Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1878-10-12

will find the subject about as clear
as mud:
The ostensible fall politics this
year are simply huge joke, and al
most everybody begins of late to
see this. The greenback leaders,
who are vigorously endeavoring to
persuade the public that the moon /
is made of green cheese, do so not I.
with the belief that they are going /
to convert the Yankee nation to the I
folly of fabsolute," or "fiat," or
'sred dog" shinplasters, but in the /
hope that they may catch enough |
disconnected voters here and there |
to put some greenback candidates /
into Office. The Republican leaders,
who see power slipping from their
hands, thereupon experience a sud-
den conversion to hard money prin-
ciples, and quietly burking the fact
that they had at least eight years in
which to re-establish the currency,
and constantly refused to do it, and
that in fact, our present currency
muddle is entirely owing to their
ignorant mismanagement,n now APP
peal to the honesty and good sense
of the country to rally around them
and once more save the Union. The
Democratic leaders, for their part,
are mainly intent on giving the
greenback whale rope enough,
hoping that he may not run away
with too many of their voters.
Is it too much to say that it is all
a Joke? A tOlerable stupid joke,
of course, but one which does not
by any means portend ruin to in
| dustry, or a new arrangement of
the currency, or any such dreadful
results as we notice the newly con-
verted Republican leaders are
threatening whenever they have Oc-
casion to speak in strong hard
money districts. The plain truth is
| that the old parties are very much
alarmed. The Republicans know
that the country is deeply dissatis-
fed with them, and has reason to
be; they see that the old party
cries are no longer effective; they
have no new policy framed and
they seek only to keep their Orga-
nization together. The Democrats
are not much better off; they are so
anxious to regain power that they
are afraid of their old principles,
and are ever adapting themselves
as adroitly as they can to the pas
sing popular whim, or what they
believe to be such. As to the green
back leaders, such Of them as are
ruined spectators would no doubt
like "new deal" of rag money all
around; but most of them are
simply using the general dissatis-
faction with both parties to catch
votes for themselves. The people
have, for once, run away with the
politicians. When Mr.. Eugene Hale
is defeated in Maine that does not
mean that the people of his district
want a new issue of irredeemable
paper money; it means that they
are tired of Mr.. Eugene Hale, that
! is all; and on the whole, consider
I ing the character of Mr.. Hale's
career in Congress, we Go not blame
them. When General Butler is
nominated for Governor Of Massa-
chusetts that does not mean that
there is going to be general diVi-
sion of property in that State; it
means only that a large part of the
people are tired of the respectable
shams who have for years controlled
the Republican party there and who
have generally followed where But
Ter led. On the whole, we do not
severely blame them. So in this
State, the Democratic Convention
made an end of Mr.. Tilden, not be-
cause it disliked any real reform
he ever carried-for the Convention
heartily approved of Governor
RObinsOn-but because the Demo-
cratic voters had got tired of Mr..
Tilden's dieting l dare not wait
upon l would"
The truth is the American voter is
sitting on the fencesmilingat the en-
barrassment of the politicians who
have been so long his masters. He
reads the papers and notices that,
though the Republican party is for
hard money in Massachusetts and
New York, it goes for rag money
. and openly allies itself with the
greenbackers in north Carolina,
Louisiana and other Southern States
He sees that, while Blaine and Gar
field are making able hard money
speeches in the hard money States,
GOrham, Secretary of the Republi-
can Committee, is quietly distribu-
ting greenback Republican dOcu-
ments in soft money States. He
sees that, while Republican leaders
cry out for honesty and reform,
they are nominating for Congress
eX-Secretary Robson in New Jer-
sey, Madison Wells, "TOm" Ander-
son and Ludeling in Louisiana.
1t is all a bad joke; but out of it
the end will not be ruin, but better
government, a wiser and more
statesmenlike management of our
affairs. To-day the greenback dem
agOgueS and ignOramuseS tempo
rarily have the floor. They may,
with the help Of a profound popular
disgust with both the old parties,
carry a good many States and a
good many districts, but they can
not prevent the accomplishment OF
resumption next January, nor the
general revival of industry and
prosperity which has begun and
will go on.
One thing should not be forgotten
in the general politicle muddle-the
Congress which is chosen this fall will
not assemble until December, 1879,
and when it meets the new members
will discover that they are nearly
as helpless as q cat in a strange gar
ret. General Scott used to say that
it needed years steady drill to
teach a green cavalry recruit to
handle his sabre without danger to
his own head or his horses; and
in like manner the fresh members
of Congress need to serve at least
one term of two years before they
are sufficiently at home in the
House to give them moderate
share of influence. They will dis
cover that there are real leaders Of
opinion in Congress, and thecountry
is happy that these leaders at any
rate are not bitten with the falla-
cies which just now appear fOrmi-
dable. Among the Democrats,
Bayard, Herman, Randolph, Lamar,
Hill, Butler, of South Carolina ;
Eaton, Speaker Randall, Potter,
Hewitt, Schleiche, Gibson and
others are sound money men and
men of controlling influence.
Among the Republicans, Blaine,
Conkling, Edmunds, Hoar, Morrill,,
| Garfield CrittpOdpO Foster FRY