Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1868-01-24
Speech by Gen. Beatty.

and forcibIe argument of our gallant
candidate.
Speaking of the compaHative merits
Of parties, he says:
Who shall have charge Of this work
/ of recOnstruction-the pars5 which was
faithful to the country, or the party
/ which was faithlegs-the early which
/ stood blythe country in its pressing need,
| or the party which fought against it, or,
| at best, yielded on cOmpuIsiOn a tardy
and unwilling support? This is the
/ question-shau loyal or disloyaI hands
| do the work Wisdom, Justice, patri-
/ Otism would suggest, put the country in
/ the hands of its tried friends put the
| country in charge of that party and of
! those men whose love for it and devo-
tiOn to it stood conspicuous in danger,
/ and braYed even death itself Prudence
4 would suggest, do not trust this Demo-
/ cratic party, whose cowardice, indiffer-
! ence or dishonesty thrust the war upon
/ us, endangered the existence of the
! Union, and deluged the land with blood;
+ this party whose insane folly and mad
| ambition rendered it necessary to con-
\ tract this great debt, which now sits
/ as an incubus on our people, depress-
| ing their energies, crippIng their re
/ sources, and Tetarding their progress Z;
/ this party which, after thrusting the
war upon us, discouraged she lovaI
] > W
/ damaged the national credit, and com
/ PEELED US to resort to unusual methods
to obtain on unfavOrable terms the
money to subsist and maintain our sol
diers in the field.
1 charge the war upon them; I charge
4 the great debt upon them I charge
/ these taxes on them which now burden
our people: 1 charge all the calamities
which have resulted from the war pom
them, for they involved US in the war /;
/ and I hold that our people would be
/ dishOnored and the country ruined if
! they now obtain control of the nation.
/ know there are individual members
of that party who are honest and hon
Orable in business, kind neighbors. ex-
4 cellent citizens, faithful to the country
I in time of war, anxious to promote the
/ general interest in time Of peace. They
4 cling to the party because they were
] associated with it in their youth. They
| vainly hope it will retrieve its fortunes
and return to the principles of its
! founders. respect these men, and I
! trust they will be led to abandon hope
which has in it now no promise of reai-
izatiOn.
/ know these Democratic leaders have
theimp pudence to say, " You Republicans
/ contracted the debt, you levied the tax
/ es." I respond, "YOu compelled us to
| contract the debt, you drove us to the
/ usurer, you forced US to tax" Suppose
/ your house is set on fire by your enemy
and partially destroyed you are com
/ PEELED to rebuild, to borrow money, to
! submit to an annual 8ax to pay the
Fdebt- Who is to hIa1ae for all this
trouble, all this expenditure? Did YOU
apply the torch? No; but while the fire
! gathered, and the flame threatened the
/ destruction of your property and your
children, at the risk of your own life you
! subdued the flames, rescued your chill
dren, and partially saved the house -
and now your enemy, whose hidden
/ wickedness is only paralleled by his
| open impudence, says: ''YOu gave the
note, you levied the tax to repair the
/ building, you are the cause of the
/ trouble" With like consistency these
unscrupulous demagogues go among
! the people, the farmers, the mechanics,
/ the IabOrers, and tell them, eve didn't
make this debt we didn't put this tax
on you; oh, no." And they say further,
! "DO you know these taxes are no5 fair
! ly appOrtiOned? The poor men have to
/ pay them all, while the rich live at
! their ease, without a dollar to pay. Do
! YOU know the poor bear the burdens
| and the rich escape ?' I don't know it.
and the lying scoundreI who tells the
tale knows it to be false. L know the
! taxes are heavy; / wish in my heart
/ they were lighter. 1 viii do all in my
/ power to make them less. viii advO-
/ cate any measure which will, in honesty
and good faith, relieve us Of the burden;
| but the burden is on us-fOrced upon
US by the Democratic party. While they
are responsible for the burden, we are
responsible simply for its fair and equal
appOrtionment among the people.
I do not propose to defend this nation
| al banking system 1t is a creature of
/ the war. 1t was created to enable the
/ Government to obtain means to carry
m Hn FraI n frs~sFf D
/ owned stock in these banks-he in the
/ First National Bank of Mansfield and
/ I in the First National Bank of Car
dington. He sold his stock tor the same
reason, probably, that [ sold Inine-it
was not profitable; and my opinion is
| if the Government does not close up
/ these country banks soon, the owners
will do it. Money in hand, money in
/ vested in stocks, merchandise, manu-
/ facturers, 10 prOmissOry notes, as you
may see if you examine the records,
paws double the tax that money does
/ iuveste1 in real estate. 1t is said that
A. r. Stewards tax exceeds three hun
| dred thousand dollars, while C0mmO-
| dOre VanderDilt's IS little less than a
/ million. The one is the merchant
/ prince, the other the railroad king OF
/ New York.
1t is absolutely true, as you will find
/ upon careful examination, that our par
ty has, in the distribution of these bur
/ dens, manifested a determination To be
( generous to the poor, even at the hazard
Of being thought unjust to the rich.
Not satisfied with the attempt to de-
strOy the Union, load US with debt,
burden US with taxation, the Democrat
ic party seeks to PROSTATE the entire
commercial interests of the country,
and involve us in hopeless banlzrup ptcy
bv manufacturing fifteen or twenty
hundred millions of paper currency to
off Fl, 4 4
enough for the farmer, the luborer, the
mechanic, is good enough for the bond
! holder" This is uudenlably true, and
am decidedly and unresUrved " in favor
of paying off the tive-tWenty bonds in
just such currency as may be a legal
tender and in general circulation among
the people when they mature, providing
Of course, that the Government may
use the option expressed IN the bond,
and make the payment gradually, and
thus not initiate the currency to such an
extent as to render il wort HESS as a
measure of value. As have been mis-
represented on this point, I reiterate,
that money good enough for the farm
er, the mechanic, the soldier or the la
bOrer, is good enough for the bond
holder or anybody else. "Why, this is
Democratic doctrine" Not at all; this
is the doctrine of common sense, com
mon honesty; and defy you TO find a
modern Democratic politician who adj
vOcates either honesty or good sense
) They make no provision for the gradual
} payment of these bonds. They say, in
their Sth OF January resolutions, that
"they are opposed to extending the
time of payment" They propose tu
throw away the option stipulated in the
bond; give the government from five 10
twenty years to pay the debt. They
propose to force the payment, to throw
upon the country from fifteen to twenty
hundred millions of currency that viii
not be good for the bond-holder, not
good for the farmer, not good for the
| mechanic or laborer; it will DO worth
less to all alike. But you say, "It will
pay debts" No 10 viii not. It may
swindle the creditor out of his Just due
il may cancel the debt it will not pay
it, It viii prevent your running IN
debt after its issue, for no one will trust
you, and be compelled TO take such