The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1875-08-12

Senator Thurman.
His Speech at Mansfield, Ohio.

here this afternoon. He was introduced
by the President, Colonel b. Burns, in a
ten minutes speech. The weather was
pleasant. Mr., Thurman said
Mr. President and FeIiow- Chi:7lS We |
are at the commencement of political
campaign gilmore than usual importance
Two years ago the Democracy carried |
Ohio by a small majority. That victory |
preserved the organization of the party |
and made other Democratic victories pos
sibie 1t was the fOrerllnner OF the more |
extended triumphs that have since been
achieved Last year tidal wave, as 1t |
has been called passed over the Repub-
lie. More than twenty States, from the
most powerful to the smallest of our com
lnonwealths, recorded their condemna-
ci0n of the party in power, New York,
whose wealth and population have CON
ferred upon her the name Of "The En-
pre State" gave an opposition majority
of over fifty thousand. Georgia, called
the Empire State of the South, did better
get, giving majority of over sixty thou
sand Pennsylvania, for the first time in
many years, yindicated her ancient re-
nown as the Keystone of the Democratic
arch Indiana ceased to be doubtful
State, and rolled up a Democratic ma
iOrity of 2S,000. And our own Ohio
spoke with no uncertain voice, our ma !
j0rity on the State ticket being 1900, |
and on the Congressional tickets nearly |
tWenty-seven thousand. These may serve |
ag Illustrations of the emphasis with |
which the people, nine months ago, set |
the seal Of their condemnation upon |
Radical misrule. But no illustration |
wOuld he complete that omitted the most |
significant and unlcoked-for result of all. |
Massachusetts, old Massachusetts--as
airmly welded to the Republican party, |
as men supposed, as is Plymouth Rock |
bound to the earth in which it is imbed-
ied-cast off, for time at least her
Radical shaCkles, and placed sterling,
untlinching Democrat at the head of her
Government. The result of these elec-
lions filled he Radical leaders with dis
may; but no party ever yet voluntarily |
surrendered power, and it was, therefore,
An She natural order Of events that these
headers should earnestly strive to recover
tbe ground they had lost. Hence, from
the first day Of the late session of Con-
gress TO the last, they seemed to have but
one object in viewtO gather together
their scattered hosts and consolidate
them, as in former years, in a resistless
Dhalanx. Upon almost every qrestion
of public importance, party interest was
preferred to the interest of the people.
The most important measures were ma
iured in the secret TeCesses Of a caucus,
and the COhscienCes of members stitled
by party DEGREES. When q measure thus
conCocted by party, was brought from the
caucus into the Senate or House, we more
than once saw its supporters refrain from
discussion lest their jarring views might
disturb their harmony, and vote down all
amendments, however proper, in Obedi-
eBce to the caucus decree. In word,
during that whole session the question
with the majority seemed to be, not
What is best for the Republic?" but
WHAT is NECESSARY TO SAVE THE REPUB-
LICAN PARTY?"
Was constitutional government over
thrown in Louisiana by Federal bayo-
lrets The Radical leaders sought to di-
vert attention from the outrage by in
Aammatory harangues against the South.
Did the advocates Of sound currency
petition Congress to take some step look I
ing TO restoration of specie payments, I
and, on the other hand, did the inha- ,
3iOnists cry aloud with stentOrian voice
FOR more paper money" the Radical |
leaders, hearing both and fearing both, I
avoided all public discussion, and bury t
Sng themselves in the secret precincts of I
She caucus, there cOntrived party bed |
70 hold in its ample embraces Sherman, I
Morrill, ard Conkling with their Hard, d
Money Platform, and Morton, Logan and !
Ferry, with their initiation balloon. And
when at length that piece of caucus frlrn- r
ture was brought out into open day, we a
beheld the strange phenomenon Of bill /
entitled "a bill to provide for the re- v
sumption of specie payments that con-
Gained not a single effective provision for a
that purpose-a bill declaring that re-
shall take place on the first day t
Of January, 1879, without providing in t
aDy wise one dollar in coin with which a
TO effect that resumption. No wonder s
that the Radical leaders declined to dis 4
CUES that bill wonder that the chair n
man of the committee that reported it
declined to explain it. No wonder that C
ne felt its ambiguous provisions without fl
when to publicly inter il
Pret them one way would have driven q
off the resumptiOnists from its support,
and to interpret them another way would O
have brought the whole swarm of inha-
tionists about its ears. And so the bill d
was passed; not as financial measure, n
not as thing in which any one believed,
hut simply as a caucus compromise of il
conflicting opinions, a political sticking o
plaster, to hold the opposing wings of p
the Radical party together, an adjourn a
ment of the currency question, so far as p
the Radicals are concerned, until after t
thenext Presidential election. And now r
the very men who made that compro- p
'mise, the very men who agreed TO keep e
their opinions in obeyanCe for two years v
TO come, the very authors and perpetra- t
tors of that sham in finance and trick in S
politics will, have no doubt, be heard d
saying to the Hard-Money Democrats of #
Ohio, "How can you support the Demo- 3
gaiC ticket nominated by convention o
that adopted a self-money platform ?" r
How can you thus prefer party to prin- il
siple, and desert one of the oldest and a
most time-honored canons of your politi- o
cai creed% "How can you abandon the il
faith Of Jefferson, Jackson and Benton, h
and become followers of Wendell Phil. p
ips, Benjamin F. Butler and William D. p
Zelley?" You were not wont in times Ii
past to speak of these men with uncom- Ct
mon respect. If we remember correctly, h
you called Phillips a fanatic, Butler h
over Of other peoples spoons, and Kelley 81
! maniac on the subject of pig-iron. h
Pray tell us what miracle has been per- N
formed by which the trinity of fanati- d
ism, spoons and pig-iron have become ST
he financial prophets and leaders of the e
Ohio Democracy l say, my hard b
money friends Of Richland, that have il
40 doubt that these questions will be put N
o as, these sarcasms uttered against US, II