Mexico weekly ledger., 1879-08-07
BOOM.

III BOOM
Mr.. Sherman's visit to Maine has
not been a boom to the self-nominat-
ed presidential candidate. Through
out New England, heretofore, MI.
Sherman has been regarded as a sue
cessful financier, but now he is looked
upon as a versatile partisan peddler
of varied political sentiment to mix
ed audiences, in competitive districts.
In one place he claimed credit for
pruning a redundent currency, until
paper had been placed upon par with
gold. 1t must have been amusing to
have heard him foot has oaon horn.
"No man," quotes the secretary,
s'learned or unlearned, capitalist or
laborer, merchant or farmer believed
resumption possible but John Sher-
mar put it through. He had not a
word of acknowledgement of help
from any quarter. The secretary did
it all. He had toiled on amid doubts
and Gisgivings, amid forebodings and
even prophecies of failure, until sue
cess had crowned effort. In parad-
Ing all this, Mr.. Sherman overlooked
that Congress originated the whole
scheme before he was placed in charge
of the treasury. He forgot that he
has never been anything more than an
executive officer charged with i'm
parting ef~icaciousness to the views
of wiser men. He ignored also, no
doubt Intentionally, the unwilling as
sistence, he derived from remonetiza-
ton of silver and reissue of green
backs. He discarded as unworthy of
consideration the cooperation of a
nation crushed by financial i'm
policy, and yet struggling against its
spoilers, hopeful under adversely,
,surmounting mismanagement and
triumphing with divine assistance over
all disadvantages, but meanest of all,
unlike the leper healed by Christ, he
failed to give glory to God for provi-
dental increase of crops, making ex-
port surpass import and impart-
ing success to efforts at re-
sumption, which under other cir
cumstances had been an impos-
sibility. Indeed he would have
convinced the, hardy sons of toll in
Maine, that specie payment was a
substitute for labor and rain and sun
shine at seed time and harvest, that re-
sumption was the jugglery and he the
necromancer that had increased pro-
duction, started factories, given en-
ploYment to industry, created markets
and opened up a highway to prosperi-
ty, but such words had little weight
with those that had felt all the Sc
verify of resumption, without as yet
deriving a single known benefit from
it.
On the other hand Mr.. Sherman
declared at Portland that whatever
credit attached to originating the
legal-tender-greenback Injured to the
Republican party. 1t was that party
which presided at its birth, nurtured
it in its cradle, guarded it in its youth,
scattered it unlimited and iliimitable
in its manhood, and forced popula-
tons to render unwilling and mis-
1rustful fealty to it, in its ~decadence.
The exigencies of Republicanism
may have had a good deal to do with
such partisan twaddle. That the
Republican party in Maine stands in
need of a return of those that have
abandoned it recently, cannot be
doubted. 1t is rent also by factions
headed by Blaine and Hamlin and
liable to further subdivision. The
secretary would like to re unite all
elements into consolidated organism.
He desires also to secure votes fol
his own candidacy from all shades OF
political sentimentalists, but he evi.
IDENTIFY forgets that differences OF
opinion prevail as to what caused
stagnation of business. One portion
of the community ascribes financial
ruin to undue and protracted expan-
sion and another attributes it to I'M
necessary and premature contraction.
If Mr.. Sherman had confined himself
to self glorification for one or other
ofthese measures, he might have sue
ceeded in commencing himself to
either the iniationists or hard money
theorists but in assuming RESPONSE
bility for first originating greenbacks
aud afterwards retiring them, he
accepts the authorship of all that has
befallen the country and fails to con-
ciliate anybody. He would also
gladly see the amenity which has
heretofore existed between the Ma.
tionals and Democrats destroyed.
On Geveral other occasions MI.
Sherman tried to elevate politics
above finances, but whenever he at
tempted to do SO, he made charges
against the Democracy which cannot
be substantiated and which on that &C
count no sensible man tolerated. The
Republican party with John Sherman
at Its head may not Ike measures
based upon organic law. But to re-
store loyalty to the constitution was
the successful result of war, and as
that has been reached the voyage
though expensive is likely to be worth
to the nation all it cost.