Omaha daily bee., 1895-05-11

II appears TO have been regarded at that time
as justiiable expedent for the accomplish
ment Of desired political end, and the men
who were responsible for II received the APP
plause Of their party and continued to enjoy
the honors and emoluments of public life.
Another striking instance Of the subordlna-
tion OF public to party interests Is noted by
the same writer. The constitution having
been ratified by eleven states. the conti-
mental congress named day for the choosing
Of electors Of president, each state being al
lowed to adopt its own method in the matter.
This brought on a bitter contest in New York,
where the federalists controlled the senate
and the ant-federalists the assembly, a bill
was passed by the assembly providing that
each house should nominate men TO be
United States senators and presidential cleo
tors, and then meet in joint session and COM
pare lists. If there was either complete or
partial disagreement, a joint ballot was to
be held on the names of the unsuccessful
candidates. Had this bill become a law the
nominees of each house would have been diff
ferent, joint session would have been nee. s.
sary and the antl-federal!sts OF the ass smbly,
greatly outnumbering the federalists Of the
senate, would have elected both senators and
all Of the presidential electors. The senate
accordingly amended the bill that in case the
nominees were different-as they were abso-
lutely certain to be-the assembly should
choose one-half from those offered by the
senate. and the senate one-half from those
proposed by the assembly. To this the as
semby refused TO agree, and a conference
followed; but, as neither side would yield, no
election was possible Therefore, New York
cast no vote for president in 1882 and had
no ssnators during the first session OF the
hrst congress under the constitution.
REPUDIATING DEBTS.
At the beginning of the government cstab
lished by the constitution one 81 the leading
questions to be settled was that Of Pre- Cvidng
fNaN Of hn ~. lnlf nj nor Cd
during the revolution. 1t was of two kinds,
foreign and domestic, and amounted in all to
about $54,000,O00. OF this sun there was
due to France and Holland for loans OF specie
nearly $4,000, 900, including accrued interest,
and the rest was represented by various kinds
of paper There was no dispute as to the
duty of the government to take up these
miscellaneous obligations and give interest
bearing bonds in exchange for them, but a
serious controversy arose as to whether they
should be taken up at their face value or at
their highest market value. Five states
were for their redemption at their face value,
six states were against 1t and one state was
divided. Jefferson, Madison, Monroe,
Randolph and every other prominent south
erner advocated the scaling process, and pay
ment at the face value was defeated by
congress. Then Hamilton proceeded to do
some trading which changed the situation.
In plain words, the votes of certain members
were bought with promise to establish the
national capital on the Potomac, and thus
majority was obtained for the payment of
the debt according to the terms on which 1t
was contracted, and Washington signed the
measure in spite of the vigorous remon-
strances OF his own state and section. 1t
will be seen, therefore that the Virginia re-
adjusters Of a later day had a very dis
tinguished list of early endorsers for their
plan of paying debts
1t Is worth noting in this relation that
Jefferson did not believe in the right Of one
generation to bind another by contracting
public debts to be paid at remote time.
Il set out on this ground, which | suppose
to be self-evident," he said in letter to
Madison. written from Paris just before he
returned home to be first secretary of state,
that the earth belongs in usufruct to the
living; that the dead have neither power nor
rights over it, From this premise he
argued that no generation could properly
contract debts greater than could be paid
| during the course Of its own existence, or
within a period Of thirty-four years, that
| being the average term given by the bills
, of mortality to persons of 21 years Of age"
| He defined the material difference between
| the succession Of an individual and that of a
whole generation. individuals being parts
only of a society, subject to the laws Of the
whole, 1t might justly be provided, he said.
that the land occupied by decedent should
| go to his creditor rather than to any other,
or to his child on condition that he satisfy
1 the creditor; but in the case of a whole
generation, he insisted, there is no superior
| VINO can give tnelr 10 tnlru
society who may have lent money to their
predecessors beyond the latters faculties Of
| paying" He elaborated this theory in an
ingenious way and urged Madison to force
1t into discussion in the congress Of the new
republic,
This is only one Of many propositions that
might be quoted to prove that the fathers
entertained views upon various subjects that
were quite as fantastic as those which ap-
pear in the politics of our time. The germs
of populsm can be found in speeches de-
| livered by eminent statesmen over a hun
| dred years ago. There is hardly a doctrine
now prevalent, however extravagant or fall
| lacious, that cannot be traced back to
| the days when the foundations Of the gov
ernment were being laid, and the way pre-
pared for the great triumphs that have since
| come to pass. 1t is a mistake to suppose
that loose thinking is peculiar to this gen.
| Grafton, and that the habit Of accepting
sophstry for logic and half-truths for whole
| ones was unknown among the fathers. The
| testimony of history is to the effect that
| the wisdom Of the past was by means
| perfect; and that the measure of virtue was
| not superior, generally speaking to that
| which now exists. There were cranks and
demagogues in our politics from the start.
| At no time has the country been free from
| noxious public influences; at no time has the
| work of government been carried on in exact
| adherence to the best rules of integrity and
morality; at no time has 1t been possible to
avoid what Lincoln called the necessity of
| combining individual meannesses for the
common good"