The Portland daily press., 1878-09-05
THE NATIONS HONOR.
Judge Russell's Plea for Its
Maintenance.
A Good Hard Money speech at
City Hall.

Another good hard money rally was held at
City Tall last evening. The body of the hall
was filled with men while the galleries were
largely occupied by ladies' 1t was one of the
most attentive and careful audiences which
has gathered in City Hall for many day.
| Chambers band, which was stationed on the
stage, discussed excellent music. At o'clock
Hon. Thomas Russell of Boston and number
of prominent Republicans appeared on the
stsge and were received with much enthusiasm.
The meeting was called to order by w. FL.
Plummer, Esq, chairman of the city commit
tee, who announced Nathan Webb, Esq as
chairman of the meeting. Mr.. Webb on taking
the chair said that he believed the duty of
the chairman of such meeting was to present
to them the speaker of the evening and he &C.
cordingly introduced Hon. Thomas Russell of
Boston. Mr.. Russell was warmly received.
He said he was glad to bear part in contest
of so much importance as the present contest
in Maine. If this was an ordinary state cleo
ton we of Massachusetts would look quietly on,
but this year there is something more than state
affairs involved. You have got to do moro
than re-elect the popular Governor Conner.
You have got to re-elect five hard money Con-
gressmen from this state (applause.) The re-
suit of the election in the Pine Tree state is
looked for all over this country and the news
will do much good to the cause Of honest mon
ey elsewhere. This Greenback heresy is pre-
sented by one party, opposed by one party and
lodged by one party. stand for the party
which fights this doctrine. 1t is in this
state that q good fight is beng made. Maine,
however, will send forth no uncertain sound
while Hannibal 81 amlin and James G. Blaine
are alive. call up IN the Democrats to rally
about the nations honor once more as they did
when the rebels threatened to destroy it. The
country is once more in danger, not from rebels
but from repGdiators. The greenbacks issued
were simply promises to pay. On January LIST
we shall have currency for all classes. In
stead of reducing the value of the dollar as
Batter and his followers wish to do we will
elevate it and make greenback as good as
gold. The chief CRY of the Greenbackers is
that this cannot be done.
Butler says you cannot resume because there
are more greenbacks out than there is gold in
the Treasury. The law is, however, that the
greenbacks shall be paid ont again. The mo-
ment that resumption is announced people
will be better satisfied to keep the greenbacks
than to have gold. On January LIST if heaven
favors us. we shall have resumption, and it will
be new year to all. Our Greenback friends
wish to flood this country, with irredeemable
paper. They want the bonds payable in paper,
thus breaking the plighted faith of the Nation.
The bonds were intended to be paid in coin'as
that was the money of the country when the
bonds were issued. Can we afford now to have
the Nation break its faith? The interest is of
first of January and then it is of no difference
whether we pay in greenbacks or coin, for they
are at par. A man loses nothing by keeping
his promise. and it is just so with nation.
tation and where she could once borrow for
sevenlper cent,can now borrow at four per cent
We object to the irredeemable money because
it will Huctuate and depreciate cheating the
poor man. No one believes that by turning
crank man can increase the wealth of this
country. No one will receive dollar of money
if there is new issue unless he gives some
thing in exchange. The more money that is
issued the less it is worth. The lesson of
France should be warning to all. They
tried to compel men to take paper money at
the point of the bayonet, but without effect.
On the Island of Hayti can be found the para
disc of the greenbackers There men are tear
ing down their barns and building greater to
uUlu tu6lE CuTI6uCy. uhN6 u6dIu VI b Hdu Ill
Maine who has pair of steers to SELL Hayti
ia the place for him. He can sell his steers for
$4,000.
As to the irredeemable paper money
there are thousands of uses for it. There is not
q trout brook in the South which ia not laying
for external and internal Improvements. There
are Southern claims to be paid and a thousand
and one uses which we have not now time to
enumerate. During the revolution the people
were in the habit of papering their rooms with
aia1 OF hara LAT
who issued this money. They were the repre-
sentatives of thirteen disconnected colonies
who were in straight place and they were
obliged to do it to provide the soldiers at
Valley Forge with clothing. 1t is not fair to
say that we can issue rredeemable money
now in time of peace because our fathers did
the same thing during the revolutionary war.
As an example of people who kept their prom
Use remember the Plymouth colony. They paid
their indebtedness and were remembered by
the same thing, and your vote on Monday next
will be great help to this result
Some one says that we are going back on the
greenback, the greenback which was good
enough for the soldiers, but it was the best we
had. Now we have something better, and
shall we not use it. Our fathers used flint
locks because they had no better guns,
but now when we have something better we
use it, Just so with greenbacks and gold. The
greenback of today is a promise to pay nothing
and so it cannot be legal tender. 1t was hard
work to get the Supreme Court to call the
greenback legal tender, but there cannot be
found court or justice who will recognize a
greenback that is irredeemable as a legalitender
The greenback is to be issued on the faith of
the grandeSt government the sun ever shown
upon. How long will this government be SO
great aud powerful if we break the faith.
But we are told that if we do not keep the
faith the canita1iStS do not dasarva tn ha
treated decently by the people. But who sup
poses that the capitalist holds the. bonds? Who
ever strikes at the bondh0lders. strikes at the
widows, orphans, savings banks and charitable
holders are foreigners and do not deserve any
better treatment Is it true that a man who
lends us money does not deserve fair treat
ment? Why is it that the capitalists are con-
sidered such enemies to the lahore? The
capitalist is simply successful laborer who by
saving his earnings little by little has became
able to labor with his brain. There is no
trouble between labor and capital unless you
make it, The two should go together. When
comes to the rescue quicker than capitalists. I
remember the time when it was patriotic to be
q bondholder, when it was patriotic to take your
money from the savings banks and put it into
bonds to help out the rebellion, 1t was then
all sailors took the little that he had and put it
into bonds, making the remark that if the
rebellion was successful he did not want to be
worth dollar.
In closing he called upon the Democrats who
loved their country to rally for hard money. 1t
was principle which Jackson worshiped and
no one who loved the old tero can afford to
vote for rredeemable currency. The doctrine
of the Republican party in this fight is the
equal rights of all people, the duty of all
men to be honest.
After three cheers for the maintenance of the
L A..