The Idaho world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1864-1918, 1869-04-22
IDAHO WORLD.
SENATOR sPRAGUEs SPEECH.

We extract from speech lately de-
livered in the y. S. Senate, by Sprague'
the Rhode Island millionaire Senator,
the following strong points. lie SAID {:
Sir. have been deeply interested IN
the success of the Republican party
In means have contributed more than
anv member of this body, and in char
acter quite as much to the furtherance1
of that success. In point OF means, l
think my contributions in that direction
would offset the contributions OF all the
other members of the Senate
And what position do we occupy to-
day? Is there peace at the South Is
there a spirit of harmonious influence
here in this Senate towards those peo-
pie :? Is there government among those
people Do their occupations prosper!
Are they not in state of chronic rev.
olution? And have you not had four
long years in which to assure peace
among that people?
have called to the Individual atten-
ton of Senators, and [ have called to
the attention of the body, the fact of
the loss of nearly ALL may say, to-
day, all of your industrial interests !;
but the apathy which seems to have
been inoculated into every nerve and
into every vein of this body and of the
country, will not allow them to believe
it until the mischief is upon them
Your immigration fell off thirty thous-
and last year from that Of the year be-
fore. Why is this so? Is it not clear
that it must be so? Where can these
people obtain employment by coming
here? If they take possession Of the
farms at the West can they produce
sufficient to supply themselves, at the
cost of everything now, with the ordl-
nary necessaries of life? Sir, it can
not be done They cannot come here :
and is it not a shame and disgrace to
all your Legislation that it should be so?
You have lost your commerce. You
ask the reason for it and there is not
man in this chamber that gives a sat
isfactory reason for the loss except and
because we are not paying specie for
our bill. The reason is plain and sim
pie that the construction Of your treas
ury is such that you, in common with
the capitalists OF this country, are spec
ulating upon every industry and upon
every laboring occupation. That is the
reason, and there is no other told
you the other day that the condition in
which the crops Of the South were
placed, consequent on high prices, was
the most dangerous and disastrous po-
sition that it was possible to place them
in, for the apparent high prices here
give a stimulus to the operations in,
and the production of, cotton in Egypt,
in India and in Brazil 1t is my dclib-
crate judgment, and nobody can gain
say it, that in five years you will be
clamoring here for tariff to keep out
forei On cotton. How are you going tc
pay your debts with that state of mat
ters2 Send more bonds to Europe
send more of your capital away from
the industries of the people!
There is a paralysis throughout this
body and throughout the country.
have pointed to Mexican society, t.
Spanish society, to Italian society, anc
if l have read anything | find that wheI
they, powerful, civilized, refined, com
menced the decentralization and loss o
honor and virtue and prosperity, they
occupied a similar position to that il
which this country is placed to-day
| favored the election of Gen. Gran
in opposition to the aspirations of one
Chief Justice Chase connected will
me by family ties l did that because
I felt that Grant had not learned the
practices of those who had had charge
Of the Government, that he would have
capacity to see through the intricacic:
Of the things about him, and would
judge more correctly of the exact con
dition in which things were, unbiased
unprejudiced, uninfuenced. Iwatchcc
his Inaugural with anxiety. Ilistencc
to every word that he uttered. | yer,
c1oso1v watched his countonanco