The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1870-04-07

distressed and struggling country. /
invoke scrutiny upon my statements,
and shall at all times defend their SUBJ
stantial correctness. .f.ysItse1 III or
But in this connection let us reca-
pitulate also upon another point let
| us see distinctly how much money the
bondholders actually did loan, did adj
vance upon the bonds of the govern
Isment to. aid the great cause of nation
al unity. I have already established
the facts, and now place them in tabu-
lar FORM The payments of the bond
holders were}as fOlloWs:iGJ ] od5 la -
1sS5 ,--,--ir; .$ a ' egg 946
lcoo -.-... -.......... 1Ul, ,oyO, ,So4
1S64. 1s9T97 636
lS6o 2O8,2 ,2l4 09o
1906. .!....l ..s ---.. .-.-........ S,593 US
1925 5Soo @ @9 s @
Amount paid for the i've per cent 'e>e'D-O =,
bonds. IL, ,957, ,41O
l8n Compare this amount of $1,37l, ,424, :
23S, which che government did re-
| ceive with the amount for which our
bonds are outstanding, which the gov
eminent, did not receive, and we find
the following result 90 s.''' ''i'''.
Amount Of debt which has no con- 9.-. -
Amount Which was paid for ssS ss
| Excess OF bonus and usnry over the
actual debt SKA. 1G9, ,134 us
+, Sir, who has known the parallel to
this in the history, of constitutional
governments Where shall we look
for comparisons to this monstrous op-
preston ?T, Ina what realm or land
governed by written law viii, the ex-
| plorer of other countries and other
ages find such wholesale and ,fagi-
tious plunder of the people as here
stands naked and confessed? Under
what baneful sky, in what other quar-
ter of the earth has such q visitation
fallen upon human labor? Where
else than in this land of professed
equality has wealth ever before COM
mitted a. crime against industry and
liberty Of such huge proportions and
internal aspect as now towers up in
our midst and darkens the home. of
the people with its cruel and ceaseless
demands !? Kings, it is true, unre-
| strained by law, have robbed their
subjects. Despots, who rule by pre-
rogative, have torn away the substance
of their unfortunate serfs and lavish
ed it upon the favorites of the throne.
The pampered and lawless tyrants of
Asia, Africa and Europe have seized
the fruits of toll, the painful and pre-
cious earnings of the vigilant, daily
labor and wasted them in palaces of
revelry and endless indulgence. The
millions under imperial sway have
been trodden down, beggared, and
held in; serFitude by the unbridled
avarice of absolute monarchs. But in
what region of the globe penetrated
and Influenced by the popular will,
where the voice of the people was
permitted TO create their laws, has
ever before in the annals of the hu-
man race such a giant extortion been
fastened like q vampire of death on
the resources of nation. -' .-
I Sir, we have heard the patriotism
of the capitalist made the eloquent
theme of eulogY. His praises swarm
been laden and vocal with sweet en-
comiums of his generous sacrifices.-
| His claims are exalted as those of BEN
efcent philanthropy. He comes here
with the air of public benefactor.-
He assumes q 1oftier part than the he
| roes of the war; and demands pay
I u,
mortgage on all the chattels, lands and
labor of the nation. Never since the
birth of time, in the whole wide range
of human conduct, was a pretension
| to virtue more false. Never was a
base assumption more utterly crushed
by the undeniable facts of history
That beautiful love of country, that
sublime devotion to her institutions
which constitute bulwarks of nation
al defence more powerful than iron,
brass, OF stone, was not an inmate of
his breast. It electrified all hearts but
his. It ennobled and glorifed all
classes save that whichmade merchan-
disc of 1.-THE country's woes and traf-
ficked for a hundredper cent of profit
amid the roar of cannon and deluge
of blood. The father left his broken
I hearted home; the son and the BROTH
er, in the brightness of youth, took
his last farewell of fainting kindred /;
the armies were filled with ardent,
hopeful lives as food for the leaden
ball. the bayonet and the grave. Flesh
and blood volunteered, or if the pre-
cious ties of home and loved ones
oVermastered the patriotic will, the
draft, the unreleuting draft, replen-
| ished the ranks of war and listened to
no bargains in behalf of the hearth
stones which it made desolate forever.
But while tho soldier stood ON the
outermost brink of danger, while he
walked on the perilous ridge of battle,
the men of many millions parted not
with one dollar with which to pay
and feed him at his post of death, I'M
! til their remorseless terms were COM
piled with. Money was no volun-
teer; nor did the fatal wheel of con-
| scription wrench it from the hands of
its sordid masters, 1t heard the be-
| seeching voice of the government
with o dull, Indifferent ear. 1t lay
still i'll its vaults and dens. watching
for its prey and its profits. 1t wit
| messed devotion and sacrifice in
| this land more universal and unsel-
fish than ever before illuminated the
pages of time, and its metallic heart
alone remained cold and unmcved un-
der the heat of the fiery blaze. While
the armies moved on and the lamps of
| dear and valuable lives went out on
the ghastly field, and in the hushed
stiffness of the hospital, almost like
the innuInerable stars fading away at
dawn in the sky, the spirit of Mann
mon, the least erect of all that fell
from heaven, crouched in the rear and
pursued his calling and drove his fell
contracts. he brooded over his treas
ures until the calamities of life, of
homes, and of families, swelled them
into two-fold proportions. In the
midst of these mighty throngs, such
as the eye of man hath not seen in all
the ages that are gone in the shadowy
past, pressing forward to save the en-
blems and the unity of the republic,
! he was doing out TO them as they