The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1872-09-04
HON. ". D. KBLLEY'S SPEECH.
BILE DEFENSE OF THE ADMINISTRATION
ISLANDERS Against the President Refutet
[Continued from yesterdays issuel

THE IU15LlS lNDEDlEDNEoS REDUCED.
When he became President you were
1881 100000 more in debt than you are
now. The annual interest account against
the people of the United States on the 4th
of March, 1869, when he was sworn in, was
a22 100000 year more than it is to-day.
Your taxes were $l0S, 100000 more than
they are now, tested in the yield they made
the year before they were repealed. The
Forty-first Congress repealed taxes which
yielded the year before $50, 100000. The
present Congress, at its last session, re-
pealed taxes VIII CHI yielded the year before
$53 ,000, 900, making together $l0S, 900 900.
So honestly has Grant and his Administra-
ton administered the affairs of the Govern
ment. And we shall pay 100000, 900
more of your debt during this year, and
diminish the current interest account
100000 more. [Applause.l Under
Andrew johnson, with spirit tax of 50,
and with all sorts Of taxes on everything,
Mr.. McCulloch's reports show that for the
last six months the income had not been
equal to more than the expenses of the
Government. Now, | make no calcula-
tons myself. | refer you to Mr.. McCul-
loch's statements. He was Secretary of
the Treasury, and he published them.
With spirit tax of 81 a gallon, you got
1900, 900, while Grants officers, with
tax of fifty cents, got you $43 ,000, 900.
[Applause.l And the collector, the asses
sor, the supervisor or what not, who has
been detected in fraud, has not only been
hustled out, but sent to the peniten-
tiary, if jury of the vicinagc would con-
vict him. Grants defaulters is the cry
40 =. o,,t md Ioe,o,o,,c. i
to you and to all men, | challenge your
memories for the truth of my remark, that
q greater proportion of the defaulting pub
lie officers have been convicted and sent to
the penitentiary, and remained there, under
Grant than all the preceding Presidents.
And yet General jackson had his Swart-
won't and his dishonest Postmasters and his
Snb-Treasurers-no they had not yet been
created--his defaulting pet banks all over
the country, and nobody heard of trial
and conviction. That injured the party
under Mr.. Van Buren,. He had defaulting
and speculative Sub-Treasurers and clerks.
They were arrested and tried. They were
prominent politicians, and it would'hurt the
party. Their securities were sued, and by
and by they were compromised But it
has not been so with President Grant.
They have been brought to the bull-ring or
drum-head court-martial. The first they
would know of their removal from office in
many instances was when the Marshal
tapped them on the shoulder and said:
"You are my prisoner. We want to settle
your account" [Appause.l So that,
with steadily diminishing taxes, Grant and
his Administration have gone on reducing
and rapidly extinguishing the debt.
THE TAXES HEIGHTENED.
But, my friends, what more? He is re-
ducing the taxes, or striving to do 50, in
such a direction as to promote your welfare
and the prosperity of the country. On JAN
uary Is, 1866, made speech in Congress,
in which insisted upon the point that the
pay the public debt, and that it should be
left to posterity. [Applause.l That as rap
idly as we can we should remove those in
ternal taxes which were diminishing the
rewards of labor, and depriving capital and
energy of their just results. In 1867, in
review of McCulloch's report IN which he
advocated the payment of. the public debt
in 81 years, and the retention Of all the in
ternal taxes, argued the point that the
South was not IN condition to pay taxes !;
that the North wanted release from those
taxes which were Stacking and embarrass-
ing her industry that the true plan would
be to repeal the internal taxes as fast as
possible consistent with the maintenance of
public faith and credit, the payment of the
annual interest and the annual expenses Of
the government and here you get a glimpse
of Greeley's faith.
sent a copy of my speech to Horace
Greeley, and in noticing it he said my
morality was that ola thief who promised
to become honest when lie had stolen so
much that interest on the swag would keep
him in easy iaffluence. [Cheers.l That it
was the duty of the people to pay debt
that when man was a debtor, he had
no right to so use his property as to say to
the creditor, s. you shall not be paid until
| have earned tho money to pay you with"
Why, our bonds had twenty years to run !;
the creditors did not ask for their money
we had not promised to pay them for
twenty years. We had the option to pay
them at five, but they didn't want their
money then, and came in reluctantly to get
it when we have called in their bonds /,
and yet Horace Greeley insisted upon the
retention of all those taxes in order that
McCulloch's theory Of the payment of the
debt BY the present generation might be
carried out.
M'CULLOCII'S FINANCIAL POLICY.
What are Grants ideas? Read every
one Of his messages, and you will find that
he tells you that he hopes to hasten the day
when the Assessor and Collector shall no
more appear at the door Of the home or
business place of the American citizen.
tApplause.l He impresses upon you the
Importance of maintaining the faith and
credit of the country, and of gradually re-
ducing the debt by the payment of rather
more than one per cent. provided for and
pledged by the Sinking Fund Act, but that
the true plan to enable yourselves to do
that is to relieve labor, capital, energy and
enterprise Of harassing taxes. Let us look
lat what your system of taxation was. II
taxed you at every pore, and you permitted
1T to do so while the war lasted and the ex-
igences of the country required it. II
taxed what you made; it taxed what yor
sold it taxed what you ate (; it taxed what
you drank I; it taxed what you wore.
illustrated it the other evening at Los An
geles--the tax on manufactures--by taking
AN umbrella. You people have so dry {
climate that probably you do not know
what an umbrella is-yes, you do know
what parasol is. [Laughter.l
Well, the law was per cent. tax on tht
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