The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1859-08-11

IL, 1859.
speech Of Hon. JsmcsI Harlan:
Delivered June 22nd A. d. 1859, at Des Moines Cs,y
rs1rs s Hspr1ssc"n sns Gss oSssao or Me
ocrdsic Party, since TIE Ladu0urdsion Of rFranklin
Pierce, March 4th, 1858. .a..ss..r' ..... .....
CONTINUED.
And when the attention of the people is
called to this profigate use of the public traes.
ure, the more candid leaders of the party in
Iowa admit the expenditure Of the money, but
defend its necessity and deny that the &C,
count is extravagant.
AS an illustrious example Of all the rest, I
have before me carefully printed speech,
ION the expenditures of the government
purporting to have been delivered before the
Democratic Club, on the 10 of last Septem-
Der, by Charles Mason, Ex-Chief Justice Of
the Supreme Court of Iowa, and Ex commits
sioner of Patents, in which after verbal
criticism, dd hominsm-better suited to q
a smaller man, as puerile and inconclusive
in logic, as incorrect in data---the author Ia
bors through twelve or fourteen pages Of
solid matter in a mastery defense of the ex-
penditure of $s4, 600 900, by this Admins
tration, as justifable and enconomicals The
argument when analysed, is deduction
from comparison of the average annual
expenses of the government during the eight
years of Mr.. Monroes's administration, which
he states at $1s,5oo, 900, with the expenses
ofthe current year considered in connection
with the increase of our population, claimed
by him to have become three-fold, and the
expansion of our territories, said by him to
have quadrupled, and the diminution of the
value of the dollar, as he says, to less than
two-thirds.-and the exclusion of certain
revenues and expenditures, Gas those of the
Post Office DEPARTMENT. now included in
the estimates, which were then excluded
He suggests that an increase of expense in
proportion to the increase ofpopulatn would
require $27, SOC, 900 per annum,-an if in
proportion to expansion of our possessions,
$50, 100000 per annum, and adopts as q
means between them, $40, ,OOO, 900, and OBJ
serves that ''$40, ,0OO, 900 1920 was of more
intrinsic value than $50, ,OOO, 900 at the pres
ent day"-and insists that the expenditure
of the remaining $24, 10000 may be satisfac-
torly accounted for from other causes. The
conclusion of his argument is in these
words: . ... q. ... ...., ,g,,r. .,-..... s....
$50 far then from being liable to the
charge of increased and increasing extrava-
gance, feel justified in asserting, that the
government during the present year viii be
administered with more comparative econo-
my than was that of President Monroe
l will not enter, into detailed exposure
of the fragrant errors of h,s data as stated,
and the glaring fallacy of his reasoning. -
This is no more necessary for my purpose
than unweaving the meshes of the spider
web across his path, is for the progress Of
the traveller. admire the genius display
ed in its construction, and have ll-will for
the author; but as its only design Is to en-
trap the unweary, propose simply to brush
it away. a..f sraa,sar.x lss- .a -ll as
AS sample of the inaccuracy and decep.
tive character of the whole speech, and ol
those which will follow during the approach.
ing campaign, from this as text book,
cite the following from page Z: III Il n
at was stated by Mr.. Letch on the foo1
of Congress, and not contradicted as far rs
know, that in 1851, the States and organ
lied Territories. of the United States conyer
ed space of 759, ,5s4 square miles, while a
the present time they embrace an area of 8,
26s, 900. Since that time and prior to 1920
we acuired the Eloridas, with surface O
Al, 900 square miles. But even with thess
added We see that the present area is more
than four times what it was in 1920"
Compare this with the statement of the
area Of the United states, on page 80 of the
census report for 1850: a.,a saagr .ba17
gf5abu9 Tua uGtis ,nsU'as75 SQUARE NILES
"Area Of the US. at peace E.s..st -,a. 49,