The Portland daily press., 1878-01-29
Our New York Letter.
The Silver Observation-Disclosures We alkress
and the Democratic Position Little
Alarm Felt by Capitalists Political Flu
rnre of the Silver Advocates.

New YORK, Jan. 26, 1878.
1t significant circumstance that the re-
cent extraordinary vote of the United States
Senate on the silver question should have utter
ly failed to check the gradual progress of the
country towards par redemption. The differ
ence between gold and paper to-day is only one
and quarter per cent. One of the causes of
this slight disparity no doubt is the prevalence
Of the belief that the reconciliation of silver
will not be accomplished, notwithstanding the
number of supporters of the scheme that there
are in both Houses of Congress. The idea is
that there is sort of crazs on the subject Just
now that must ultimately give way under the
light of discussion and the monitions of COM
mon sense The silver men have had every
thing pretty much their own way so far, and it
seems to be polite thing to draw their fire
A few such speeches, for example, as those of
Ewing in the House and voorhees, in the Sem
ate, ought to prove very effective in the way of
exposing the fallacy of the kind of devices
they recommend for circumventing the national
creditors. If the thinly disguised communist
theories they uphold are to be woven into the
law of the land by legislation, we might as
we'll repudiate the whole of the national debt
and done with it. The moral guilt of dishon.
esty is not affected by the magnitude of the
theft. As soon as ii is decided to cheat the pub
lie creditors out of tithe or so of what is due
them it will become comparatively easy to cut off
the rest. 1t is always the first step in wrong
doing which is the hardest to take. Every sub
sequent one grows easier. The restraints of
conscience get weaker as often as they are
overborne by the pressure Of temptation.
Now one of two things is absolutely certain.
Either the people who clamor for an unlimited
issue and legalization of the debased coin now
in use as fractional currency do not under
stand what they are asking, or else they are
willing to see the American Republic covered
with the shame and obloquy of wilfully re-
fusing to redeem its obligations in full. The
most charitable as well as agreeable conclusion
is that they do not comprehend the merits of
the case. Indeed, considering what volumes Of
sophistry and unreason have bsen spoken and
written thereof, it would be remarkable if they
were well-informed about it, They remember
that silver did form a part of the circulating
medium before the legal tender act led to the
expulsion of the precious metals, and they do
hSe SAOobO ohOhioONCo W eAihh az ull VI buO
vitality important point that it played SO incon-
siderable part in the business of exchange
that it was really of no account. 1t has always
been a subsidiary coin wherever it has been
employed, and the act Of demonstration passed
in 1873 attracted no attention and elected no
serious opposition. The proposition to flood
the country with silver seems to have followed
hard upon the failure of the inf1ationists to
prevent the contraction of the greenback notes.
Grants veto of the 22i April 1874 was the in
itial movement in the process of retroactiop,
which has already brought us by entirely nat
ural methods so near the goal of redemption.
The resum ption act passed January IA, 1875,
proved most valuable auxiliary ia the same
cause, though there is no doubt whatever that
there were quite number of Senators and
Representatives who voted for it who would
have opposed it vehemently if they could have
formed any conception of its scope and i'm
port. 1t worked admirably. The provision for
the retirement Of legal tender notes in the
ratio of eighty per cent. of all the national
bank bills issued brought about wholesome
contraction. The reduced business of the
country at the same time compelled a very de
cided curtailment of the national currency, SO
that there was a great deal moro withdrawn
than there was distributed. In fact the re-.
sumption act was an admirable sanitary meas
ure, and has done vast deal to bring about tbs
desideratum of the restoration of specie pay.
ments. But as soon as the infationists dis
covered how beneicent its operations were,
they set about contrving how they could COM
pass its repeal. Everybody remembers what
anxious conferences there were between Til
den and Hendricks before their letters of &C.
ceptance were written touching this point.
Tilden of course was averse to committing
himself against resumption, being the hardest
kind of hard money man. Hendricks In
sisted that he must or they couldn't carry Indi-