The New York herald., 1878-02-07
A Suggestion to Southern Senators.

We wish to offer few words OF friendly
advice to the Southern Senators in regard
to the Silver bill. The HERALD has shown
on all occasions sincere desire for the well
fare of the Southern people and we believe
we may say that it has never misled them
or given them cotEsel which proved to be
unwise. What we now propose to say has
relation to their best and most vital inter-
ests.
The silver debate draws to a conclusion.
The vote may be reached tomorrow or
Saturday. We wish to urge the Senators
representing the Southern States to think
very seriously before they vote for che
Bland bill, or for any bill which would aim
to make silver a part Of the money of
account in this country. We leave aside all
theories and say to them, 'Look at this
question practically; think how it will
affect your States" This silver movement
has two sides. On one side it is political;
and the South is urged to ally itself with
the West for political ends; and to seal
the bond of this alliance 1T is asked to
vote for silver. Now we ask the South
ern men to consider what this means
The West is very heavily in debt; it wants
silver in order that it may pay it's debts in
deprecated. currency. The West in fact
says to the South, "Help US to swindle our
creditors and we will help you. But to
what, we ask? 10 what can the West, in
return, help the South? To capital for de-
veloping its resources? No, because the
West is itself borrower. To political
power? The West is mainly republican;
it is the stronghold of the republican party
The West can help the South in one thing
and one only it can help it in an effort to
repudiate or scale the national debt. There
are people who say that the South would
like to do this F.; we do not believe it; but
the attempt would not succeed and how
would the South stand when it had failed,
or even if it succeeded? The Southern
men are naturally desirous of a fair, or per-
haps even predominant, share of influence
in the country. Can they hope to secure
this, suspected Ms they still are by the
greater part of the North of at least doubt
full fidelity to the new order of things, if
they adopt course which subjects them to
still graver suspicious?
But this silver question has also an
economical side for the South. The South
crn people are for the most part out Of debt.
They have vast rich natural resources unde-
veloped they have cheap labor, rich lands
and great variety Of valuable products.
What they need to bring up the price of
their lands and to make their resources
valuable is capital; but capital goes only
where it is secure. 1t will not 60 to States
whose people and whose Representatives in
Congress join in IN effort to debase the cur
rency. Mexico has made the fatal mistake
of retaining q bi-metallic currency. The
Mexican dollar is far better than the dollar
of 412 IL grains proposed here. But capital
flies from Mexico. Mr.. Lamar rightly
pointed out that no silver country is pros
porous, and all history shows that no peo-
pie which repudiates its debts is prosperous
or can appear anywhere as borrowers with
out seeing everybody button up his pockets.
The South wants political power and in
dustrial prosperity. 1t can get neither by
favoring or permitting the currency to be
| debased ~ I'ehts to be scaled or repudiated.
|