The New York herald., 1878-08-14
So. .sor Thurman. views.

| foremost men In his party. lie mas hao "
long and varied experience OF, public lite.
having served as Representative in the Con-
gress OF 1855. as Judge Of the Ohio Su-
preme Court in 1851, as Chief Justice OF
that Court in 1886 and as Senator OF the
United States since 1869. What he has to
advise The people on public affairs ought,
therefore, ON many accounts to deserve at
tention, and elsewhere we accordingly print
o speech delivered by him at Hamilton, IN
Ohio, yesterday.
Mr.. Thurman was democrat when the
democratic party boasted itself the party
Of s'hard money" and when it's statesmen
taught the rank and file to suspect paper
money and to abhor particularly irredeem-
able notes. The remembrance of his old
faith seems to have been troublesome to the
Senator, Tor his Hamilton speech lacks the
bold and confident tone. the happy aggres-
siveness, which has been one Of his charps
as Il public speaker. He began with de-
fence OF himself Some people had doubted
his fidelity to the Ohio democratic plat
form, he said-and we'll they might, we will
add ) for that platform is as undemocratic
as devotion to irredeemable paper money
can make it. But Mr.. Thurman showed
that such as it is he has swallowed
it ALL The Ohio democratic plat
form demands the repeal OF the Resump-
ton act--and 80 does Senator Thurman it
demands the unlimited remonetization of
silver. the poor mans money. at the rate
of lightweight cents worth for dollar
and so does Senator Thurman it demands
the issue of irredeemable greenbacks in
| such amounts as Congress may determine
| and so does Senator Thurman it requires
that these greenbacks shall be legal ten
der equally with coin and so does Senator
Thurman, and adds that with small notes,
which he does not seem to disapprove,
very little coin will circulate, which
is true enough. It condemns contraction
| of the currency y-and SO does Senator Thur
man; it does not condemn expansion OF
the currency --and neither does Senator
! Thurman In short, he stands on the plat
form, and not even the grim shade of his
old master, Tom Benton, can scare him Oft
| Now, Mr. Thurman is practical man,
recommending in this speech not abstrac-
tons, but a policy for the times What,
then, is it that he would have? With only
half cent in the dollar difference
between gold and sreenbacks he would
| repeal the Resumption act. With law
already on the statute books against
further contraction Of the greenbacks
he condemns contrnction.D With the
silver dollar, the. laLonng mans dollar,
| worth only eighty Eight cents, he demands
unlimited coinage of ,sueh dollars. With
another law. allowing anybody with the
nece essnry capital to set upranational bank,
| he denounces this as especial privilege"
We m rst say that Senator Bayard and Gov
ernor Seymour more truy defend tie
intcre SIS Of work:ng gmer. OF the mass Of
the pc pie OF this country, than Senator
Thurman. They are better, truer demo-
Gratis, for they wou'd give the laboriny man
as good a dollar rs any other part OF the
community enjoys they would give to the
| laLorers and farmers what is Of the first
Importance to them, &c steady cure ncy,
| which should be worth as much when
| they get their weeks wages or sell
| their crops as when they engaged
| To do the work or ploughed their fields
| Mr.. Thurman says that the bonds on which
| the national banks are based cost the people
nearly thirteen millions n year in interest,
| but he ought 10 have told them that sim
gle sessions disputes about the volume Of
the currency costs the people much more
than q hundred millions in enterprises
| checked, labor disarranged, commercial
| transactions awaiting the settlement of o
question which is never settled. He asserts
that to withdraw the greenbacks by reiemp-
ton would cause ''frightful contraction;"
but he ought 10 have said that with the free
banking law new banks will be established
as fast us the greenbacks are Withdrawn.
he asserts that the Ohio platform is con-
seryative because it demands that "the
amount of greenbacks shall be so regulated
by legislation or organic law AS to give the
people an assurance Of stability in volume
of currency and consequent stability of
yalue;' but he ought to have said that
every Congress since the first issue OF green
backs has been taken up with endless dis
cussons as to the proper amount Of the
greenback issue; that it is vain to expect
stability of the currency while Congress
may at any time increase or diminish the
amount issued and that only when they
are, as all paper promises ought to be, re-
deemable on demand in coin can govern
ment notes be stable in value.
In one resi- pcct Senator Thurman's speech
really "strikes the keynote Of the cam
paign" 1t means an attack upon the ma
tional banking system. 1t is an open secret
that the next session of Congress will be
largely taken mp with this question. The
southern men have strong desire to re-es-
tablish State banks, based not on govern
ment bonds, but on real estate, crops and