Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1878-10-16
CONTAGIOUS FOLLIES.

In times OF panic, those people who
have escaped have double need Of keep
ing cool and rcassuring in manner, thus
sustaining themselves and helping the
others. Men of clear ideas and posi-
tive convictions ought TO stand fixed
amid the sweter Of uncertainty and
form rallying points upon which, after
the fever, the convalescent Of the delud-
ed may gather. We are in such pc
riod as this at the present time, and
men OF sound judgment upon finance
need to keep their heads and keep their
tempers. Mere abuse OF the various
Greenback delusions will effect nothing.
1t is necessary to be reasonable even
with their unreasonableness and toler.
ant of their intolerance.
1t would be great mistake to as.
sumo that the rank and file of the Re.
pudiation party are weak-minded or
dishonest. Some of the leaders doubt.
less are demagogues pure and simple,
men who are Intentionally making cap
ital out OF a prevalent sentiment. Kear.
ney openly hands around his hat But
Ter runs Tor an office. But We beIiyc
that the greater part of the Greenback
party are honest in aim, but are simply
carried away by one Of those periodic
delusions which occasionally sweep
ovei intelligent people. The idea that
piece of paper, whereon is written
"This is a Dollar" is money, better
than gold or silver, is lamentablc
snare and deceit Tor any large number
of the people to take it up and if car.
ried to victory would work deplorable
injury to those who live by salaries or
wages, but it is not new thing This
same delusion has taken possession, at
one time or another, of all the great ma.
tions of Europe and has at least three
times in this country brought disaster
with it. No more eloquent sermon
against the follies of imitation and re.
pudiation could be preached than
the history of these contagious
follies wherever they have appear.
ed. One Of the symptoms of the dis.
ease is refusal to listen to the voice
OF experience. Each age seems TO pre-.
fer TO see the error OF its own ways.
Some Psychologist of the future may
discover the physical laws of these con.
tagious follies. They befall all peoples
and all ages. Sometimes they effect O
whole era all over civilization. The
Crusades dethroned the common sense
of all Europe and strewed it with bones
of armies that perished to privation
and misery before they even saw the
Holy Land, and so far from driving
back the Mahometans invited them Ia
enter the richest and most enlightened
parts Of Europe and subjugate the
Christians as far west as the borders
of Italy and plant the Turkish Empire
Many other examples might be cited
of delusions political, religious, finan
cial and social, that have taken posses
sion of race, and spread like conta
gious disease over the land II YOU
ask Greenbacker to-day to give you
calmly and nationally the reasons or
which he bases his political creed you
will find, nine times out of ten, that h'
WIN ,alls in an excited way. He viii
denOunVO OL~ "-rnnay nnwer" IN,
"bankers," and "gold sharps, and snow
in all his utterances that be feels on th'
subject, not that he thinks, or that h
ever has thought. 1t will be fount
usually that he feels that by demand
ing "more money" by repudiating tn
bonded debt in paying it in irredeem
able greenbacks, he will be in som
way punishing the gold sharks an,
bondholders and he will only get in
furiatcd il you show him that by sucl
measures he will injure those who liv
, by wages much more than the capital
ist. You will usually, also, find hin
not only ignorant OF the teachings @
experience and history upon the fnar
cial ideas that he holds, but contemT
/, tuous and defiant of them when brough
t TO bis notice. And strangest Of all, b
thinks that his ideas are practical,
though their folly has been demonstri
ted again and again by practice, an
that the teachings Of experience, th
records of the facts in past follics al
omcre theory" Still the holders ,
the sound ideas, which have stood th
test of centuries of practice, need nc
!, despair. This dclusion will pass ava
more rapidly than the Granger idea {
the Know Nothing fever. We sha
look back on ii soon as VIC now loo
q back at the strike riots Baltimore q