The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-07-30
THE CURRENCY ISSUE IN THE CON.
VENTION.

|
| element present that will demand that the
| Democracy shall declare in favor Of paving
the United States bonds in ''greenback'
legal tenders, and II not adopted by that con-
! ventiOn there will be regular stampede to
the third party movement now rapidly or
ganizing. Will the Democracy In convention
| have the wisdom to meet the demands of the
people, and guide this rapidly growing senti-
ment in the country, or will they stand upon
the past and allow others to move to the front
and control the affairs of the country? This
Is serious question; the people are *yight In
| this parish, 10 OF every 20 are in favor of re-
| quiring bondhOIders to receive pay in the
same kind of money that others are paid in
Inc issue Will DE presented to the convention
A DELEGATE.
| We trust that there will be no considerable
body Of delegates willing to divide or break
up the Baton Rouge Convention on this issue
We firmly believe that the bonds should be
paid according to the original contract. Yet
we fear that 1t may not be possible to unite
the convention on this proposition. Not SO
much because there Is difference Of opinion
founded in intelligent conviction, but because
there Is as yet q want Of fixedness of opinion
amongst our people. The several currency
questions, l. e., the payment of the bonds In
greenbacks the reconciliation of silver, and
the repeal Of the resumption act, have assumed
an aggressive place in our national politics
while Louisiana was engaged in a life and
death struggle to escape from military and
carpet-bag rule, and while her press, leaders
and people took very little interest In nation
al issues.
SO late as last January not voice in the
State had been heard in favor of the remone-
tization of silver. The DEMOCRAT and its
country confreres were too busily occupied
in fighting the enemy that held the State by
the throat to devote proper attention to ma
tional questions. The Times and PfCaaRuee. de-
barred by their peculiar interests and re-
marliable independence. from attacking many
OF the wrongs and evils in our midst, fell
back upon the currency question. But these
| two journals took a position hostile TO the
people and in the interest of the bondholders
and the gold rings of the East. Several of
our commercial boards took the same ground
occupied by these papers, and adopted reso-
lutions protesting against the silver bill,
Early in the session Of the Legislature the
DEMOCRAT took up the subject, and In a Sc
rtes OF articles presented the silver bill to the
people and the Legislature In it's true light,
and very clearly showed the advantages
which the country, and especially the West
and South, would derive from that measure IL
1t should be passed and made the basis of
thorough financial system. The consequence
was that both Houses of the Legislature
passed set Of joint resolutions calling upon
Congress to pass the silver bill many of our
most intelligent and influential business men
became strong silver men; number OF those
who had voted in the commercial bodies for
the protest reversed their opinions, and we
believe there are very few men In New Or
leans to-day who do not believe that the re-
mOnetizatlon Of silver was wise measure
Subsequently the seizure Of majority of
the Legislature, composed of the solid mass of
the Radicals and negroes with few recreant
Democrats, by the monopolies and rings, and
the arrayment of that body against the pub
lie interest, opened up new questions of local
politics which have ever since occupied the
public mind almost to the exclusion of the
greenback agitation. We cannot, therefore,
concur in the extreme views expressed by our
correspondent on this question. We are GER
tainly convinced that it would be infinitely
better and safer for the country that the gov
eminent should take exclusive charge of the
currency than that it should be- as now, chiefly
under the control of the national banks We
believe this, because we prefer profiigate and
not always ungenerous political despotism to
the mean, and sordid, and always relentless
despOtism Of a gigantic money power, crush
ing the people, identified with, controlling
in its own selfish interests and corrupting and
debauching the government.
The greenback policy, we fear, is a danger
GUS mania; one which, if carried out, is apt
to throw into the hands of the Federal gov
eminent the power to destroy the last vestige
OF State rights and establish at Washington
a powerful centralized governments Bri-
arius in the midst of our system, who with
his hundred hands, may touch, and control,
and crush at his will every interest of the
States.
This greenback policy is as yet an untried
experiment, and we should listen warily to
It's sweet singing lest we be betrayed into the
power of a monster whose embraces may crush
us. On this question, too, Louisiana can well
afford to be cautious and conservative. Our
Senator in Congress- Hon. j. B. Eustis, and
every member of the lower House of that
body, from Louisiana, with the exception of
Gen. Gibson, voted consistently, during the
late session, against the contractionists;
they voted for the reconciliation of silver;
for the repeal Of the resumption act, and
finally, for the bill prohibiting the con-
traction of the greenback currency below
its present volume. We hold, therefore,
that, for the present, we should stand on this
ground and refuse as yet to commit the Dem
ocracy to financial policy which may carry
in its stormy bosom the seeds OF evils prayer
than any we have had yet to endure
1t seems to US that the true measure
of financial relief for the States has been
overlooked in the greenback furore. In
our opinion the power of the Federal
government in the matter of curren-
cy should be restricted to the regulation
and coinage of the precious metals, and that
the paper currency required by the trade and
Industries of the country should be supplied
by well regulated State banking institutions.
There Is, therefore, no doubt in our mind that
the Democratic convention should declare, IN