New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-09-06

" the act making the bonds payable in
"cOin instead of legal-tenders," the de-
monetizatiOn of silver" ana so on. The adj
dress breathes the very spirit of Eccles: " Are
eve not slaves, we workingmenp Kearney
and Butler must be engaged for the Demo-
cratic campaign in this State.
The Congress now in session in Paris might
do more real good if it would direct It's ener-
gles to weights and measures alone, and dis
regard the silver problems, already fully dis
cussed by our Monetary Conference. The
Congress is impatient to have the metric sys-
TEN generally introduced here, but it fails to
take into account the difficulty of changing
weights and measures on which the whole
commerce of the Nation is based. Although
the metric system was legalized in 1866,
some time must still elapse before people
will call habitually for metre of cloth,
litre of molasses, OF a kiOgTam of tea. Prog
ress, hencefOrth, will largely depend on the
schools, on boards of trade, and on the Govern
ment, which in the Postal Department alone
has abundant facilities for bringing metric
weights into general use.
The President used slate and pencil to good
purpose in Minnesota yesterday. His speech
on the finances was unexpectedly strong. The
unexampled decrease in the National debt the
enormous saving in the rate OF interest,
the transfer of the bulk of our financial OBJ
legations from Europe to America, the I'M
provement IN our foreign trade, and the resto-
ration of our currency to sound basis
these we're the great problems which
he ciphered out to the satisfaction OF his
auditors His conclusions were that we can
not isolate ourselves from the rest OF the
world, and that as we now stand we are on
the threshold of better times. The
"surest foundation of restored financial
"prosperity," he said, care sound
constitutional currency and an unstained
National credit" That was well said. 1t
was not political speech, and yet the Re-
publicans cannot do better than repro
duce its tables and arguments during
tie Fall campaign. The party in that State
already occupies high ground on finance.
There is no weak timber in the platform OF
the Republican Convention.
The street-car drivers who prefer to throw
down the reins rather than work for twenty
five cents less day ought to bold a cOnsulta-
ton with the iuepressible Kearney. He has
stepped down and out from a dray in the
streets of San Francisco, and seems to have
no difficulty in making a living by his wits.
He can teach his associates of the whip-handle
how to open their mouths and to pass around
a hat, and hundreds of men who are now out
of employment can avail themselves of the
chance of driving pair of horses for 81 70
day. Strikes are invariably foolish, but in
this instance the discontinued working
men seem to have given themselves
away from the start. The movement
has been confined to two lines, and, singularly
enough. these are the roads which compete
directly with the rapid transit companies.
The strike has, therefore, caused little annoy
ance to the public thus far, and the front
platforms of the surface cars will have new
tenants to-day The drivers are utterly pow
erless to resist the reduction of wages. They
know this, and yet unite in an utterly hope
less and unnecessary strike Even Keamey
must see that this is a senseless way of
pooling their issues