Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1872-09-27
Horace Greeley ian Cinciisnaii-EEl-
El2usias4ic SeccEDtiOn-A Plain nsld
Practical, yet II N"'Ec and Patriotic
Tai2k-g4ct Every f,OGy Read 1t.
CINCINNATI, Sept. 7.

Greeley Wis received at the Chamber OF Com
merce at noon to-day, and was received with
great applause. When quiet was restored, he
spoke as follows:
Vy, P,csident aad GcahIcm>a cr lie CAcrtJcr cf
You will do me the justice to believe that l
would not have chosen to appear before you
an instructor, for so it will seem TO you with re-
gard to matters which you must understand bet
ter perhaps than /. l here because l am
asked to be here, and being here 1 propose to
make to you a few suggestions which | trust will
have practical bearing l fully comprehend
that you are business mon, and that this is a
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 my subject, am
one of those who don't feel entiI6ly satisfied
with the financial and commercial condition ard
prospects of our country. realize that we have
just secured very abundant harvests, and that
these very important elements in our com
mercial prosperity. l realize that we have cur
rency quite abundant in its volume, and &C
ceptable at par over the large portion of our
country. We have many elements of strength,
and Yet there seem elements portcnts
weakness which ought no. to be passed over in
silence. You viii bear me 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 opera
tons of what arc peculiarly called rings than
ever before in the history of this, and think
iii the history of any cOuntry-cOrnersi in wheat
corners in oats, corners in pork (great laughter)
corners in gold. corners i'll stock, and so on and
SO Oh. Now, gentlemen, am not here to say
that this particular clique, which tried to force
up the prices, that opposite clique which
tried TO force them down, right or wrong
in any instance. | am not sufficiently familiar
to Judge what say, and think, what you must
believe with me, is that these exhibitions, these
ebullitions, are symptoms OF financial weak
ness if not financial disease they are Incl
dents which are not likely to occur in q per-
fectlv sound and healthy condition of CONNER
cial business, and the currency of the country
Wen, we get on with them as well as we can,
rather chase one away and another soon
presents itself, and every now and then, in the
great commercial centre where my work has
been carried on, there comes kind of a black
Friday, or something that threatens CONNER
cial disaster-a general disaster. and then APP
pears the Secretary of the Treasury Eih his
horn of plenty, and he lets loose sO1nethi.., =
other he either buys stock, or he sells gold,
he does both, and he puts US at ease Tor
little time again. l am not here to decide
that that is not the best he can do; don't
know about that l do not insist that the bust
ness of the country ought not to be in condi-
ton to require this continual application OF
something artificial, something let down from
above, that there should be state of things
wherein business men and business interests
should take OF themselves, and
not require the continual interruption of
ONE public authority in such dictatOrial
form ; some men swamped when he
appears other men are relieved, perhaps
The greatest good to the greatest number is
accomplished, for aught know, but want to
see state of things when the government is
not continually called upon to keep US out. 1t
reminds me OF state of things that existed in
my earlier day, when every once in a while
Nicholas Biddle was called to Wall street in
about the same capacity that the Secretary OF
the treasury is now, to put his shoulder to the
wheel and lift US out of some catastrophe lift
us out u some mire, or ward off some catras-
trorhe. think we ought to be able, that you,
gentlemen, ought to be able, to devise the WAYS
and means, not only of getting us out of ome