The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1874-05-21


~, -o..,iences the far greater ques-
- hoxrac nation will stand in It's
nw, .nu.ehold when it has broken faith
or ,ho.e beneath It's own Tag ana on
~, coil 1t may tumble Our na
,ionsl pride to fail IN this matter INV,
it will disbopor US to purchase SUCCESS
al the cost Of broken pledges 10 our
own citizens. Better, lar pe''ef' num"-
led pride-ay abased in the very Gust
than dishonOr and shame al home.
4, ili.ti ned and unfortunate steps nave
heen taken in this matter, retrsce them'
thew are Unauthorized acts. III Tree H.
yitstiops have been issued ana ie,'eis
have been sent which have rnisied lore
ion nations, / trust this nation bas tne
Grandeur to recall aud explain. 'aae
The President al his word when be says:
lie, us have q complete success IN our
centennial eS. ,csillon, or suppress IT.
jrs infancy. acknowledging our lnsoiiiIy
tn give II tie international Character 10
which our self-esteem aspires.
Mr.. Chairman, suppress 1t. LII Is no
humiliation OF pride or seliesteem 10 uie
"a An American citizen to acAbo"iecee
the inability o: the American Republic
10 60 on with this proposed international
exposition with s.. 300 ,0OO, 90 oil deo'
overhangipg it, and TO say that sc are
unable to expend $1,000. 600. Sl0,UOo,-
600, Sl5, O0u, coo, or sec, OO0. coo, whist
ever il may be. in this exposi,ionin PM
adelphia in 1876.
Mr.. Chairman, if the passage OF this
bill would not involve an act OF ques-
tionable integrity, if it were mailer OF
perfect faith, the country Is IN no condi>
lion to-day TO appropi late s3,CoO,oOoiH
the avowed object OF displaying Itself 10
other nations.
On the Is, day of this month the abso-
lutte debt OF the United States wss 81
li9. 1a5, s77,u2. Besides this enormous
sum there are other obligations which II
has guaranteed, and which il will have
10 pay beyond all question. which
amount, principal and interest 10 49,
PSI, 255, l3.
Iuu, The actual Indebtedness of the
United States on the LIST day Of May
1874. was s., D., $40. 5S2 A. This
| guaranteed debt, of course, is ali 10 tie
Pacific Railroads. A major pa!t OF this
debt bears interest at q per cent III coin
Now, Mr.. Chairman, this debt wac
| incurred TO save the nation, but for that
reason il no more sacred than il It had
| been created for 3 centennial exhibition
| or any other act of wisdom or folly. Ii
| is the debt OF great nation, and there
| fore TO be paid as nominated In The
bonds. When the gentlemen from
4 New York praises the Jews of Frank.
| fort and Berlin for taking these bones
when they could buy them at sixty
| cents on the dollar, at time when q
| million and a half Of the brsvest meu
| were daily indorsing their solidi!y ana
| rslidity With their biyonets, 1 confess
am slightly oblivious of the necessity
tor the encomium. But let that pass.
| While the burden of this debt is great,
| Il ia not the only debt. We Is peo-
nIe are in debt 10 European capitalists;
and what with the desire made TO pay
the interest On our obligations il
Europe, public and private, We have nc
| surplus left to expeud il luXuries and
scarcely enough 10 buy our neces-aries
But we in the West are ia far worst
plight than this. We are not only in
debted to European capitalists Tor the
money which constructed our railroads
and bridges, but we are largely inde BIT
ed TO YOU of the East for The funds with
which we purchased our farms. You
own one county, township, and city
bonds. sy. you own for the most par,
| the bonds issued tor the construction Of
our school houses; so that II may almost
be truthfully spoken that We OF the
West are merely occupants OF the pro-
perry of our wealthy eastern creditors
| Genile:nen Of the East, you had III,
money. the accumulated wealth of gen.
| .rs,iops: we of the West had only Gods
| heritage and brave earnest hearts with
| which to conquer the wilderness. You
drove sharp bargains with Us; you made
| ia agree 10 pay high rates OF interest,
and we mean 10 live up 20 our promises
We are poor, but we have that which il
above wealth-honor.
This is the condition in which the
terrible panic OF last autumn found us.
| In the winkling OF an eye values tunib'
| led, industry was everywhere paralyzed
merchants bankrupted, wOrkmen thrown
out of employment, and a general der
angement and stagna;ion of business
ensued. To-day the aspect is but lite
better. We bought of you at inflated
pIices; the panic came, and we wanted
| to pay our debts. II was thought Con
cress could help the West By some gen.
erous legislation and | beg the gen lie
men from Connecticut. Dir. Hawley.
president OF the centennial commission
to heed me-which may enable US to.tide
over the Guicksands OF the times and
pay our debts IN money as good as that
| which we received from our creditors.
| Only this and nothing more was sought.
| The plighted faith of the nation no man
of US would break. We saw money in
New York held on call at :; per cent,
per annum when it could not tie had al
| the West on the best of security for
four times the price. We see this fact
| to-day.
repeat that this fact, which have
stated as existing then, exists there to.
day: money at 3 per cent, on call in
New York, while it can be loaned at IL
or Is per cent. in Saint Louis and Chi
ca go and not to ne had at that.
We passed bill through Congress in
the teeth of your most hostile protest
! hat had in ii but little relief beyond the
TACT that it would remove rom New
York some twenty-five million OF cur
rency held there belonging to the coun-
try banks, and put it 10 circulation. II
would not have helped US much, bat our
people thought it ould; and ptraaps it
would, because it would have helped TO
restore confidence to a broken hearted
and dispiri,ed people. But you fought
Us here bitterly. Not content with that.
YOU beat Us with the President and cast
us back into the slough of despoud fiom
which this little bill had slmos; lifted US.
Gentlemen, were it ia the best OF
faith, we are in no condition tn under
take the burden OF this additional tax.
We cannot, from sheer lack OF ability.
paw any more public charge. l think
speak ,be truth when ! say if you build
your exposition hall and have an inter
national show, and thea furnish us
passes OYER your railroads TO come, that
we cannot come without you pay our
CNpsnsSs too.
10 not mistake me We are not
lost. nor despairing We know our
selves, and know that we shall emerge
from ,he disasters OF to-day and the sad
ordeals through which We are passing
better and wiser men. We still have
strong hands and und ,unted hearts; We
have the garden spot Of the earth for
our abiding place; We have all the ele
menis of future success. not least of
which We account a determined spirit
not to add another farthipg TO our pub
lie or private debts, and if The luxury of
a centennial celebration can only be had
AZ the cost of breaking this resolve, then
away with II. We have the manhood
TO say We will have none of il. With
our viyes and little CDes as will nave a