The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1873-09-11

and the whole treasury steal woult
have dropped dead. But he didn'
say, @No." He said, 81 approve it,
and Governor Morton approves him
/ want to say word or two abou
Governor Morton before | am done
/ shall speak respectfully of Governo
Morton. He came to this State II
help his friend in this drag. Nov
mark you; l don't want you to mis-
understand me. l don't say that Col
fax came here, but only his friend
Coy. Morton. He justified every
thing that the leaders of his party anC
the tax-gathers of this nation coulC
desire him to Justify. He shrank a
nothing. He said, in regard to the
salary grab, that he didn't intend tC
take his share. He LETT it there, ht
said, but he didn't blame other people
for taking it. Then he approved it,
President Grant signed that bill, and
he approved all these things. Cover,
nor Morton came into. the State and
made speeches in which he justified
everything this Congress aud his
party. He promised no reform to 8
complaining nation. No, sir; he
would not even promise that the Office
holders would quit stealing, much
less introduce, any reforms into the
public administration of the country
They had the boldness to say while
they admitted that the life of the ma
tion was contaminated by corruption,
the hardihood to say, Give us the very
men who have injected this poison
into the vital system of this country.
Give us a new lease of life; elect US.
If you do not, what? Why, the Dem
oerats will get in and the Republican
party will get out. The Republican
party, if by that you mean the mass
of the people of this country, has had
no hand in these rogueries, else they
would have rectified them long ago.
The rooues knew very well that they
have offended the moral sense of the
country. They know the damning
truth that is speaking day in and day
out against them, but still they desire,
if you will permit them, to go on
and stealing for the fu-
ture.
Now 1 have named and pointed out
the mature and character of this
representative principle, and told you
all about 1t, as far as | can foresee. I
want to make one or two remarks
more, because I am here tonight to
tell the whole truth. want to repeat
to you now, once for all, what I have
told you, that your sovereign power
to nothing without the purity
of the representative principle, and
that the life of your government will
depend not only upon restoring it at
the coming election to its pristine pu-
rity, but in maintaining it so. I told
you that it was an awful power to
confer by the nine million of men in
his Republic upon three or four hum
1red at Washington City. These
scattered everywhere over
he land, are compelled, in the eter-
nal nature of things, to resort to this
principle, in order to
manifest their will in the making of
avs. / told you that, in comforting
,he power upon the delegated agents,
you have conferred stupendous and
power, when you come to
Ook at the fact that you have commits
stoned them to take from your prop
srty as much as they please and spend
t in any manner they please. Now
ask any honest business man in this
farmer, mechanic, mer-
chant, any man in business, whether
ne would confer upon all agent for
,wo years, without the power of re-
Ealing him, the right to sell his lands,
lis property, as much as he pleased,
md appropriate money as this agent
pleased. No man of sense in this
country would ever think of confer
ing this tremendous power upon any
Individual whom he called an agent,
without the right to restrain him, the
light to recall his commission, the
light to protest against his acts. Yet
his is precisely what you do when
vou deliver over all your sovereign
power in this nation to three or four
men who go to Washington
;ity. Now, 1 have told you, my
riends, that consider the life-blood
# our organization to depend solely
nd exclusively upon your power of
the purity this principle.
will take the liberty of throwing
worth. I know that time will reveal
is value, and that if this country lives
ong enough to have futurity-that
principle will be adopted.
l have named the stupendous power
which you turn out and deliver over
rom your bosom into the hands of
ne man in each Congressional Dis
riot. The essence of that power con-
lists of two things: the power to |
AXE your property in the form of !
axes, and to spend the money thus
by the taxes. Now, sir, |
tell you, in the future time it win |
e found necessary to throw addition |
de- ~ 6nln
ime will reveal what these safe
yards may be. When they are first
innumerable objections to
1e details arising from apparent in
will be returned as
n answer. in rejecting them. 1t
lakes no difference, if this principle
the elective power is maintained in
lis country, there must be additional
Lfegeards thrown around this prinei-
le, which constitutes the very life of
le nation.
Now, sir, I have stated that there
re two divisions of this power one
le power to tax, and the other the
over to spend. These powers must
: separated. One of them must be
,posed in one body, aud the other of
lem in another body, the members
which shall be Ineligible to the re-
erse body. The effect of that would
3 that the temptation to large expen-
lture would be removed from the
x-levying body, who now have un-
mited power. They would have no
mptatfon to lay excessive taxes, be-
Iuse they would not be permitted to
,uch a dollar of the revenue which +
ley had thus levied upon the
sople. On the other hand, the ap-
body, having no function
ut simply to appropriate, would be
in their extravaganza by
le amount of money found in the
easury. Thus there would be some
.feguards thrown around these tre-
endous and dangerous powers
ime will reveal other safeguards
# safeguards there must be. You
ay depend upon it that the transfer
ng of the sovereign power of forty
VO or forty-three millions of human
sings into the hands of two or three
lndred human beings is thing too
foo rN,.pnx1Nsvor fr,. yNONYs ola