The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1860-09-06


and for the purpose of enriching Democrat
ie officials, while honest men are made to
bear the blame and infamy of the transact
ton.
SETTLING OF THE PUBLIC DEBT IN 1916.
There is another matter, connected with
our State debt, which Democrats are every
where claiming as Democratic measure
Yet the Governor in his speech says nothing
about it. l refer to the arrangement
made with our bondholders, in 1886, by
which one-half of the State debt was adj
justed. The truth is, that adjustment, like
the internal improvement system, was not
party measure. l have carefully examined
the messages of Gov. Whitcomb on that
subject, and have not been able to find in a
single instance where the Governor commit
ted himself in favor of any particular ar
rangement. From what examination have
made, am satisfied that the Hon. Henry
Secrest, of Putnam county, is entitled to
more credit for that arrangement than any
other man. As the chairman of the select
committee to whom the propositions from
the bondholders were made, in quite a
lengthy report to the Legislature, he fully
and ably discussed the whole subject in
bold and fearless, yet statesman like man
ner, and marked out the true line of policy
" DC lOAiOnC0 W tAC pCOPAC VI AH0lonh All
relieving themselves of one-half of their
great financial burthens, that were then
resting like an incubus upon their despair
ing energies. So timid were the residue of
that committee in that dark and perilous
hour, that not single one of them had
either the nerve or backbone to join him in
his report. Yet, the whole matter was
finally adjusted upon the terms and in pur-
suance of the plan therein laid down and
marked out.
To show you that it was not party
measure, here is the vote on the bill in both
branches of tile legislature
In the Senate.
For the bill, l3Whigs and IL Democrats.
Against bill, 8 T." 10
In the House.
For the bill 80 Wings and 80 Democrats.
Against bill,1 :" Z" IL "
So you see, that there are really more
Wings voting for the bill than Democrats,
in both branches of the legislature. In
Mr. Secrests argument he does not even
allude to the idea, that it was either a
Democratic or Wing measure, but d meas
ure in which all should unite for the honor
and welfare of the State and upon which
the great majority of both parties did unite
clearly demonstrating that it was not party
measure.
Having fully shown from the history Of
the internal Improvement system, and from
the votes of the various parties that brought
il into existence, that it was not u party
measure, aud that the record, which en-
braces all tie losses that were brought upon
the State by that ruinous system, and which
the Governor assumes to apply to the OPP
posite party, as their record, is alike the
record of both parties, and not the separate
record of either; and for which neither
party is separately liable, but the liability
attaches to both jointly; neither should I'M
dertake, now, to shirk the responsibility.
THE ExTRAvAGANcE OF WING AND DEMO-
CRATIC ADMINISTRATIONS COMPARED.
come now to the Governors second ar
gument, and that is, that the ordinary ex-
penditures of the State, during the period
| preceding the election of a Democratic Gov
ernor, were greater than under the Demo-
cratic administration. In order to prove
the fact, he goes back, not nine years as
before, but six years: and takes the six
| years preceding Gov Whitcombs admins
| tration, and compares them with the six
wears following; and by that kind of reas-
| oning, undertakes to show how economic
| ing Democratic administrations are, when
compared with Wing administrations As
| the people have a great deal more anxiety
! to know something about the economy of
Democratic administrations in these latter
days, than they have to inquire how their
money was spent fifteen or twenty years
ago can't see how it was, that the Gov
ernor did not, if he desired to enlighten the
people upon the subject of Democratic eco
nomy, and give them clear and accurate
history of the management of the affairs
of the State, take an equal number of years
] hat ,saf Ma cd n
term Wing administration, and compare
them with the same number of years I'M
der Democratic administrations since that
time ! can only account for it on the
ground of his extreme modesty in not desir-
ing to obtrude upon the public the econo-
mical working of his administration Yet
near the beginning of his speech, in speak,
ing of the management of the affairs of
the State, he uses the following language ::
ain so doing it will become necessary
for me to comment upon my own action,
since l have been your chief executive,
and upon the action of those who Consti-
tute the Opposition" As the Gov. has seen
fit however, to go back only six years from
1874, and compare the ordinary expenditures
from 1888 to the close of l843, under
Wing administrations as he claims (yet for
one-half of the time the Democrats had the
| secretary anu 1ItdSuEcI Vi N0tdtC Win thC
: ordinary expenditures from 1874 to 1851
under Democratic administrations, | pro-
pose, first to answer his arguments deduc-
ed from the contrast, and will then relieve
the Governor of the modest and delicate
task of reviewing the acts of his own adj
miuistration, by doing the same for him.
From 1888 to Is43, there were just as many
officers to be paid as afterward, till 1851,
aud during those years the internal i'm
provement system aud its ruiuous conse-
quences were upon US and of course requir-
ed lengthy sessions of the legislature to
devise ways and means to relieve the State
of her endorsements. In 1874, by the
Joint vote of both Wings and Democrats,
the salaries of all the officers were lowered,
aud the law further provided that after forty
: days the pay of members ofthe Legislature
should only be one dollar and fifty cents
which virtually cut the sessions down TO