnists." The
Herald has so far stated the is
sue truly that these two measures
do indeed truly represent the debat-
able ground at present marked of
as the field of contention between
the East and the West. East and
West, as he says, but, as we say, be-
tween a few Eastern cities and the
united West and South.
Thegist of the controversy is this :
The West and South are in debt to
the capitalists of the East, and these
latter,hav been managing the finan-
cial affairs of the nation so as to
make that debt more Onerous to the
creditors and more profitable to the
debtors. This has been going on
ever since the Republican party has
retained the control of affairs. The
debt which was originally payable
in the same currency in which it
was incurred was first made paya-
BILE in silver coin and then in gold
coin. We showed last week by
what a nefarious and clandestine
transaction this latter change was
accomplished; but the encrOach-
ments of the Eastern capitalists did
not stop there. Having secured
debt in gold, they have been bulling
the gold market ever since, so as to
increase still more the eXtOrtionate
price at which they demandits liqui-
datiOn. To this purpose was the
characterization Ofsilver; to this pur-
pose the act for immediate resump-
ton of payments in gold at time
when all the world is short of gold,
when every Government in Europe
is scrambling for gold and holding
ON to that which it holds with an
iron grip. We deny that silver is
deprecated; its purchasing power
for all commodities except gold is as
great as ever it was. 1t is only gold
which it has to purchase at an enor-
nous premium, and at this premium
our Eastern and European creditors
demand that we shall settle with
them. We will never do it. The
injurious epithet of regulators we
hurl back at those who sianderOusly
use it, and we tell them that they
have twice repudiated their own
contract, demanding what was bOr-
rOwed in paper and originally pay
able in paper to be paid first in gold
or silver and then in gold alone;
that gold having Intentionally been
run up in price till payment in that
alone would be most usurious de-
mand, we repeat that silver has not
deprecated, but that gold has enor-
mOusly appreciated, and in that APP
preciated medium we will not pay
debts which by original contract did
not claim such mode of liquida-
ton. Ifthis is the position to which
the Herald writer in the name of
Eastern capitalists says he will not
submit, he had better be consider
ing his method of resistance, for his
resolution cannot be more decided
than that of the West and South;
but he would do well to reconsider
the matter before he determines to
push matters to an''irrepressible con-
fiict."
THE ARMY APPROPRIATION
The necessity of an immediate
prpN-iSipD for lipni6o tiOCr tbp arraarS