Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1882-11-07
WHAT REPUBLICANISM HAS
DONE.
iLewiston Journal

votes TO hit them into ONCE. USED thlS
appeal with great effect.
1t is not surprising that thousands of
honest men who had been Republicans,
were led to believe that the depression in
business and the stagnation of Industries,
were due to the resumption act and the
Republican financial policy. They saw
a fruitful country in the midst Of great
distress, and it was the easiest thing in
the world to accept the solution that Re.
publican legislation, enacted, as it was
charged, in the interest of the money
power, had brought il about. When
Republican papers and speakers explain
ed that the condition OF the country was
due to the exhaustion of four years
war, involving gigantic expenditure OF
treasure and blood, whose deleterious
effects were exaggerated by the distrust
and uncertainty caused by disordered
and deprecated currency, and when they
argued that the remedy was to bring all
our currency up to par by accumulating
resumption fund and resuming specie
payments,-it was found that such argu-
ments had little weight in many minds
against the noisy assertions Of such men
as De La Martyr and Cary that the Re-
publicans were in league with the "mon-
ey power" and that resumption was an
impossibility, and that, if attempted, sit
would complete the prostration of bust
ness, take bread from the mouths Of lab
orers' and cause grass to grow in the
streets.
But when resumption came so silently
and successfully, just as the Republicans
said it would when, after three years
experience, it proved to be the friend OF
the laborer and the poor man rather than
the money power" when it was dem
onstrated that the soft money policy
would have increased the evils flowing
from disordered and deprecated curren-
cy, while the Republican policy had over
come those evils and secured return
of prosperity, a revival of industries and
an improvement in wages-then the
noisy appeals of demagogues to poor men
to vote against the Republican party
as "a .pliant tool of the money power
created only disgust.
1t is now coming to be understood
that the general financial policy of the
Republican party has been shown by the
progress of events to be the wisest and
best that could have been devised and in
the interest of the workingmen and the
producers Of the country.
This policy exempted national bonds
from local taxation. Why: Because it
was known that if they were subject to
such taxation very few could possibly be
reached by the assessors, while the rate
Of interest that the people would have to
pay on government loans would be about
two per cent higher in consequence Of
the liability. BY exempting them from
the usual taxation, the government, l. e.,
the people, could borrow money two per
cent less than otherwise, and thus practi-
cally collect tax Of two per cent on all
bonds and secure the same by deducting
it from the rate of interest. So clear IS
this now that at the last session Of Con-
gress, when bill was passed to author
ize the refunding of portion of the debt,
clause exempting it from taxation was
adopted without a dissenting voice.
A great howl was made against the
policy of the Republican party in sacred
" maintaining the faith Of the govern
ment towards its creditors. We were
looking out solely for bloated bond.ho
ers, and neglecting to protect the inter-
ests of the tax payers. 1t was very Diff
ficult to make many persons see how i'm
portant it was that the Nation should
maintain its good faith, and that by so
doing it would be able to reduce the rate
of interest on its bonds and save not only
its good name, but also more money than
could be saved by any evasion OF its
promises. But now intelligent persons
clearly see that the Republican policy was
not only the honest policy, but the most
profitable for by such course the govern
ment has so improvedits credit that it can
borrow all the money it wants at pei
cent, whereas it was paying 6 and even
3.lOper cent. Ifwehad adopted the policy
advocated by the Carys we should have
DESTROYED our credit, and have found our
selves unable to hire money at even {
per cent and at the same time plunged
our currency into irredeemable deprecla
, ton and disorder.
We might go on to show that the pro
, tective tariff policy, the tax policy and al