The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1879-12-13
uEPREsIDENT's MESSAGE

will presume to give our views of it
to them briefly. With the exception
of two or three particulars, which we
propose to notice, the paper is tam e,
commonplace, and we may say, un :
Objectionable affair.
The exceptions alluded to we find
in his views as expressed in regard
to what he calls the Presumption
Act" the finances, as far they relate
to the "redremenf' of Greenbacks or
United States notes; and the cessa-
ton Of sitcer coinage; and his so
called civil service reform. AS to the
frst,the message is not only delusice,
but absolutely false. AS to the sec
oad, not only ruinous, by again IN
settling values, but would, if carried
out, again throw the country back
into the vortex of hard times and
universal bankruptcy. And as to the
third exception named, while the
views as expressed are sound, just,
and right, and did his acts show him
sincere, would be creditable to him,
but construed by his acts, must be
received as hollow and hypocritical.
We talk to plain, common sense peo-
pie, and, therefore, use plain common
sense language, that all may under
stand what we mean. His most Sin
teresting event. upon which he 'con-
graduates Congress" is as to what
he is pleased to tern 1.-The successful
execution of the Resumption Act"
at the time .fned, and in the manner
contemplated by law, United States
notes began to be redeemed in coin,
says the message. Now does not
every impartial reader know that
the so-called Resumption Act was
not successfully executed in the man
me-, contemplated by the Act? BY that
act Republican Congress, after hav
ing demonetized silver, and forbid its
coinage, provided that the seven hun
bred millions of notes outstanding
should be reduced 20 three hundred
millions, by the 1st day of January,
1879, and on that day to resume spe-
Gle payment so-called, upon gold
basis solely, and with less than one
hundred and fifty millions of gold to
resume on, so that every one, with a
grain of impartial common sense,
must see that had Resumption been
carried out as contemplated by that
Act, and under the law then in force,
our circulation of Green backs could
not now have exceeded the amount of
gold we had to redeem them with
otherwise, the Government would
have been very much in the fix of
man who issued his notes of in
debtedness, to say, ten thousand dol
lars, and had only five thousand to
pay them. What then is the fact
as to Resumption so far as we have
it. but this: that instead of reaching
it, by carrying out the provisions OF
the so-called Resumption Act, it was
done by refusing to carry out its
most pernicious provisions. The
first of these acts of refusal to carry
out its provision, we find in the sub
sequent act of a Democratic Con
gress, .forbidding the further con-
traction of the currency, as provided
for by the Resumption Act. The
next was the Act to rem0nettze silcer
and make it a legal tender, as the
fathers of the Republic ordained
and the third Act was the authoriz-
ing and directing the coinage of not
less than t,co nor more than Joua
millions of neW siluer dollars pei
month. These Acts passed by a
Democratic Congress over the head
of a Republican de .facto President
extracted the deadly sting from the
Scorpions tail, and made what little
of specie resumption we have, at all
possible, without utter ruin and gen
eral bankruptcy to the country, and
vet the message boasts that he and
John Sherman did it. He says that
at the time .fred, that is to say,on the
first day of January, 1879, Omitted
States notes began to be redeemed in
coin," and congratulates Congress
on that fact. Mark! That is all the
specie resumption that he claims land
vet. in the next sentence, he recon
mends that all the said United States
notes be retired from circulation,
then, does not every one see there
would be nothing left to redeem
these are all that are now redeemed
or redeemable; retire them from cir
cnlation. as he recommends, anC