Year: 1878

nominate subordinate officers in Indiana
| would deserve little attention and no COM
ment outside the State. But at present,
when the public mind is SO deeply stirred
by questions relating to the currency, there
is a lively interest in the growth or decline
of opinion in that part Of the country which
is the hotbed of financial heresies. Indiana
is as typical State as Ohio, and the two
together may be regarded as the headquar-
ters of imitation and Reputation. They
are the home of Ewing and Pendleton and
Stanley Matthews and Voorhees,, but per-
haps the strength of the imitation craze
States is best illustrated by the fact
that prominent Presidential candidate in
each has been blown off his course by the
local feeling. Mr. Hendricks, who is natur-
ally q trimmer, with a secret leaning toward
sound money, and Mr.. Thurman, who is
naturally conservative, have gone quite
over to the silver side. and differ from
Ewing and Voorhees, only by lacking their
reckless courage.


/ The Indiana platform is Of general inter-
est, not because it indorses the silver agi-
tators in Congress- which was a matter of
course, but because it advances to the ex-
treme position on the subject Of paper
money. Its declarations may be taken
as the future political and financial
creed of that large cluster of States
Of which Indiana and Ohio arc the lenders.
The silver agitation is mere passing phase
in the controversy. The real aim from the
l. Loo Is y
sufficient to debase the currency and enable
men to cheat their creditors with the sane
tion of law. When that scheme was arrested
by President Grants vigorous veto the re-
pudiators were at their wits end to devise
some new method for reaching the same
result The wonderful fall in the price Of
silver after its demonetization in Germany
supplied them with the coveted oppor


tunity. AS soon as they found that


silver was cheaper than greenbacks
they suppressed their cry for unlimited


paper money and substituted u cry for un-
limited silver, as being q more efficient in
strument for scaling down debts. Besides
this advantage the clamQr Tor silver had the
charm, SO irresistible to cunning and dis
ingenious minds, of fighting opponents
with their own weapons. 1t seemed to the
indationists an exceedingly good joke to
raise hard money banner and march for
ward as the jealous advocates of specie.
The paper repudiationists ut once caught
the spirit of the joke and many simple
minded men were deluded into the belief
that the money Of the constitution had at
last been accepted by the advocates Of ire
deemable paper. ''The dollar of the
fathers" became popular motto and
Reputation masqueraded for while
in stolen livery. But the infationists
cared nothing for the venerable old silver
dollar beyond the large depreciation in its
value silver dollar containing a full
dollar worth of metal is as intolerable to
them as the exclusive coinage ofgold. What
they are in quest of is not an honest dollar
to pay with, but n debased dollar to cheat
with The present Silver bill, bad as it is,
has been favored by the reputation leaders
as mere scaffolding for the construction Of
their edifce. The ultimate form of the
building is set forth in the Indiana platform.


1t is not necessary to notice all the crazy
Communistic rubbish which finds place in
that document. What is most noteworthy
in it is its demand for the suppression of
the national bank notes and Substitution of
greenbacks in their place, and for the imme-
diate repeal of the Resumption law. The
effect of these measures would be to take
A.. e T.exx
whole paper circulation. Even during the
long period of the suspension Of specie pay
ments the. bank circulation has been re-
deemable in legal tender notes. and the
banks have been free to withdraw their cir
culation, which they have been doing to
when greenbacks are substituted for the
national bank notes there will be
no method of redeeming any part CT
the paper circulation if the Resumption
act is repealed. There has been moderate
contraction of the currency by the volun-
tary action of the banks, but the substitu-
tion of greenbacks would render any future
contraction impossible. Now, observe how
the demand of the Indiana platform for
the unlimited coinage Of silver fits into this
system. All the silver that is coined will
be just so much sheer imitation after the
repeal of the Resumption act The whole
volume of the paper currency will be ire
deemable, and as there will be no necessity
for keeping any reserve against it all the
silver money will flow out into general cir
culation. Every hundred millions of silver
coined will be an addition of hundred
millions to the currency in common use,
and we shall be on the road to an imitation
like that which existed during the war. 1t
will then be easy to pay debts. The silver
money and the paper money being alike
legal tender there will be no relief from the
plethora of money. The prices of commod-