Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1878-07-27
Startling Inconsistencies.

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The Greenback leaders furnish, in the
history of their past record as conirasted
with their present position. the strangest
tumble of political inconsi>t -ncies ever
seen in this country. Their party is OPP
posed to bondholders. to banks and bank
ers, to usury, to resumption OF specie pay
ment, to politicians of the old parties. &c.
&c.
But we find that the candidate of this
party for Governor, Joseph l.. Smith of
Oldtown. is a bondhoder, and an old Re-
publican Office holder, while the platform
upon which he stands is emphaticaly OPP
posed to both.
| five turn from Mr.. Smith to the candi-
date for Congress nominated in this dis
trict. we find inconsistency as gross as
that which appears in the nomination of
the "bloated bOndholder" Smith, as a
candidate for Governor. Mr.. Philbrick is
banker OF thirty years standing. lie
has made money by banks. IL they are
shaving institutions he has had his share
of the shaving which they have done. Mr..
Phibrick is also an old office holder. He
was for some years Bank Examiner
of the State, in which capacity we never
knew that he had anything to say about
bankers being "shy locks. " or "enemies of
the poor" or anything OF the sort which
we now hear from Greenbackers. But
there came time when Mr.. Philbrick
went out of office. and when he thought
he deserved more attention from the re-
publican patty than he received. and from
that time he began to grow sour and indie
pendent" and TO write articles for demo-
cratic newspapers and occasionally vote
the democratic ticket. Now the former
banker and Bank Examiner, William
Philbrick. turns up as the opposer of
banks and bankers and political office
holders, being the candidate for Congress
of the Greenbackers of the Third District
Another OF the leaders of the Greenback-
ers in this District is Isaac T. Hobson of
Wiscasset, for whom votes were circulat-
ed in the Gardiner convention. pleas
ant gentleman is Mr.. Hobson, but Of all
places in the world, the last place we
should have expected to find him is in
the Greenback party, fighting principles
he has advocated heretofore. In 1876,
Mr.. Hobson was member of the State
Legislature. an active member. elected by
republican votes. Daring the session
bill was introduced to reduce the rate of
interest. Mr.. Hobson opposed it vigor-
onsly. making strong speech against it
the closing paragraph of which is as fol-
lows:
Sand when our government, or perhaps
should say, financial men, shall have remeded
the great mistake of limiting the amount of bank
ing capital at time when it might have been ex-
tended to meet the wants of the country WHEN
1T SHALL HAVE WITHDRAWN THE
GREENBACK CIRCULATION and thereby be.
come SPECIE PAYING government, then NAV
we expect STABILITY and PROSPERITY. |
think might show that our high rates of interest
and general depression attributed to this cause,
but will not discuss that question now
Mr. Hobson in 1876 was not in favor of
reducing the rate of interest, regarded
limiting of the amount OF banking capital
a great mistake" was in favor of with
drawing the whole greenback circulation
and returning to specie payments. and
considered the high rate of interest and
the depression of business as attributable
to the want of sound currency-th is.
to specie or paper based on specie.
Truly the Inconsistency of the green
back leaders is startling.