Daily Los Angeles herald., 1884-04-24

II ought to be au axiom with all good
Americans that whether ones party Is
In the ascendancy or no, everything is
done for the best This is the nearest
substitute for that constitutional doc
trine of the English monarchy that the
King can do no wrong. OF course we
know that both postulates are absurd,
and that political party, like King,
can do scandalously wrong things; that
the former may not aim at the public
good, while the latter may be vulgar,
intriguing scoundrel, all Of whose i'm
pulses are vicious and indefensiblc. At
the same time we have reached q stage
in American politics in which an intelli-
gent public sentiment ought to exact
n certain measure Of honesty and re-
spsnsibiity from all parties. Allowing
for the un-republican, un-democratic
scandal Of the Credit Mobilier and public
domain surrendering episodes OF the Re-
publican party, for instance, that party
ought to-day to be compelled to put it.
self on higher plane.
That IL has done 80 we do not believe
can be maintained. The great prepon-
derance of Republican newspapers are
to-day engaged In a crusade against one
OF the most important of American in
terests--we allude to the gold conspir-
acy. Notwithstanding the fact that sill
yer Is peculiar product of the United
States-this country producing that
metal in larger quantities than any other
country-instead of protecting and fos
tering this splendid interest, the great
bulk Of the Republican party is now en-
gagged in the attempt to discredit and
crush the silver producers, and this not
withstanding the fact that an area of
the United States twenty times the size
Of the original thirteen States is largely
dependent on silver for its continued
prosperity in fact, for its very de-
velopment. OF all the Chambers of
Commerce which are now clamoring in
tho lobbics Of the Congress OF the United
States to prevent continuance Of the
silver coinage, fully nine.tenths are com
posed Of Republicans. With very few
exceptions all the newspapers and advo-
Gates of the suspension of silver coinage
are Republicans. The Democratic lead
ers, in the main, have retained their old,
traditional devotion to hard
money coinage composed of gold
and silver. The attempt to demon.
etize the latter metal has received no en-
couragement from them as party, and
no considerable number of Democrats
have sympathized with this movement,
the two great national parties occupying
in this respect substantially the attitude
which they have assumed on the Chinese
question. That is TO say, the immense
mass Of the Democratic party, aided by
a mere fraction of the Republican party,
have succeeded in putting an end to
Mongolian immigration, just as the i'm
mense mass of that party, aided in the
same way and to the same fractional ex-
tent, have so far maintained our silver
interests in certain degree of vigor
through their inhexible devotion to the
coinage OF the standard silver dollar
There is one aspect of the Republican
party which is of very grave significance
to our people. The leading spirits of
that organization are not only hostile to
silver but they aim to put the screws to
the masses in all imaginable subtle ways.
They are not only demanding that the
coinage of silver shall be suspended, lut
they insist that the volume of the cunen
cy shall be contracted. They submis.
sively accept the dictum of the capital
lists, who are anxious to increase the pur.
chasing power of their fixed incomes. In
other words, as the wealth of these per-
sons is derivable from bonds and other
securities, which remain unalterable,
they are anxious to add twenty, thirty
and even fifty per cent. to the actual
value OF the dollars which they receive
in stipulated amounts.
Perhaps the case may be put more
plainly. For ten years the people of the
United States have been recovering from
the panic of 1873. They have not only
made good the financial havoc of that
memorable year but they have, besides,
high degree of prosperity.
The proposition, engineered from the
money circles of New York and Boston,
now that thousand millions of dollars
have been expressed from railway, min.
ing and other speculative securities, is to
still further complicate the situation by
narrowing the volume of the currency.
This selfish programme, il it were al
lowed to be carried out, would undoubt-
sdly result in ano her panic. in which
the whole country would be substantial.
y put up at auction, with the result
that, as in 1873 "A, it would be bought
N at nominal figures by the men who
had boarded their money.
Can the American people afford TO
continue in power a party which un-
in the main, chershes such
projects. Are not the prosperity and
sell.being Of the whole western country
md of the masses generally OF more i'm.
portance than the further enrichment of
those who already rejoice in plethora
Of wealth?
1t would really seem as if the silver
question alone ought to divorce the vot.
ers oil the western states from any fur. |
ther allegiance to the Republican party.
When, from all the centers of Republi.
ian wealth md power in the Eastern
States, the same menaeing refrain is
heard, there ought to be, in this section,
very general weakening OF political
which were founded upon an
issue which ought not to have survived |
the war and the reconstruction Of the
Southern States.
.-s--s.-.-----
ELSEWHERE We publish a communiea-
tion from District Attorney White which