The record-union., 1891-01-23
Nevada Silver Aided Resumption
of Specie Payment.
RESULTS OF THE GREAT POLITICAL
CYCLONE OF LAST FALL
The Confederate Debt Comes to the
Front After Every Democratic Vic
tory to Trouble the Souls Of the
Leaders of the Party.
WASHINGTON, D. c., Jan. II, 1891.


order to make room for the consideration
of useful and needed legislation, the gilt
edged newspapers belonging to New
York and New England pawnbrokers
and elsewhere have been trying to be-
little our neighbor on the east.
They seem to forget very important
historical fact, that during the cloudy
days of our country's trouble from
traitors at home and enemies abroad, the
State of Nevada contributed from its
sparsely settled confines that solid silver
support which made it possible for our
national treasury to sustain a partially
respectable financial standing; and twas
at time when New York and New Eng
lands gold had demoralized the value OF
the Governments paying commodity to
33s cents on the dollar.
Senator Sherman of Ohio seems also to
forget now that his mastery resumption
of specie payment, while Secretary OF the
Treasury under the Hayes adminlstra-
ton, could never have been accomplished
with New York and New England's
gold. He seems to overlook the very
important fact that Nevada's silver, aided
by California's gold, were the only me-
diums which made his great coup Petdt
success. That gentleman's coat-tail
floats too high above the sidewalk to
allow him to think for moment that
European gold or silver could ever be
made available to accomplish that pur-
pose-even to this day.
vERITABLE STATEMENT.
1t was those two States which made It
possible for our country to proclaim to
the nations of the earth that our rejuve-
mating powers were superior to all, by co
ing, after four years OF fratricldai strife,
that which no other nation on earth can
do in these long periods of peace. 1t was
those two States alone which permits the
Senator from Ohio to point to that peer
less act of statecraft as the greatest adllev-
ment of his name. They may monkey
and fool around Nevada's arrested popu-.
lar growth with all the peurile jealousy OF
an old beldame who is superseded by her
younger and more attractive sisters, but
she remains precisely the same, satisfied
with her hidden millions yet uncovered,
like one waiting for friends to come and
receive hospitality and gifts.
"As some tall cliff that lifts itsawful form,
Swells from the vale and midway leaves the
storm,
Though round her breast the rolling clouds
are spread,
Eternal sunshine settles on her head.''
THE FRUITS OF VICTORY.
That great political cyclone of last fall,
which had its center in Massachusetts,
then moved westwardly to iowa, Mime
sofa and Kansas, by way of Pennsyl-
vania, is now developing reactionary
condition of stale, but nevertheless
dangerous type. That it would come, no
one doubted for a moment, but when, and
in what form, We're the only things OF an
indefinite nature which attended its pre-
Sentation.
The Democratic party seems to be dis
couragingly unfortunate in its present
political protectorate. Whenever they
are entitled to a period of repose and
mutual congratulation, the 'Old Man of
the Sea" appears to them in the shape of
the Confederate debt,' and upsets all
these festivities, which naturally belong
to the victor after the battle.
1t was the bane of Mr.. Cleveland's adj
ministration, and it is the constantly re-
curing nightmare of his partisans in the
North.
The cerebral fog-tank of the average
European expands and throbs whenever
the Democrats make scoop of the
American House Of Congress; especially
is this SO with those who have on hand
any bonds of the late C. S. A., so-called
The first discouragement incident to
that brilliant Democratic victory last No
vember appears in the shape of law
suit. One Jacques Van Raaite, native
of the city of Rotterdam, Holland, but
living now at Glasgow, Scotland, where
he represents his native country as Con-
sui, has commenced suit in the Circuit
Court of the United States, for the Dis
trict of Maryland, against James G..
Blaine, as Secretary of State of the United
States of America.
THE LEGAL POINTS.
Mr.. Raalte, through his solicitor, sets
forth in his bill that William H. Seward,
when Secretary of State, issued on the
2Sth day of July, 1868, a proclamation
which recited that:
Neither the United States, nor any
State, shall pay any debt or obligation
occurred in aid ofinSurrection or rebellion
against the United States, but all such
debts and obligations shall be held illegal
and yoid.o
He further sets forth that. prior to that
date, he purchased for their full value
(probably 5 cents on the dollar Sl25.0OO oi
negotiable coupon bonds issued by the
Southern States as joint and several obli-
cations, and he contends that the said
proclamation was illegal, in that 1t in
cluded part debts and obligations, and
Secretary Stewards proclamation con-
tanned an implied admission that without
such prohibition the States referred to
would owe just and valid obligation.
The plaintiff seeks to prove-first, that
the proclamation obliges the Secretary OF
State to take the curious position that,
although the States never lost their status
in the Union, yet their obligations could
be annulled as if they had; second, that
State obligations already incurred could
be thus repudiated and vested rights taken
i'lSiliilli1 tilGil cldliifS lDdI, be-
ing citizen of Holland and Great
Britain, such acts on the part of the
American Secretary of State were Illegal
and void, because it was interference with
his rights as a citzs1 of "a foreign country
between which and the United States
treaty stipulations existed which pro-
tected him.
The suit IS brought to recover for de-
stroying the commercial value OF the ne
gotiable bonds of the late C. S. A. and
their coupons. which swells the grand
total up TO q quarter of a million.
As the nlted States cannot be sued, Mr..
Gephart of Baltimore, his solicitor. pro-
ceeds against the person now holding the
office which inflicted this great hardship
on his client twenty-three wears apo.
He claims this suit involves the same
principles as some of those suits against
State officers in Virginia.
Mr.. Blaine will doubtless throw them
out of court attlle first hearing of the case.
but that only tends to aggravate and pro-
long the disease. 1t is q proposition which
must be confronted in the open field and
put down by heroic remedies. That these
old sores should break out after every
Democratic victory with such indeiicate
regularity must be simply exasperating
to Democratic politicians.
VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS.
There are two almost insurmountable
difficulties which now confront the North
ern Democracy, namely, the next Con-
gress with its overwhelming Democratic
majority, and, this persistent demand for
payment of the Confederate debt
The former is bad enough but it can't
be helped. They are elected and we can
only grin and bear it, confidently hoping
that they won't act half as bad as is ex-
peeted.
The latter is purely foreign and wholly