Year: 1879




hIudrance to resumption; and the other people
the intuitive financiers and born political
economists, who call themselves NatoDals-op-
posed it IN more radical and thorough
going way, because they were opposed
to the fact of resumption, and to anything
| that fastened or was intended TO hasten 1t.
! Sngularly enough, they agreed in opposing
| the Resumption Act from motives ap-
parently diametrically opposite: one be-
cause it hindered resumption; the other
because it hastened it. But both had
put up large stakes as parties on the
| failure and both were interested to have the
plan break down. And both parties sulked
over their own loss instead of rejoicing
over the general prosperity which re-
sumption must bring. Congratulate Not
they. Promise to assist in the main
tenance of specie payments BY no
means. They had too large plant invested
in opposition too much party machinery, and
too many customers, too, to abandon so sud
denly. The cOuntry's gain was the party's
loss, and when did they ever set country
before partyf


And 1t seemed not to matter much that
they, as citizens, had an individual interest
in the general prosperity and the COM
mon welfare. They were, and are still,
willing to- forego the personal benefit
and advantage which accrue to them
in the division as stockholders in the
body polite what they are most anxious to
save is the party capital which was put at
risk. They had bet largely against resump-
tion and all that they can see in the re-
suit is the loss of their wagers. Com
pared with these people, the lrishman
was no fool who bet bottle of whis-
key with his brother bod-carrier that
the latter could not carry him III a hod to
the top of fOur-stOry house on ladder.
He was landed successfully on the roof and
lost the bet. "Ah," said he. ruefully, as he
passed over the bottle, "ye did 1t, sure
enough but when you stumbled little Mt
1.-the third floor, l began to have hopes"
These men, though they were in the hod
themselves, have "had hopes" that the
country, slowly and laboriously toiling up
the ladder toward resumption, would
stumble someN here, even though they should
be spilled to the bottom with the rest. All
that they think of is the bottle of whlskey, in
the shape of party platforms, they have staked
on the result. And they are not even so
philosOphic over the matter as the lrishman.
They still have hopes" They refuse to ac-
cept the situation and acknowledge the fact.
They sulenly deny that the thing is accom-
plished, and still hope for some calamity or
reverse which, however injuriOusly it may
affect the county, will save them their stakes
and leave them some capital for another
campaign.


Ii is worthy of note that these people
habituallv bet on calamities, and Use their
utmost endeavors to bring about the result
they bet on. The Democratic party have
been croaling III platforms for the past twenty
years. They said the success of the Republi-
can party and election of Mr.. Lincoln in
1850 would be fatal to the Union. We need
not tell how hard they tried to make 1t so,
and how they sulked over their failure. That
is familiar history. They said the war was
failure; bet the Presidency on it;
did all they could to make it so;
lost, and were angry over it. They said re-
construction was failure, and tried to make
it so A; that we could not pay our bonds in
gold, but must do it i'll greeabacks, to the inn
pairment of the Nations credit and the
forfeiture of its honor and made des-
perate efforts to bring the Nation
to that view but failed and so on through
every step of the Nations progress up to
the last one of resumption, they have
always stood of, and crOaked and
foretod disaster and done what they
could to bring it about. The country
has been doing for twenty years precisely
what these men have insisted IN their plat
forms, with specification and detail, could not
be done And every step that has been
taken has redounded to the good of the
country and the welfare of mankind. The
Union was preserved, the rebellion was sup
pressed, slavery abolished, the Nations credit
maintained, and its honor kept un-
rarnished and now its promises have
been fulfilled, in spite of their con-
slant predictions of failure and their
ceaseless efforts in opposition. 1t is no won
der, then, that they sulk and refuse to take
part in the general rejoicing down in Maine.
That is the way they feel all over the cOun
try. The country has not for twenty years
taken n step forward that they have not at
teInpted to hinder and Obstruct, nor suffered
a repuse or disaster that they have not re-
ioiced over.


And yet Mr.. Henry L. Clinton, in his adj
dress to the Tammany General Committee the
other night had the assurance to say: 1t has
"been mainly through the Democratic party
81 that the American people have achieved
"such unprecedented prosperity. and attained
Verify, MIR. Henry L. Clinton has what seafar-
ing persons call "the cheek of right whale.n