The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1876-11-02
tFrom Judge Kelley's indianapolis Speech.
DEMOCRACY.
Deaf to the Appeals Of the Working People
Unfinished Public Buildings.

Let me bring to your attention measure on
which the Democratic friends of the working
people were more parsimonious We usually
appropriate about four millions and half for
public buildings. We have large public build
ings standing unfinished. In Chicago alone
$4,000 year rent is paid for Offices which are
! to be in the Government building, which is
nearly completed. In Philadelphia we have ex-
pended nearly So, 900. Public buildings are
standing unfinished in many cities and your
Democratic committee reduced the annual ap-
preparation for this purpose more than one-half
If they can afford to pay two millions and half
in coin interest 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 to spend the usual
amount of money on public buildings! They
sympathize, so they say, with the laborng
classes Let us see how they manifested their
sympathy. What is a public buildingl 1t is
ninety-fve per cent, and more, of labor, and
less than five per cent. of raw material, or capt.
tai. Nncty-tve per cent of the two additional
millions would have flowed into the hands of
the laboring classes of the country, and would
have quckened trade and industry to consid-
cradle extent What, ask you again, is q pub
lie building. Why, the making of the hole in
which you put the efoundation-the cellar-is all
labor for man and beast. The foundations are
stone in the quarry of little value, but labor
quarries them, handles them, and embodies
them in the wall. The clay lies in yonder
field until labor digs and treats and moulds it,
until other labor gathers to it fuel, and converts
the soft clay into the enduring brick. The
granite in the quarres of New England, or
marble in those Of Pennsylvania, or the beauti-
full stone at Joliet, Illinois, is of little value
wherever it may be until labor blasts and quar-
ries and handles and dresses it, and puts it in
its place for 8 structure Of permanence and
utility and beauty. The public building is
timber in yonder forest of little value, obstruct
ing the progress of settlement, until the wood
mantle stalwart pioneer woodman-with his
axe brings down the monarchs of the forest,
floats or hauls them to the mill, and they are
cut into timber, fashioned into forms of beauty
What is iron and ore in the bank! Coal in the
mine? Limestone in the quarry? Each and
all of little value as they are there covered up
by 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 filling
the forge, building fires under it, watching it
until the red liquid flows; and there is the
rough pig-iron, from which labor shall roll the
bar, cut the nail, make the screw, fashion it
into a thousand forms of utility and beauty.
These are the elements of public buildings,
and the two millions withheld by this Demo-
cratic Congress from the continuance of the
buildings already begun are 81 ,0inC 900 withheld
from the suffering laboring Lrople of the coun-
try in this time of depression and want. Ap-
plause. There is economy that is extrava-
gance. There is retrenchnent that is waste
full ; and | charge upon these men that their
boasted economy and retrenchment were waste
full extravaganza, and oppressive to the suffer
ing poor OF the country. tApplause.]