The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1878-02-27
nrhe National Party"

I
yention at Toledo, Ohio, on the 22d, and
adopted platform and took upon them
selves the high sounding ititle of the ma
tional party"
The platform recites by way Of
whereas" five times repeated, the self
evident truths that throughout the coun-
try the value of real estate is deprecated,
industry paralyzed, trade depressed, in
comes and wages reduced, and unparall:
eled distress inflicted upon the poorer and
middle ranks of the people, the land filled
with fraud, embezElement, crime, lsufering
pauperism and starvation: and then it is
said that this state of things has been |
brought about by legislation in the interest
of, and directed BY money lenders, bankers
and bondholders..s
The third "whereas" of the platform |
admits that men in congress, connected
with both of the "old" political parties, |
have stood manfuliy by the rights of the
people, and met the threats of the money
power, and the ridicule of an ignorant and
subsidized press: but asserts that neither
the republican nor the democratic parties
in their national policies" provide rene
dies for the existing evils, and then, after
confession that the greenback and other
|
heretofore been able to accomplish much
in the direction of opposition to old or
CARNATIONS, they say that: - limiting the
legal tender quality Of greenbacks; w the
changing of currency bonds into coin bonds;
| ~ demonetizing the silver dollar; AZ
exempting bonds from taxation; (5) con-
tracing the circulating medium; (6)
the forced resumption of specie pay.
ments; ~ the prodigal waste of
the public lands we're crimes against
the people, and as far as possible the re-
suits of these criminal acts must be
counteracted By judicial legislation"
whatever tn at may be. THE meeting"
then invited cooperation and approval.
The first resolution asserts one sound po-
litical truth, which is that it is the sxclu-
sive function of the general government to
coin" money, but the word create"
which is nonsensical and absurd, is con-
nected with the word ''coiu," so that the
convention is made to say that the fed
eral government may create money, which
is about as foolish as the celebrated idea
of our wisest senator, that the vegetable
kingdom is as much subject to the ON
impotence of congress as the mineral king
dom.
The remainder Of the first resolution
needs no comment. The second and third
resolutions, as they mean no more than
that the salaries of all public officers, and
all public and private debts should be paid
in legal tender notes of the United States,
when it is not otherwise provided bv the
contract; and that the coinage of silver
should be placed on the same footing as
the coinage of gold, contain sound doctrine,
| ~ oh ho cd
The fourth resolution of the platform
contains the assertion of the absurd, IRA
tional and impracticable nonsense that
congress shall provide money adequate to
the full employment of labor, the equita-
BILE distribution of its products, and the
requirements OF business, tfring q naiR
mum amount per capita to the population
as near as may be, and otherwise regu.
lating its Ualue By just and equitable pro
visiOnS, so that the rate of interest tC1A secure
to labor ats full record,
The true theory is that congress shall
provide by law for the free coinage of
money from gold and silver, and there its
functions end. 1t is not bound to provide
money more than it is bound to provide
employment or food or clothing or homes
t o the people. The whole of the resolu
ton, after the assertion of the fundamental
heresy that it is the duty of congress to
provide money, is so vague and general il
its terms that it is N anifest that the au-
thors of it know very we'll that it is an
, empty and barren ideality.
The country feels deeply the error:
and radical vices of the financial legisla-
1 ii on, but the resolutions adopted by thu
: Toledo convention offer no prospect o
e improvement. The people have beer
, cursed and oppressed by fictitious, ire
: deemable, political currency, which ha
. been tinkered and manipulated to NEE
the necessities of partisans, and they ar
e weary of it. The hapdoode of proposin
e to fix by political action a minimum
4 amount OF money per capita to the pop
= ulatiOn, and negotiating its value by jus
q and equitable laws. which, by the way
q means nothing, will find 10 favor wit
Is sensible people. The third party ma
o futter for a while, but it's life will
=, brief, and the country, when it has ha
IL time for reflection, will perceive the valu
J. of the truth that the misfortune of tn
le times is that we are governed too mucl
9 III. State Register.