The New York herald., 1878-03-01
The silver veto-The Bill Promptly
Repassed.

which the Dill originated, yesterday after
noon. In the whole history of our govern
ment there was never before veto of any
bill by any President which was overruled
with such swift promptitude, or overrule ed
by majori,ies in both houses SO superAu-
ously large. Until Andrew Johnson's time
no bill was ever passed by Congress over
the veto of President. President Hayes
is not the defiant, bull-headed type Of
man that President Johnson was; but
Congress seems to show even more
ing his want of influence than it did
against the vetoes Of Mr.. Johnson. We
suppose no intelligent judge believed that
the Silver bill could be defeated at this late
day by the Presidents negative; but
nobody put SO depreciating an estimate on
President Hayes influence as to predict or
conjecture so overwhelming defeat of his
veto as that which it encountered. Both
the contemptuous haste and the surprising
majorities with which the bill was repassed
must be notifying to the President. In
the House the vote was 1856 yeas to 70 nays
Had the vote been only lag yeas to 73 nays
the veto would have been equally condemned
in that branch of Congress. In the House
the silver men had fifty votes to spare.
Even in the Senate they succeeded beyond
expectation and had superfuous votes.
The vote in the Senate was 46 yeas to 10
nays, the silver men having eight votes
more than they needed for carrying the bill
over the Veto And yet il is less than two
days since White House circles were pro-
Tossing belief that the veto might defeat
the bill in the Senate. SO little does a
President understand his weakness when
he has sundered his relations with his own
party in Congress! President Hayes has
begun at the wrong end. He does not seem
to understand that an ounce of prevention
is worth pound of cure. An able Presi-
dent in friendly relations with Congress
could have checked the silver lunacy in its
earlier stages and have prevented its
outgrowing the power of his veto. 1t
is singular phenomenon for bill to be
stronger after q veto than it was before.
With the great advantage of being on the
right side of the question the President has
been foiled and mortified beyond the ex-
pectations Of those who knew how feeble
his influence had become. Had Mr.. Blaine
been President and had he held the sound
views OF Mr.. Hayes. it would have been a
political impossibility for the Silver bill to
be repassed over his veto.
The bill declares our intention to pay the
national debt and the interest on it in sill
yer dollars worth but nlnety-two cents.
The harm it will do the country in this
loss Of credit, a stain upon our good name
as nation-a national disgrace and as q
good name is beyond price, for nations as
we'll as for men, this we hold to be the great
est injury it will do the country. In q rich
country like ours a mere money loss is soon
recovered, but a loss OF reputation is q diff
ferent matter. A good name is slowly built
up, but easily destroyed, and when nation
once consents to do that which forfeits or
Injuries its character among the family of
civilized nations it does that which it will
require years of good conduct to make up.
We are borrowing nation we have i'm
mense undeveloped natural resources, and
it has been and will long continue to be
great profit to us, and especially to the West
ern and Southern part of US, if we can borrow
money ut low rate of interest in Europe
to help us develop these resources and this
bill makes such borrowing impossible for
years to come 1t will put every American
to blush when it is mentioned before man
of another nation 4; for it will be said to us
everywhere, "What, you paid your interest
punctually in gold during your great war,
and even when gold was at two hundred and
fifty, and now that your notes are nearly at
par you turn around and meanly offer to
pay at ninety-two cents on the dollar?'
But this is not all, though, in our judg-
ment, it is the worst for the good name of
our country is more precious than any mere
pecuniary loss. But the pecuniary loss,
the immediate loss is also great. 1t is
known that since this silver agitation
has begun at least forty, and some
good authorities say sixty millions
Of our bonds have been sent home. The
one remarkable phenomenon attending this
vast remittance of our securities is that gold
has gone up but trife and exchange has
actually not exceeded what is called the ship
ping point-the point at which coin could
be sent abroad. Why has this demand
on us, sudden demand, for say fifty
millions, not caused an equal demand
here for gold? The reason, and the only
reason, plainly. is because Europe is largely
in debt to us for our products sent there and
sold there. We have paid for the fifty mill
lions of bonds sent here with bills drawn
against these products. Suppose now that
there had been no silver folly to alarm our
creditors abroad and induce them to send
our bonds home ut loss to themselves. In
that case Europe would have had to pay