Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 March 1877 — Independent Absurdities. [ARTICLE]

Independent Absurdities.

That remarkable conglomeration of political absurdities and financial vagaries, the Indianapolis .San, last week varied its usual display of bosh with a personal attack on tire retiring president. Besides being in exceedingly bad taste the whole article abounds in falsehoods and inconsistencies. It is mainly to the effect that Mr. Grant is a person of boorish instincts and low desires, ami makes the startling assertion that “he has no sympa thy for the private soldier or laboring citizen. Both to him stand in the relation of beasts of burden, to be used and consumed as occasion requires.” “Consumed” is a good word, and terribly expressive. It is perfectly horrible to think of the private soldiers and laboring citizens this presidential cannibal has consumed. But this mighty calumniator remarks, a little lurthcr along, “his intentions were mainly honest and sincere.” How does that remark tally with the previous assertion? To show further how tire writer had to contradict himself in order to get his article spun out long enough we give the following: “Eight years in the presidential chair have failed to make Grant known to the people or the people known to him.” In direct contradiction wit’ii that is this low flung tirade: “His presidential performance has dispelled all deception and revealed what he really is. In personal character and habits he is far below all his predecessors, not having a single commanding trait that can be commended to the young and an example to be emulated. The slave of unhealthy stimulants, saturated with tobacco smoke and whiskey, destitute of any taste or capacity for intellectual pursuits,can only find aposition iu the private society to whieh he retires by virtue of past official prestige and the vulgar recommendation of wealth. President Grant, farewell! Mr. Grant citizen, hail! Walk over to the stable and look at the horses.” The entire editorial page teems with that kind of veiioHiuqs stuff, mostly on. the subjects of finance, national politics and siifiiliir topics so far above the comprehension of the writer of it that he constantly flounders and struggles in a sea of meaningless words and cant phrases, never able to reach the shore of common sense. There are half a dozen columns, in every number, of high sounding verbiage abundantly interspersed with figures, all pervaded with an air of mystery that deludes superficial readers into the belief that it is real logical argument. One of those lengthy productions begins, speaking of money, “noth ing is more of a mystery.” In order to elucidate the. subject and bring it to the level o.f the commonest understanding he tells us that before the discovery of metals men used “the rare covering of a Tertiary cephalopods”'to represent certain values. If people have to depend on that kind of talk for enlightenment on the subject of finance, it is likely to remain a mystery till all the readers of the Sun c/in take a course in geology and all the natural sciences. Then the Sunt readers can take their greenbacks and geology, finance and fishes, and hit-bug and history all at once. Hundreds of honest people were made to beheve during the last campaign that the weight of the gold dollar was increased in 1873 from 23.8 grains to 25.8 grains. This was a favorite weapon for the class of politicians that depend on the Sun and similar sheets for their arguments. But the SuA has at last made the discovery that the weight of the gold dollar was always 25.8 gyajns. This discovery As made known in a discussion of the sub-

ject, more than a coluinn in length. A great deal of time, ink and wind have been expended by the inde-pendent-greenback pressjn trying to show how congress worked in the interest of the bondholder by an act they are now forced to confess never was passed. It is with such stuff that the well meaning people who compose the indepenifent party are fed, and we are sorry to say thatagreat many well meaning people read it and really think they are obtaining some information, and they will attempt to discuss the subject of finance with at> much confidence as the ablest financiers in the country. It would take a whole pegs to notice all the absurdities contained in the last number of the Sun These brief corQHients are sufficient to show the general character and tenor of the utterances of that wonderful paper. Jay.