Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1881-09-08
Republican Consistency.

P"ilg haNe urIoBahtIg aSsuiheu W pO
the defenders Of the public credit. A
vast debt was incurred in the sup
preston of the rebellion, and from the
day the war closed until the present
time these leaders have harped upon
the sanctity of that Indebtedness, and
have never omitted an opportunity to
to show how dangerous it would be to
permit any one but themselves to
shape the policy of the government
in regard to it, At each recurring
presidential election these self consti-
tuted champions of the public credit
have tried to prove to the people that
their opponents were repudiators, and
that in the event of Republican de-
feat the obligations of the United
States would become worthless, and
public honesty an unknown principle
in the administration of the govern.
ment. When the greenback theory
was first suggested in an honest though
perhaps mistaken idea that the bur.
dens of the people might to some ex-
tent be thereby lightened, it was re-
pudiation in disguise. When it was
proposed to pay the bonds in the same
currency received for them, it was
open and rank reputation And so
on to the end. No proposition calcu-
lated in any way to ease the toiling
masses of the stress of taxation under
which they labored was ever offered
that these adroit partisans did not try
to turn TO political account, and TO the
advancement Of their own selfish pur-
poses. If there was no process of
logic by which such propositions could
be made to mean an attack upon the
credit of the nation, the weapons of
Misrepresentation and falsehood were
at their command, and they did not
hesitate to use them.
But what sublime spectacle do
these superfne patriots-these noble
heroes of public honesty-present to
the gaze of an admiring world to-day
Look to Virginia Behold their alli-
ance with repudiators, and test their
honesty and their consistency by the
every day facts that are occurring in
the political struggle that g now TAX
ing place in that State Gen. Wick
ham, gentleman of high character,
Union man before the war, Re
publican since the war, and by com.
mon assent the ablest and most inhu-
entail of the white Republicans of the
State, because he will not cringe to
Malone and his motley gang in sup
port of reputation, is denounced all
over the North as q traitor TO his
party and as unworthy of confidence
The power and patronage Of the adj
ministratioh are thrown into the bal
ance to weigh it down on the side of
reputation and dishonesty, and Re
publicans everywhere are expected to
support and applaud the disgraceful
act Of those who thus outrage decency
and all respect for the sacred obliga-
tions of State.
Next to reputation, in the eyes Of
these same defenders Of honesty, the
greenback heresy was the blacklist po-
litical crime of the times. But we
have only to look to the State of Mis-
sissippi at the present time to ascer-
tain how venial even this heresy may
become when the Republican party
has some political advantage to gain
by an alliance with the followers of
that faith. The same spectacle may
be observed in Mississippi that is seen
in Virginia. The administration uses
its power to compel honest Republi-
cans into political fellowship with the
Greenbackers in order to defeat the
Democrats, with a vague hope that
some good may accrue to the party in
the event of success.
II would seem that to these people
principle is nothing, the sacred credit
of a great State is nothing, past pro-
fession of fidelity TO public honesty
is nothing, consistency is nothing, SO
that victory perches upon the ban.