The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-03-11

he aggravated the offense of entertaining
opinions heretical to his constituents by hurl-
ing their instructions back in their faces and
going 1t alone This unfortunate attitude lie
still further made deplorable to the super
fetal observer by the fact that Lamar fought
to lose and strove to fail all Of which put to-
gether is enough to condemn the greatest
statesman that ever lived In the esti-
there is phase Of the attitude of Lamar
which, when properly estimated, redeems
many IL not all Of its faults. Whatever may
have been the possibilities of Lamar's action
In an economic sense, and however seriously
his vote might have initiated against the in
terests Of his own people and all other peo-
pies who work for q living and are poor, there
are two facts which must not be lost sight Of.
They are first, the fact that Lamars vote and
speech against the silver bill has more effec-
tually drawn tho teeth from the standard
northeastern argument that the solid South
represented the doctrine OF reputation than
any action ever taken by any other represen-
tative OF the. South in Congress-; second, II
Southern men and Southern enterprises when
they go to England or to France or to Ger
many to borrow money. The South has
already set on foot comprehensive scheme
for
BORROWING MONEY IN EUROPE.
and it has been proposed in various quar-
ters to send q commission of Southern repre-
sentatveS over there to set forth the advan-
tages OF loaning capital in that section. Now.
whatever may be our domestic notions, and
undsputed as our right is to regulate our in
ternal monetary system according TO our
own views or prejudices, it Is q fact that when
we go abroad to borrow money the first step
is to conform to the financial notions Of the
lender You or | may cherish the belief that
a piece Of paper, or OF silver, or Of copper, or
OF sheet iron, stamped with the American
eagle and the figure is five dollars But Ii
we want to borrow five dollars Of some man
who believes that 1t takes q certain mum Der OF
grains of gold to constitute that valuation,
we must adopt his views SO far as that debt
is concerned or we can't expect to get the
money Lamar is u man of long foresightS.
He is one OF the few men who pay more at
tention to their foresights than to their
hindsights. He saw III the. silver bill.
as it was being engineered, a
credit OF this country abroad. and he saw that
the South, with it's present needs and aspira+
tions, would derive great disadvantages as q
borrower on the European bourses from it's
record of an unbr0ken silver front. Thus
Lamar determined to step out OF the line and
take the consequences, whatever they might
be temporarily. OF opposing the expressed
wishes of his constituents. The result Is that
the South can go to Europe as borrower
with
LANAR's SPEECH
and vote in it's pocket as saving clausessa he
importance Of this fact may not be aR2re-
ciated now, but it will be as soon aSAny
Southern State or enterprise attempts to me-.
gotate a loan across the ocean. 1t is we'll
enough to bear such facts In mind and to give
men credit for their good intentions, even
while we criticse them. A. G. b.