The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1876-11-01
rFrom Judge KeIley's Indianapolis Speech
DEMOCRACY.
Deaf to the Appeals Of the Working People
Unfinished Public Buildings.

Let me bring to your attention a measure on
which the Democratic friends of the working
people were more parsimonious. We usually
appropriate about four millions and q half for
public buildings. We have large public build
inos standing unfinished. In Chicago alone
$4,000 a year rent is paid for Offices which are
70 be in the Government building, which is
| nearly completed. In Philadelphia we have ex-
pended nearly S3,O00,O0 0 Public buildings are
standing unfinished in many cities and your
Democratic committee reduced the annual ap-
preparation for this purpose more than one-hslf.
If they can afford to pay two millions and a half
in coin interes, every year for the silver to make
subsidiary coin, why could they not In this year,
when the working people are so distressed,
afford for this one year 20 spend the usual
amount Of money on public buildinsst They
sympathize, so they say, with the laooring
classes. Let us see how they manifested their
sympathy. What IL a public buildingt IL is
ninety-hve per cent, aud more, of labor, and
less than five per cent. Of raw material, or capt
tai. Ninetv-ive per cent or the two additional
millions would have flowed into the hands Of
the lahoring classes Of the country, and would
have quickcned trade and industry 70 a consid-
cradle extent. What. | ask YOU again, Is a pub
lie building! Why, the making of the hole in
which you put the foundation-the cellar-is all
labor for man and beast. The foundations are
stone Ia the quarry Of little value, but labor
quarries them, handles them, and emoodies
them IN the wall. The clay lies in yonder
field until labor digs and treats and moulds it,
until other labor gathers 10 it fuel, and converts
the soft clay into the enduring brick. The
granite in the q~uarrics of New England, or
marble in those Of Pennsylvania, or the beauti-
full stone at Joliet, Illinois. is Of little value
wherever It NAV be until labor blasts and quar-
ries and handles and dresses il, and puts II In
its place for q structure Of pcrmsnence and
utility and beauty. The public building is
timber In Wonder forest Of little value, obstruct-
ing the progress Of settlement, until the wood
man-tne stalwart pioneer woodman-wtth bis
axe brings down the monarchs Of the forest,
floats or hauis them 10 the mill, and they are
cut into timber, fashioned into forms Of beauty
for ornament or moulded into doors and sash.
What is iron and ore IN the hankl Coal In the
minel Limestone in the quarry Each and
all of little value as they are there covered up
bT dear mother Nature, until labor, descending
into the dark mine. blasting limestone from the
quarry. bringing forth the coal and ore. and
bringing the three together at the forge, filing
the forge, building fires under IL. watching it
until the red hquid flows and there Is the
pic-iron. from which labor shall roll the
bar. cut the nail, make the screw, fashion it
into a thousand forms Of utility ard beauty.
These are the elements OF public buildings,
and the two millions withheld by this Demo
cratic Congrss from the continuance of the
buildings already begun are S2,cg@ coo withheld
from the suffering laboring IvOple Of the coun-
try in this time of depression and want. lap
plause. There is economy that Is extrava-
gance. There is retrenchrent that is waste
fuI and ] charge upon these men that their
boasted economy and retrenehment were waste
full extrsagance, and oppressive 20 the suffer
ing poor of the country lApplause.1