The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1868-08-13

nanimlty was thrown away on them,
he believed there was no such thing as
compromise with them, and the
sooner the fact was realized the better.
Discussing the questions of taxation
and finance, he declared that while the
Democrats tell US they are in favor of
issuing more greenbacks, there was no
syllable in their platform to sustain the
declaration, and their standard bearer
had not only never enunciated such a
policy, but had announced u directly
opposite policy. And further, the plat
form committed the party to the policy
of paying the public debt, not by issu-
ing more greenbacks; but by taxes
drawn from the people. AS showing
the hvpocrisy of the Democratic howl
about ''bonds," he referred TO the fact
that the manager of that party, the
Chairman of the National Executive
Committee, who more than any
vention, is the agent of the
lorgest bondholders in the world. He
quoted Seymour's speech at the Cooper
institute to the effect that greenback
was n Government lie, to show the ri
diculous attitude of the party on the
greenback question. His own notion
about the greenback theory was that
the question ofa currency was one that
could not be settled either by plat
forms or by legislation. The amount
of money needed is a matter to be de-
termined by the laws of trade, and of
supply and demand. Hethought there
could not be too much money in IA
country, if it Is good money. But it
was a question now whether the gem
eral business of the. country required
more money-whether more could be
issued without creating reVulsiOn in
trade and in the money market. When
ever more money is needed by the busi-
ness interests of the country 1t would
be supplied by the policy of the
Republican party and would not
be by the policy of the Democratic
party. He gave the Democracy OF the
State passing dig about the "bloated
bondholders, showing that In this
State they were the leaders of that par
ty, and that If it was true that the bond
holders were robbing the poor people,
the working people, and the tax gath
ers, these Democratic leaders and can
didates ought to be ashamed of them
selves and ought to disgorge their gold
interest at 40 per cent. premium.
Mr.. Stevenson then took up the mat
ter OF Federal taxation, and after show
ing that under the system in existence
property and income OF poor men, far
mers and mechanics, are almost wholly
exempt, he showed, under the fourth
clause of the Democratic platform,
which he read from the Wheeling
Register, declaring for "equal tax
alton on every species of property
according to its real value" every
hing the farmer and mechanic has
would be taxed from land down to the
family bible, the baby's shoes and the
mothers nightcap. The exposition of
this taxation business was about the
raciest we remember ever to have
heard and the audience cheered the
In In nj fln
Democrat undertook to interrupt and
catechise the speaker, but dose of his
own physic from the platform in the
Register settled him to the great delight
of the audience.
The speaker went on to analyze the
Democratic charge OF oppressive tax
alton under the State government. He
showed that under old Virginia the
State tax was 40c on the hundred dol
lars, Now when all values had doubl-
ed instead of being soc in this State the
State tax was zoe, with an additional
tax of 10c for schools. The local taxes
had been heavy. The bounty tax was to
be charged to the Democratic party
which brought ION the rebellion and
was responsible for it. It was cheer
fully incurred during the war by the
people in the several counties for the
support of the families of men while
they defended our people from rebel
bushwackers, and no class was more
anxious to have this bounty debt in
CURED than the very fellows who now
howl about it, because they did not want
TO be drafted INTO the Union army and
were too cowardly TO join the army of
their rebel friends. a heavy tax had
been laid by the people in the several
counties to build school houses. These
had to be built because the old State,
always controlled by the Democratic
party, left US without a school system
and without any school houses but
tumble down log huts. But the people
under the new State, with their free
system of schools, had built nearly
thousand new, elegant school
houses and cheerfully taxed
i've years what the old Democratic
State ought to have done but did not do
in fifty years. But this school house
tax like the bounty tax was now almost
paid and we should soon be relieved
from these burdens. He spoke from
the figures when ne declared that our our
system of State Government was the
cheapest by half OF any State in the
Union.
Referring again to the federal taxes
he showed that they scarcely touched
the farming interests of the State. Not
farmer in Wood county paid cent of
such tax. In Marshall county only two
y
One. an old Democrat, worth from $780,
GOO to 5000, 900 paid tax of 81 on gold
watch and raised dreadful howl
about the grinding taxation under rad
icai rule, when he paid it.
With an eXhortatlon to his hearers to
do their duty in the coming struggle,
Mr.. Stevenson sat down amid enthusi-
astic cheers. The whole speech, of
which this mere outline can give little
idea, was admirably delivered and
cheered to the echo.
Gov. Stanton was then called out and
spoke fifteen or twenty minutes on some
features of the bond question and the
Democratic proposition to resist in GER
tain contingencies the counting of the
electoral vote by Congress. The Gov
ernor struck hard blows, and was
some future evening, when the hall is
comfortably seated, to speak more at
length.
Gov. Boreman was also called ont,
but declined to speak at any length ON
account of the lateness of the hour.
He believed the crisis was most
momentous one, for the men who led
and controlled the SO. called Democratic
organization meant 10 inRugurate new
rebellion il their purposes could be eff
fected in no other way. They meant
to override the Government by force
if successful, and meant war II they
fail In the election. The Governor said
that some time during the canvass he
hoped to have an opportunity to speak
to his fellow citizens fully on these
questions.
With three cheers for Grant the Club
was pronounced adjourned, and the
audience dispersed.
aTr. Wharton at the Court HOnSc.