The Cairo daily bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1870-1872, 1872-09-25
GREELEY AMONG THE
PEOPLE.
HIS SPEECH BEFORE THE GIN.
CINNATI CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE.
THE QUESTION OF FINANCE
AND COMMERCE DIS
CUSSED.
STATESMANLIKE VIEWS FORCI-
BLY, EXPRESSED, ETC, ETC.

CINCINNATI, Sept. 2l.-Mr. Greeley was
received ut the Chamber of Commerce ut
noon to-day. He entered accompanied by
Mayor Davis, 5. i. Covington, President
of the chamber, and j. l.. kecke. He
was introduced by Mr.. Covington, and
was received with great applause. When
quiet was restored he spoke us follows:
Mr.. President and Gentlemen of the
Chamber of Commerce
You will do me the justice to believe
that would not have chosen TO appear
before you as an instructor, for SO II will
seem to you with regard to matters which
you must understand better, perhaps, than
/. am here because l am ask to be
here; and being here, propose to make
to you few suggestions, which, l trust,
will have u practical bearing.
fully comprehend that you are bust
ness men, and that this is business hour,
and that whatever is said by me, at any
rate, must be very brief. To plunge at
once, then, into the middle of the subject.
am one Of those who do not feel entirely
satisfied with the financial and commercial
| condition and prospects of our country. 1
realize that we have just secured very
abundant harvests, and that they..are u
very important element of commercial
prosperity. realize that we have u cur
rency quite abundant in its volume, and
acceptable at par over the larger portion OF
our country. We have many elements of
strength and yet there seems to be also ele-
ments or portents of weakness, which
ought not to be passed over in silence.
You will bear mo witness that for the last
two or three years we have heard more,
felt more, suffered more of commercial
collapse, might say commercial difficulty
from the operations OF what are popularity
| called "rings" than ever before in the
history of this, and think in the history
| Of any other country. "Corners" in
wheat, corners in oats, corners in pork
| [greaL laughterl, corners in gold, corners
in stocks and So Cd, and SO on. Now gen.
tlemen, am not here to say that this par
ticular clique which tried to force up
prices, or that opposite clique which tried
to force them down was right or wrong in
any instance. l am not sufficiently famil-
lar to Judge. What l say and what
think you must believe with me, is, tina,
these exhibitions, these ebullitions, are
symptoms of financial weak ness, if not Of
financial disease. They are incidents
which are not likely to occur il
u perfectly sound and healthy con
dition of commercial business, and the
currency of a country. Well, we get OF
with them as we'll rs we can, or, rather
we chase one away anC
another soon presents itself
and every now and then, in tn,
great commercial centre where my worl
has been carried on, there comes SUI
perior corner, some kind of "Black Fri
day." or something that threatens a com
mercial disaster-a general disaster-anc
then appears the secretary of the treasury
with his horns of plenty, and he lets loost
something He either buys stocks, or h,
sells gold or he does both. He puts us a
case for little time again. Now l an
not here to decide that that is not the bes
he can do. l don't know about that, bu
do insist that the business of the countr,
ought not to be In condition to requir,
this continual application Of something
artificial, something let down from above
that there should DO a state of thing
wherein business men aud business inter
ests should take care of themselves, ant
not require the continual interpostion o
some public authority in such n dictatoria
form. Some men are swamped when IA,
appears and other men are relieved. Per
| maps the greatest good to the creates
number Is accomplished, for aught
4 know, but l want to see a state OF thing
when the government q not continual,
called uporfto help us out. 1t remind
me Of the state OF. things that existed il
, my earlier days, when, every once in
while, Mr.. Nicholas Biddle was called I,
Wall street in about the same capacit,
that the secretary Of the treasury Is now
to put his shoulder to the wheel and lf
US out of some catastrophe us out o
some miro, or ward off some catastrophe
! think we ought to DO able,-that you
gentlemen, ought to DO able to devise tn,
ways and means, not only Of getting u
out of one particular corner, but of pre-
venting corners in the future, rendering
them impossible, or, at all events, disas.
trous to their contrivers. Now, / am sup
posed to be man of isas, or, what Is the
word IA man of hobbies on this subject.
Some men imagine that am very fur.
Gus demsnder ofths immediate resumption