Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1884-08-07
The Democratic Candidate for Vice
President.

/
x MEs Hendricks is high representative
Democrat, in that his fidelity to his party
has led him to the wrong side On every
important public question and legislative 9
act during the last quarter of a century,
covering vital period in the life of the
Republic, and a time which is a long
public life in this country of popular
government. Rarely can an eminent
veteran statesman point with pride to
the record that he has been mistaken in
his course on every important National
question during his whole life. His
assent to this has no reservation for
difference of party opinion, but is given
by his own successive variations i'll po-
litical issues, and by his present position.
In the secession war Mr.. Hendricks
could find no constitutional power for
the defense of the National Union, or for
voting man or dollar to save it from
being broken up. His patriotic motto
was: Not IA man nor dollar to carry
on this unconstitutional war" To him
the Nation was unconstitutiOnaily pre-
served and State rights crushed. Yet he
became a candidate for the usufruet, as
if unconscious that the Nation has no
constitutional existence. He opposed
the issue of legal tender notes to support
the National defense, because gold and
silver coin are the only constitutional
money. and even the supreme law of
public safety will not warrant such d
breach upon the Constitution as lawful
paper money. Then, in the vicissitudes
of his party, he opposed the redemption
of the legal tender paper in coin, and
thus, after the country's necessity has
passed by, he came to the position that
perpetual irredeemable legal tender notes
are the true constitutional money. But
the resumption act made the greenbacks
as good as gold, and Mr.. Hendricks now
perceiveS his error.
Mr.. Hendricks ably opposed the acts
to authorize the creation of bonds to
borrow means to carry on the war of
public defense. After they had been
issued, and the Nation had been saved,
be opposed the declaration of Congress
that the public faith is pledged to the
redemption of the bonds in coin. He
desired to lower the National faith to
the perpetual motion financing system
of paying our interest bearing bonds
with our Don-interest, irredeemable
notes. But against his opposition the
public faith WAS kept, and the policy of
honesty has reduced the rate of interest
from six and seven per cent. to three,
thus mitigating the Democratic war
burden one-half, and now MIR. Hendricks
admits that he was mistaken.
He opposed the enlistment OF the
slaves of rebels in the service of country,
the emancipation, the enfranchisement
of the freedmen, and the several amend
ments of the Constitution to settle the
results of the civil war. He denounced
all these as destructive to the Constitu
tion, yet he now accepts them as accom-
plishsd facts and as constitutional. He
asks to be elected Vice President of
Nation which exists solely by the course
of the Republican party against his op-
position In every measure for its pres
eryation. And now he courts the votes
of colored men wherever the Democratic
States have not suppressed by intimlda-
ton and fraud their right to vote. He
prefers the violent policy, but puts in the
solicitations where force is impractical
BILE.
Mr.. Hendricks now Jealous supporter.
Mr.. G. w. Curtis, went even further
back than the secession war in showing
that Mr. Hendricks public life had been
all blunder, giving him full thirty
years in which he was never right even
nv accident Said this eloquent sup
porter of the Democratic parry: ne
was the inconsiderate ally or the aggresc
sions of slavery, and the deDaucnely VI
the National mind ana conscience q