Year: 1876

THE CURRENCY QUESTION IN TIE HOUSE.


A week ago, on motion of Mr.. Randall Oh
PENNSYLVANIA, the House so changed Its rules
as to permit the Committee on Banking ana
Currency to report at any time. The eHect Is
to give that Committee, as well as the COM
mittee on Ways and Means, power to propose
at any time a measure respecting the currency,
without the disadvantage of requiring two
thirds vote to suspend the rules, and with
control of the floor during action upon IL. Inc
vote was, Yeas 115, Nays 81, neatly all the
members voting in the affirmative being Demo-
Gratis; the motion was made, indeed, In accord
ance with an agreement among the Democrats.
Its well-understoOd object is to enable bare
majority of the House to pass bill repeating
the Resumption act, and it Is reported that
Mr.. Cox, in order to promote the harmony OF
the Democratic party, has agreed 10 report
such a. bill. If so, q direct vote upon 1t may
be obtained any day. Previous votes IN the
House have shown that a majority, composed
mainly of Democrats, is in favor OF this re-
pudiating policy.


Perhaps Mr.. Cox may be too severely
blamed. He is a hardmoney man, it is true,
but he is a Democrat earlier, later, and all
the time He is so anxious for Democratic
success that he is willing to see that party
succeed even on q platform which, as an
honest man, and as man of some study ana
information, he knows to be fatally wrong.
His excuse, it is said, is that the Committee
ought not to prevent a majority OF the House
from declaring its Will. Technically, the ex-
cuse is good. Morally, it is worthless; the
right OF the minority to use all the power
which belongs to it under the rules Is as clear
as any right of the majority. But Mr.. Cox
does not need to be taught this lesson. If
there were honors and party fayors to be
gained by obstinate fighting for the convic-
tions of the minority, Mr.. Cox has shown that
he is very willing in such n case to make the
fight. The difficulty is that within his party
the tide runs strongly against him, and II these
reports are true he has not the temper to re-
sist it. When he reports n bill for the re-
pudation of the solemn pledge of 1873, the
country will note that another hard-money
Democrat has gone the usual road OF Demo
cratic leaders, and has surrendered his convic-
tions to his desire for the harmony and success
of the party


No doubt the contemplated bill will now
pass the House The country will not appre-
hend that it may become a law There Is
general confidence that the Republican Senate
will not dare to surrender its position at the
summons of Democratic House. There is
more general and stronger confidence in the
President. Firm in many things, even to the
verge of stubbomness, he has in nothing
shown more persistency than III his adhesion
to the principle of the act of 1869 That act,
70,
solemnly pledged the public faith of the
United States to redeem the legal-tender notes
in coin at the earliest possible moment, and
the Presidents veto of the imitation bill treated
this act as pledge not only OF Con-
gress, not only of the President, but oil
the party in power. We believe and hope that
he would meet with another veto any bill re-
pealing the act of 1875 without providing for
resumption more surely and at an earlier date.
If the Third Term were yet alive, the Demo-
Gratis could not possibly do anything else cal
culated to make it more potent than by giving
to President Grant this opportunity 20 veto
measure of population.


IL IL plain that the leading Democrats in the
House do not expect this bill to become law.
They calculate upon defeat in the Senate or n
veto. They can, and doubtless will, catch
the votes of many rcpudiators and inilationists
at the West. In advance of the nominating
convention, they may succeed in 80 commend
ing the party to that class Of voters that no
subsequent event will shake their preference.
Once more they will force the Republican party
to defend the public honor, as it did last year.
Once more they will give it strong hold upon the
confidence of men who abhor national swindling.
Once more they will give Independents and
Liberals good reason for working nightly To
defeat the Democratic candidate. These voters
are many at the West. Democracy will lose OF
them more than it will gain from the soft
money Republicans. Meanwhile, the policy
proposed will cripple the Democratic party
Just where its chances of success are most
promising, in this State, NewJerscy, and Con-
necticut. No shrcwd Republican partisan can
wish to see the Democratic party deprived of
so fine chance to commit suicide. Mr.. Cox,
perhaps, is as fit an instrument as could he
chosen to deal the fatal blow OF all hard
money Democrats he has been among the firm
est. But the country wants to know how far
hard money Democracy can be trusted.