Year: 1878

A good many citizens who read realistic
specimens OF green back oratory will be
strdck by one peculiarity running through
them all. and that is its straigh htforward
and personal direction toward certain
existing hardships, 1t will be very read
lily understood that the greenback speak
er reasons from false premises when he
discusses the cause and cure of these
hard ships. A trained mind without eff
tort will detect his sophiems and see the
gaps in his crude and irrational reasoning
But Tor one man to see the Greenback
flaw is not for another man to see it -
The false argument is addressed to Ger
tain classes of men for the very reason
that they cannot dissect it A quaint
illustration. a common fact drawn from
their own experience or bold dogmatism,
is enough for men depressed by poverty,
and whose minds are hospltable toward
any theory, however vague and wild, that
promises relief. Among men of this
kind the false droctiue grows almost be-
tore men are fully apprisrd that it exists
IL is disseminated at first by the pothouse
philosophers by and by it reaches the
equlvocal dignity OF the broadside sheet ;
presently it is taken up by the stump
speakers, and then an election comes
and a result like that in Maine gives the
community the first intelligence of how
grave aud mUmentous the peril is


Not even yet are the people alive as
they should be- to the perniclous charac
ter of This greenbac movement and to
the sources and conditions OF its strength
OJher movements, il carried to victo-
rious contamination, might be traught
with more tremendous Ills to the nation
The success OF the pro slavery cause
might have destroyed the Union. or
long period of Capitalization of power at
Washington might undermine civil liber
ty. But such political movements as
these go on slowly, and are not wrought
out wi .hout opportunities to check them
Again, the granger movement, which
attacked certain strong vested rights, Was
less dangerous for that very reason 1t
assaulted real property which could not
be destroyed, and could be alienated
from owners only temporarily at the
worst But the green back craze contains
a different element of danger 1t can do
vast deal OF harm during short lived
triumph 1t attacks the national credit,
which can be destroyed in day 1t at
tacks the currency, which in week
could be inflated until absolutely worth
less Many political parties with princi
pies p, rnicious to the well being of socie
ty have been organized in various coun-
tries, but history scarcely records the
party which, it triumphant, could do its
woiul work so quickly aud so completely
as the Greenback party of the United
States.


The manner in which the greenback l.
to be opposed is also suggested by the
manner In which the greeuhack dema
goeue, whose words We print, does hl-
bad ard dtlusve work Having demon
strated a rule OF political science, We
must work it out ourselves and not leave
il to work Itself ont. Truth may be true
and good and beautiful, but it needs at
times to be hammered in or it is fruitless
The call now, in PLAIN truth Is tor ener,
eetic work Tor economic education among
the lowly Our orators and our docu
ments must 90 into the slums and pene-
trate into the centres and hot beds OF the
lunacy Plain facts, happy illustrations,
epitomes OF financial history and bold and
open exposures OF the sophisms of the
greenback ranters are few OF the expe
dients which must be adopted, and the
whole cOmpaign for hard money must
come down to the plane OF the men who
need truth, not kept upon the plane OF
the men who have the truth and need it
not Ii one reads the immortal orations
OF Demosthenes in which he appeals to
the sluggish Athenans to resist the Mac
edonian, it will be found that his con-
stant call is tor energy and action Our
danger is not SO imminent as that OF
Athens, but our fault is the same. We
need energy and action, but directed in
those lowly paths OF life where the new
currency ideas are doing their most sub
tie and deadly work