Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1878-11-21

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The Gseebbaak psovesnent Ii 187s polled
abut q, 600 votes. Ia 20 IL tspolled 22s, 600,
votes, and In the last election IL polled 078, IS
8S7 votes, and succeeded in eleotiDg eeyersl
Congresmen. While this Is true, many
Journals declare this new party has failed to
develop the strength il was expected to show,
aud have predicted its early dissolution. We
do not SEQ 1t iu this light. New ideas are
slow in taking root in the popular mind, and
especially upon 80 complex question as that
OF finance; but its constant growth and spread
betokens that In the noxt two years IL will
gain more rapidly than in tho past. Bosides
each year since 1874 the evils Of contraction
have been more and more felt, and the wrongs
to tho people in paying in gold interest on
non taxable bonds has become moro and
more CALLING, 80 not only is the mattor better
understood but stronger reasons for its spread
now exist. The Greenbaokers are not dead,
nor will thoy die until there is better fnan.
oial Legislation by Congress than that Of tho
past six years. They may not prevail but
they will either prevail or work some compros
misc fairer to the people and the country than
that which says gold for the holders of non-
taxable bonds and greenbacks for the laborer,
contraction and greater wealth for tho rich,
and poverty and heavier burdens for the
poor. This matter Of financial reform,
whether it como from tho Democrats. Republi~
cane or Green backers, must sooner or later
como, for the times demand it.
The Hon. W. II. Folton, of Georgia, recent
ly elected as an Independent Democrat in
recent speech at Atlanta. on the financial
question, used tho following language:
There, too, is the financial question. That
we must meot We must understand it aud
promptly meet it. There is tho Grecnbaok
party, the Republican party and the Demo
cratic party. All these must participate, to
some extent, in the settlement Of this ques-
ton and whatever tho settlement may bo, I
am disposed to stand by and abide by tho
action Of the Democratic party. Cheers and
applause.1 At the same time I am dosirous
that the Democratic party should net in per-
feet harmony and with desire to take care
of the'interest of the whole people. To d.
this think we should have financial relief
aud financial reform. Hard times! You SEQ
them everywhere. There is scarcely citizen
of Georgia or of the United States who does
not feel this scarcity of money Wc feel tho
pressure upon us. Men are toiling as they
never toiled before. Georgans arc working
harder than they ever worked before. 1t is
astonishing, the amount Of labor and produce
!ie ton that Is manifest among them to-day.
Those merchants, farmers and mechanics
toll every day and yet. with all their toll and
industry, they cannot meet the demands that
are duly mado upon them. They can scarcely
meet tho wants of their familics-ccrtainly
not the comforts and luxuries to which they
have been accustomed in past years. Why
this pressure? Why this Topping off of comr
forts and luxuries2 1t is attributable, in my
opinion, to bad legislation. notice that my
distinguished friend, General Toombs, in
speech here in Atlanta the othcr night, said
set but it found Georgia poorer than she was
the day before. 1t is trucl Men talk Of tho
improvement of business, tho revival Of bus
iness, and oil that. 1t is in tho shrinkage Of
the value Of the taxable property OF tho
State from year to year? Do you find it in
the homes Of tho farmers--in the byways aud
hedges Of tho land among the mechanics
and woalth- creators of the country7 No.
cir. Absolutely. the rich arc growing richer
and the poor arc growing poorer from day to
dayl (Applause.) Now, have no war to
make m, on capital. It is essential to labor
The capitalists arc entitled to be protected
all that full measure Of protection that is
guaranteed by the constitution and law Of tho
country, do demand in tho name of Justice
that the legislation which makes tho rich
richer and tho poor poorer shall cease now
and cease forever. (Choors repeatedly Why
these hard times and this pressure? In my
judgment, it is attributable to bad, unwise
and corrupt legislation. They arc attributa-
BILE to three acts Of the American Congress-
First, there was on not ropealing the not to
pay the bonded Indebtedness of this country
in gold and silver. That act accomplished
this: it made gold moro valuable. The gues-
ton was, how shall we increase the purehas"
ing power oc goldf 1t was in tho hands lof
tho few, in the moneyed mon Of tho North,
and the legislation of tho country was mado
to tend to the trebling and qundrupling of
tho purchasing power of gold What means
did they use to accomplish this2 In the frat
place they said there must be ono standard Of
value and all othor standards must bo dec
troyed. and to do this, in 1873 they demon
etized silver. Congress enacted that it was
not money and not loyal tondor for dues,
public or private. and tho silver of the coun
try actually took to itself wings and flew
away to China. Japan and other silver nsing
countries. This sa3 contraction, fer 1t
helped to increase tho purchasing power Of
gold. And as it was increased the value Of
lands, and labor and products in this country
went down pari passu. And to mako fur
thor increase in the purchasing power of gold,
tho greonback currency was decided too pcn.
tiful. 1t was determined to retire it until
they brought it down in volume of gold, and
they literally burned it up at the rate of q
million and half per. month until they
brought it down from $48 per capita to less
than $40 per capita; and just as that was donc
the purchasing power Of gold was increased,
and just as. it was increased and at the same
proportion the value Of lands and agricultural
and mechanical products, and the productions
which 60 to mako men rich and happy by