Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1868-09-10
0glo Statesnlan,
THE, CAMPAIGN Mlr'4A,1IGN a IN OHIO.
|sE6ss's 30 - s'-T--TE
SPEECHES OF
HON. A. G. THURMAN
AND
GENERAL JOSEPH H. GEIGER,
sANDUsKY, O.. September ., Is6s.
GENERAL JOSEPH H. GEIGER,,
fFrom the Cincinnati Enqairer.l
Of .Updre Thurua-

rFrom the Cincinnati Enqairer.l
Speech of Judge Thurman.
Judge Thurman was introduced by the
Hon. Horatio Wildman, and spoke as fol-
lows:
lAr. President and Fello,o Citis.ns: 1t
gives me great pleasure, on this, my first
lvisft fu5ur interesting city, to meet so
mang osssny fellow citizens; and / am pro-
tfoundly grateful, assure you, for the cor
Idiality and warmth of your welcome. /
shall endeavor to repay 1t by speaking on
subjects worthy of your attention, and in
the language of soberness and truth befit
| ting the occasion. I am not here to de-
claim, however pardonable defamation
might bel am not here to indulge in
abuse, however justifiable might be strong
terms-of condemnation-for that style and
mode of speaking, in which rhetoric. is pre-
ferred to reason, hard names to argument
and unfounded assertions to incontestable
iacts, have neither capacity, inclination,
or taste. What desire is, to present to my
fellow citizens, who honor me with their
attention, undeniable facts and sound ar
| guments upon matters that deeply concern
them, and to do this in the plairest and
lclearest language that l am capable of u.s.
ling. If, then, there are here, o-night-as
trust there are-many gentlemen of the
Republican or Radical party, they will find
that whether they be able or unable to con-
cur in the views l shall present. they will
have no reason to complain of want of
| respect. Iquarrel with no man on account
of opinions honestly entertained, however
erroneous they may seem to me. l claim
the right, vouchsafed me by my Maker, to
think for myself, and what claim for my
self 1 accord to others. And / know too
well the fallibility of human judgment, to
assume that whoever differs in opinion
| from me must be wrong, and much less
that he be dishonest
THE CANDIDATES. ft
Of the candidates for the Presidency
have very little to say. and even that littlt
| is known to You all. That General Grant
| is great and meritorlous soldier, who has
high claims to the consideration of bis
Icountrymen, no one will deny. That he
has ever had any training in statesman
ship, that he has ever made the science OF
government his study, that he is profound
tly versed in constitutional learning, a,
most of our Presidents have been, or, that
he is deeply read in the principles OF polit-
ical economy, right understanding Of
which is now of such great and manifest
importance-I do not suppose that any one
will pretend. In short, his education ano
Iexperience have been wholly military. In
this he differs from every one who has
| filled the Presidential chair, except Gener-
al Taylor, who died too soon after his in
auguration to enable us to say what sue
cess would have attended his civil admin
isEration. OF our other military Presidents
t.sWashington, Jackson and Harrison
each one of them had large experience In
civil government before he was elected to
the Presidency. To elect General Grant
President would, therefore, be a new and
untried experiment in America, and one
that finds little or no support in the annals
of mankind. The history of. mere military
rulers is a history of=ruin and failure
Even the genius of Alexander was made
quate to the foundation of stable and pros
porous, much less free, States, and for more
than two thousand years decay and des-
potism have blighted every rood of terri
tory over which he once swayed his scep-
| ter. The still greater genius of the first
| Napoleon was insufficient to save France
| or himself from destruction. Upon bar
rem rock in the Atlantic died the exiled
conQuerer in a hundred pitched battles, and
his beloved France, after revolution upon
revolution, is to-day ruled by arbitrary
power, the duration of which no man can
| foresee. 49,
No, my friends, we cannot be extricated
| from the troubles, complications and dan
gers that surround us by mere military
prowess or military glory. What we need
\ in our rulers Is craftsmanship and pro-
| found devotion to the principles of free
i and constitutional government. Applause. ]
| We have had experiments enough. Fol
| more than three years our rulers have piled
experiment upon experiment-each day
! treading in paths more blind and dangerous
| than those trodden the day before. We
have seen them, by their own confessions.
| working outside of the Constitution, and
| we know that they have been working out
side OF the habits, the education and the
instincts of the people. 1t is time to stop
4 = &c 70. ~
\ the helm of our ship of State in the hands
of an experienced and trustworthy pilot.
Such pilot the Democracy offer you in
4 the person of HOratiO Seymour. A ripe
! scholar, an experienced statesman, q man
of pure character, true patriotism, Tun-
| flinching devotion to free and constitu-
tional government; man of great intellect,
sound judgment and great moderation; he
Is peculiarly fitted to steer the ship through
the breakers that surround her into haven
of peace, prosperity and freedom. Ap-
plause
| Having said thus much of men, I now pro-
prose to speak of measures, and to
speak of them with particular refer
4 ence to their effect upon. the pros
perity of the different sections OF ourcom-
mon country. Before doing SO, however,
l wish to enter my protest that I am ac-
| tuated by hostility to no section whatever
4 If know myself, l entretain no such hos
1 tility. If am not self-deceived, I. have
\ cultivated patriotism that embraced
every part of the Republic. L can never
! forget that it was the united valor, wisdom
and forti; ude of all the colonies-Eastern,
1 Middle and Southern-that achieved our
| independence and made as the Great Re-
i public-the freest and most prosperous
il people on the face of the earth. can never
cease to venerate the names OF the heroes
and statesmen, from Maine to Georgia,
| JaI asl nd fa1
4 arms in that memorable struggle, and af-
terward laid the foundations of our free
dom and prosperity in our beneficent Con-
stitution. / can never cease to admire the
4 great and varied qualities that mark the
people of every portion of our widely-ex-
tended domain.
4 But.while thus cultivate this fraternal
feeling can not lose sight of the fact that
so great an expanse of territory must have,
in some degree, diverse interests, and, as q
citizen of Ohio, cannot overlook any pol.
lev that is detrimental to her interests; and
this brings me to the proposition L am
about to discuss. 1t Is my firm conviction
that the whole system of Radical legislation
lin Congress, for the last three years, tends
to Cypress not the people of the South only,
but also the entire people OF the west; ano
that almost the entire benefits, whatever
they may be, that accrue to any section
from that legislation are reaped by the peO
jple of the East. And / am fully convinced
that this legislation bears SO unequally upon
the different sections of the country as to
require speedy and effectual redress.
THE TARIFF.
4 In proof of this assertion, desire to call
YOUR attention, first, to the subject of the
tariff. What is the tariff? 1t is duty OF
tax levied by the Government upon goods
Unmarried into the United States. When nc
HIGHER than was required for purposes o.
revenue, it has always been cheerfnlly &C.
auiesced in by the people. They have gen.
orally preferred it to any other mode o.
taxation, and they have not objected to sc
arranoino a revenue tariff as to afford-in.
eidental protection or benefit to our owr
!, manufaeturers. But when tariff, like