Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1874-08-07

PUBLIcANIsM CoNrRAsTEp - TIE RECORD
MADE BY THE Two PARTIEs-TnE ISSUES
BEFORE THE NATIcN.
To the People of the United States: You
will soon proceed TO select your representa-
tives for new congress. The occasion IN
vites US to submit for your inspection the
record of Republican achievements since
that party was called 10 the administration
of national affairs We seize the oppOrtun-
ity to avow that record, not to apologize Tor
it. We challenge your approval, not your
pardon.
The obligations of government and PEG,
pie. like the obligations OF servant ana
master, are mutual.
The government. like the servant, owes
| faithful service. But the people, like the
master, owe honest recognition OF faithful
service. Every Thoughtful employer knows
that he can not with impunity decry faith
full labor. lie who does so habltnally Will
soon have no faithful laborers. The faith
| full servant will not submit to be treated as
a faithless one. If 50 treated, he himself
will become faithless, or he will give place
to one who is iaithless.
DEMOCRATIC srATEsMANsHiP.
1t is thirteen years since the Republican
party was first called to the administration
| of the national government. For more than
thirty years previously the government had
been almost uninterruptedly under Demo-
/ cratic control Of that control there Is
hardly memory left at which the nation
| should not blush. Seemingly it was inspir-
| ed by but one ambitiOn-the bad ambition
to make our foreign policy as ignoble as our
| home policy was shameless. Our inter
course with powers weaker than ourselves
was spirited enough. We builied Austria
out of a Hungarian refugee. We deSpoied
Mexico Of portion of her territory. We
demolished Greytown. We jinglet millions
| in the ears of Spain rs a lure tor Cuba and
the bride was spurned.
In l-ji three of our ministers abroad as
sembled at Ostend, and Issued 4 manifesto,
in which they declared: after We shall
have offered Spain price for Cuba beyond
its present value. and this shall have been
refused. then it will be time to consider the
question Does Cuba IN the possession of
| Spain seriously cndanger our internal peace
| and the existence OF our cherished Union
Should this question be answered in the
affirmative, then by every law. human and
divine, We shall be justified in Wrestling it
from Spain, il we possess the power.
1t adds piquancy to that extract to know
that two of the ambassadors who in 1851
could think of no way of saving Our cher
were Pierre S0ulc and John \. Mason. The
third was James Buchanan.
But during all that time, and in spite OF
all that gasconaic, there was not Il single
naturalzcd citizen who could safely revisit
his birthplace. for there was not one whose
citizenship was upt absolutely denied by the
sovereign under whose dominion he was
born.
No American, natiycor naturllizcd could
send a letter abroad except upon ouerOu~
conditions, We had then formed postal
conventions with hut seven foreign coun-
tries.
The lowest rate of postage stipulated in
those conventions was ten cent Tor letter
weighing not more than one-halt ounce
The highest rate Of postage on the same let
tor~ was thirty cents.
We tamcy rclin4uished to Great Britain
a portion OF our territory in the northeast
another anda larger portion in the north
west We described the line agreed upon
in the northwest 80 loosely that Great Brit
ain Immediately laid claim to large Islands |
on our side of it. That insulting claim was
neither resisted nor admitted. Il was COM
promised hy permitting tie claimant u I
hold armed possession of one end of san /
Juan. the most valuable OF those Islands, I
while We quietly -4uattct on the other end. I
And while. rs successive concessions. We 4
were constantly adding 70 the area of the I
Canada~, We stupidity r,iia4ui~hci 10 their /
products free access % oar markets. as the /
equivalent Of being allowed t. send similar /
products from the northwest. through Can /
adian channels. 10 such prccariuuS markets |
rs they coald iinl ou ,he o;hc- side 20 the |
Atlantic.
Such were tie achievements col oar dipl0- /
o.. 2
premacy.
tA-if CafIGNIE,T.
The story 90 Quar- home rule would BE -ld- /
der still. 10 anything saller could Doe.
