The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1879-08-06

A NEW YORK CORRESPONDENTS VIEW
OF THE RECENT CON
yENTIoN

the New York Tribune, writes as
follows TO his paper from Harris
burg:
Mr.. Randall's second point was to
secure the laying Of wires to help
Tildeu get the Pennsylvania delega-
ton to the National Convention, and
this was done just as well by the
Bars as it could have been by the
Speaker himself. The Pittsburgh
Post, owned and edited by the Barr
family, came cut openly for Tilden
some time ago. and there is no doubt
that be can co, n on the zeal aud L.
deity Of all th, members Of the fami-
", including IL. nominee fer State
Treasurer. The extraordinary action
of the Convention 10 declining to
choose O Chairman for the State Com
mittee, and placing the selection in
the hands Of Mr.. ID. o. Barr and Con-
gresham Cofroth, was an evident
move in Tiiden's interest. In vain
did one Of the Lancaster delegates
protest that the Craftsmanship was a
more important Office than the Treas
urership, and that the Convention
would better select the committees
chairman and let him name the can
didate than take the course proposed;
the business was set up in advance
and pushed through without difficult
ty against an unorganized opposition.
With an active Tilden mar at the
head Of the State Committee, backed
up BY Randall and not antagonized
in a positive way by Wallace, it viii
be strange if the Pennsylvania dele
CATION is not secured for the Great
Cipherer.
Tilden is not as strong throughout
the State as | had been led to sup
pose by a talk last week with Q num-
Der of his friends in Philadelphia.
There is a pretty strong antagonism
to him even 10 Eastern Pennsylvania,
and in the West, where the influence
of Ohio soft money notions is still
felt, the opposition is quite promi,
nent. The Eastern Democrats are
very fond of Bayard, and the West
ern men lean toward Thurman.
should judge, from the talk OF dele
gates to yesterdays convention, that
a majority of the Pennsylvania Dem,
ocrats would prefer some other Gao.
didate than Tilden. Nevertheless,
all the cool-headed leaders admit that
be has o twist on the party which
makes bis nomination almost una
voidable. One of them pat the case
concisely in the following words
"Our party believes that Mr.. Til.
den was elected in 1876, and we think
many Republicans are Of the same
opinion. This belief is a positive
force 10 our favor of great Importance
if we renominate him. In case we
drop him, we give up that force and
lay ourselves open to the charge ol
hypocrisy for our adyersaries will
saw that we bad no faith in our claim
that be was rightfnlly elected before.
Thus, you see, the logic Of the posi-
ton we have been taking since 1911
requires US to give Mr.. Tilden anoth'
er chance to be President
The financial plank Of yesterdays
platform is, as you have seen, for
hard money Sans phrase. There is
no double meaning to be read in the
lines or between the lines. 1t de-
clares for q currency of gold and sill
yer and paper convertible into coin.
That such a plank should emannte
from q convention controlled by the
Bars Is a curious illustration of the
mutations Of politics. Fer many
years the Bars. through their news
paper, the Post, led the Greenback
movement inside the Democratic par
ty, and when, in 1875, the overflow
of soft money opinion from Ohio sat
ursted Western Pennsylvania, they
appeared in the State Convention al
Erie as the champions of arag money
platform. They carried the day, too,
with the help Of the delegates from
the coal and lumber regions east o.
the mountains, led by Frank W
Hughes, who afterward went over Il
the National Greenbaek party. The
Erie convention demanded that al
National bark circulation be prompt
ly and permanently retired and tul
legal-tenders issued in their place.
spoke out for the extinction of thl
National banks and the establish.
ment of State banks of discount anC
deposit, and declared for O Govern
ment currency equal to the wants o
trade" | do not know that Dan o
Barr, himself q banker, approved tba
platform. He was not of much polit
ical Importance then, and would no
be now were it not for his brother
the editor.
1t is interesting to trace the subsi
dence of the Pennsylvania Democra
cy from the aood-tide mark of inha
ton ideas to the solid ground Of hon
est money. In 1876 the State Con
vention let the banks alone and con
tented itself with striking at speci
payments. Ia view of subsequen
events its resolutions on this subjec
is vastly entertaining reading. Her
it is: "Resolued, That the statut
for the resumption of specie payment
on the first day of January, 1879,
impossible to execute. 1t is a DELHI
crate proclamation that at that dat
the United States will go into bank
ruptcy. 1t paralyzes industry, create
distrust of the future, turns the labor
er and the producer out of employ
ment, is q standing threat upon bust
ness men, and ought to be Forthwith
repealed" In 1877 the money CUES
ton was lodged altogether. In 1871
the convention got up courage enough
to tackle itagain, but in an irresolute
hedging way. The platform of tina
year scolded at the financial policy o
the Republican party without naming
resumption opposed contraction 0
greenbacks declared the banks %
j~ectionable, but carefully added tina
10 any change of the system the cap
ital invested must be protected ant
favored Treasury notes issued in ex
change for bonds bearing low inter
est, as the "best form in which tb'
credit Of the Government can b
given to paper currency
BY such steps has the Pennsylya
mia Democracy returned along ths
road it travelled when il went astra,
from ire old hard mo,av @aifh on.