Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1890-07-20
OUR NATIONAL POLITICS.
Tho Diuointed style OF Things Political
silver ss Money.

july II. 1890.
To ne Editor Of the Dispatca:
1t has been long time since troubled
you. The people OF South Carolina and Of
my native State North Carolina) seem TO
a considerable extent to have lost their
heads. Tillman seems in some way 10
have turned the heads of many men up
side down." Numbers of the people Of
North Carolina have become desperate by
their mental situation. They have been
getting poorer and poorer for years, and
not seeing the true cause Of il ia high
tariff and the discreditiug OF silver as
money! seem mad and so are striking
blindly Mt their best friends. and in doing
so are giving aid to their worst enemies.
To think that any OF them should abuse
that grand. true southern man. Governor
| Vance. for writing one of the most states
manlike productions that have appeared
in the public prints for many day las
| truly pointed out by YOU shows how bind
/ their madness has caused them TO become
I To see the discussions growing up in the
| South among the white people, az the very
| time every man whose mother was white
| should stand "shOuder 10 shoulder"
makes me sick at heart. Many such
people seem 10 have been struck with
/ worse than judicial blindness. Never be-
| fore have | seen such mess OF thngsn
| "a now exists with the leaders of the Re-
| publican party IN Washington. and yet
| their organization seems to be as solid"
as a billiard ball. and they seem 10 know
! that to fool a negro two or more times
| is the best sort of evidence that he can be
| fooled many more times by them. Last
! year you know the promises Malone and
| his hrelings made the negroes about the
| Blair bill," and the knocking Oh of the duty
on tobacco. They had been fooled be-
fore with the forty acres and
mule" To keep up such fooling
! Of mistake not some Republican has in
! troduced in the lower branch of Congress
| a bill ito pension ex-slaves." while some
other fellow has brought IN a bill for the
! Government TO buy land and sell 1t t. ne
| groes on "crOp time or until paid for.
/ think the darky was to pay five bales of
cotton "a year, when if the truth could III
advance be known be would not make
total three bales. Some big Republicans
| in Congress want the tariff go high a. TO
| keep out the products of foreign countries.
| Perhaps the very same men are clamor-
| ing for Congress TO offer big subsidies TO
build up the carrying trade on the high
| seas. What gross Inconsistency. unless
they own large protected interests in this
country. and unless they expect to get
subsidies enough from Congress 10 Justify
| their building ships, and with the c1pecta-
| ton that il such ships go and return empty
| the subsidies received from the Govern
ment will be ample to make their venture
a very good one. Another big Republican
who favored tariff amounting to prohibit
| ton will sing out that eve (the people of
! the United States must 60 Just contrary
| to what England does or would have us 70
| do" He knows the object OF high tariff
| is TO keep out foreign goods and so make
! the goods he Is manufacturing scarce. and
yet in the very next breath he plays INTO
| the hands of ENGLAND by absolutely kick
| inc out silver "a money, and so forcing
down silver III value, greatly TO the profit
of England. He utterly fails TO see tho
workings OF one of his own pet measures,
| for If he did he would quickly
see that if the coinage of silver
in this country stood on the same basis as
the coinage of gold that it would not be
| long before q scarcity of silver would take
place in England and Europe, ana tie
| scarcity after some years would become 80
great that such people would be forced 70
! come to America and beg that we would
| let them have some silver currency"
Ihave been In business as clerkand part
ner over fifty years. and there never was
! time in my city when gold was used asa cur
rency. Ii was always shlnplasters. bank
notes, or silver that We're used ~ currency,
and il is now the case. | really doubt II
fifteen years one gold dollar IN payment
of debt due the dispatch.
The action of the Republican party
about 1871 in debaslng silver rs
money was a terrible stab at the interests
of the tllers of the soil IN the United
States, and especially to the growers OF
wheat The high tariff is driving away
from US the former buyers of our agrlcLl-
tural products. In twenty years more think
E,. o,,I xu,il hrr al nf Armprt-
can wheat A few more railroads in India
and a little longer debasing of silver "a
money by the Republican party will utterly
destroy all demand from England for our
wheat. Now TO see man who favored
the decision of the Supreme Court of the
United States making greenbacks legal
MONEY!" in the face of the fact that Con-
gress was forbidden by the Constitution to
declare anything but gold and silver
mot or silver coin" money. fight
ing against the issue of silver
certificates, based on constitutional
coin, shows how glaringly inconsistent
some men can be. The greenback was a
mere promise to pay money" and when
issued it was well understood that It Sfas
only a promise to do that at some tu-
ture day At the time of the issue there
was no money in the Treasury TO redeem
such promise, for had there been there
would have been no necessity to Is
sue such promises With silver certif-
Gates the matter is entirely different. for
every dollar of such certificates issued, /
even If the coinage OF silver was free,
there would be a constitutional dollar held !
by the Government TO redeem such |
certificate. In one case, while there |
was no money in the Treasury TO re- |
deem the greenback such greenback |
was declared by the Supreme Court /
of the United States a "a legal tender
or in other words. constitutional money. |
In the other case. constitutional coin Is IN /
the Treasury of the United States to re-
deem the silver certificate.
While 1t is clear that the people of the |
United States favor free coinage of silver, |
so powerful are the "gold-bugs" that | see
no chance of the free coinage of silver un-
I'll the people rise IN their might and de-
mand of their representatives that silver
be restored to It's former place.
am equally satisfied that the people of
the United States are opposed 10 the Lodge
force bill, the most infamous bill ever
brought before Congress. and yet fear
States. Much has been done by the lead
ers of the Republican party TO keep them
In power for years TO come and the whole
intent of the Lodge bill is to make more
certain that fact. The harm such bill
will do if 1t becomes a law is so great that,
for one, hate to think of it.
We people of the South have stood much,
and perhaps will have to standa good deal
more before our rights under the Constitu-
ton Of the United States are given Us.
In conclusion. permit me TO say that as
dark as the outlook is, | agree with you
that come what may" Malone will never
again rule Virginia, and so in that belief |
find something 10 cheer me no, loving old
Virginia as do and as | know you do.
While late in the day. | congratulate you
and your people for the great satisfaction