Ii las been loudly Wanted that those
We're cheap administrations. Compared
with the expenditures of these times they
we're cheap, very cheap. Compared with
their worth 10 the country they were
probably the most proli-atc the world
ever saw They cost the people from
so 0oO,0O to S1j,ol0.0O0 per auulm.
those millions maintained for Us tie empty
pageant We called government. /, was the
worst pageant thai could be cOutrNcl. Ii
was not even snowy; it was vulgar. Il
had all the features Of a government, but
without is faculties. There were the three
regular organ--!egi>latiye, executive, il-
dicial. There was constant succession Of
congresses, presidents and courts. The
courts OF course. were useful in hearing
and determining private controversies Blt
what j. there 10 show from the .ah1r- of the
political departments? l. seemed u be the
sole end, i not the sole aim, Of government
TO collect money enough yearly % pay it.
self. II did NOT always succeed IN doing
that. a> many loan bills enacted in times of
profound peace >tii. bear witness. Indeed,
that party was peculiarly embarrassed IN
the collection Of revenue. l. dared not levy
q tax except on the importation 0t foreign Z
commodity. and il always dreaded 10 tax
the Importation of foreign commodity
lest 1t might unwitting.y promote some do
nestle industry. No well educated Demo-
sra5 could tolerate such a result. - ie-
ieIent revenues We're. from time ID time.
aided by loans such was the ease in ISL,
l-i2 aad l-lG.
The first act. passed AZ the first session of
the Ihlrty-hith Congress. authorized the
issue oftrea-ury notes, and almost the last
ret OF the same session authorized a loan.
In June, l-uo a further loan Of 81 900 900
was auihorized,a and on the 9Th OF February =
l>6l. an appeal was made 20 the market for (
50 600 900 more. !.
Through all those years Congress assem- ,
lied annually. The long sessions were ex- I
ended over a period OF seven, eight and :
line months. But. long or short, the #
essi0ns produced little in the way of legis-
alton beyond the tax ana appropriation II
ills. The talk endured for months; the !.
work was accomplished in weeks n
The first session ofthc Ihirty->econd Con- +
,ress was prolonged until the 3lst Of n
August. The acts passed embrace one hun I,
red and .Orty-.our pages Cd the statutes.
III but the first thlrty->eyen pages are Gov Fl
red by acts approved on the last two days ii
I the session. Earlier administrations had :
tainted the national capital. had framed n
he leading features of our land system had il
edicated liberal portions OF our public do /
lain to the cause OF popular education and n
ad commenced the Cumberland road and / n
Their works of internal .mproyoment.W hen.
iter nearly thirty years Of misrulc, you Il
rove the Democratic party from power the Il
umberiand road was still unfinished and n
he party had been educated to believe that i
he national government had no con-titu- u,
onal power TO complete such work. "
That singular iaith did not prevent the h,
arty from entering upon such works, but. m
,emingly, only from completing them.
hey did not refrain from making appropr NJ
tiOns. even for improving rivers and har he
)rS. Sometimes such appropriations were in
AXE regularly and sometimes irrcgularly. 81
pparently they were ScrupuiOus only III
nat appropriations should be made at such III
mes, in such sums. and for such pur- IN
uses aS would promote commerce least and
lrty interest most. On the approaches to 81
ilmington, y. C., appropriations were re
abe at various tines amounting to more su
IAN $500 900. Wilmington has swelled of
ON population OF 900 in 1850, to 49, tn
10 in 1870. On the Red river in Louisiana il.
ere was expended at different times more ",
an Sj00,000. The river washes eight So,
unties in the State of Louisiana Those
ght counties had population in 1910 Of
900; in 1870 OF LEG, 600. On the har- ir5l
n of Chicago. which is the gateway to the ~ ~.
'rthwe>t. the home of millions, they doled az
{ appropriations amounting to :S2I7 900 W
n the harbor at Milwaukee they appropri- an
ed in 1874. 100000. Eight years later wa
ey resumed the work. apparently with t sl'
c determination of completing it; Sl5.- Icl
0 were appropriated that year The year All
intVipr fbav cd la ,,,rntG.ar. VOL