The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1876-09-12
A SPEECH By GOV. rILDEN
A Polished and Eloquent Address Be
fore the New York State Charities
Association at Saratoga Some Sound
Economic Reasoning.

LoTo INC NcW 4OEk Stdbo SudEhbios
Association at saratoga--some Sound
Economic Reasoning.
Gov. Tilden delivered the following ad-
dress of welcome before the New York
conference of charities at Saratoga on the
5th: .T. 1913 .NUt.
GENTLEMEN OF THE CONFERENCE OF
CHARITIES: As chief magistrate of the
state of New York, it is my pleasing Office
to welcome you to this charming and fash
iouable resort, which is fast becoming
shrine Of political, social. and scientific
pilgrimage. Two great conventions, form
ing an essential share OF the voluntary
machinery by which competitions of parties
are carried and elective government over q
continent is made possible, have recent
ly held their sessions in this place, and
to-day your conference, connected with
the Association for the Advancement Of
Social Science, brings to this same charm
ing retreat class of men with veIy diff
ferent objects, not less important, more
comprehensive in their scope and more
permanent in their consequences. 1t
brings here gentlemen distinguished for
their learning, for their accomplishments,
and for their benevolence.
A conference of charities What no.
bic rivalry is implied 10 these words. You
are here not to further your own interests
not even to promote the material we'll be
ing of those communities which you rep
resent, but to consider what best can be
done TO cure the wounds and maladies of
society.
What has thus far been accomplished
toward removing the evils of pauperisn,
crime, ana insanity will be disclosed to you
when the regular reports of the commit
tees charged with these subjects shall come
before you. will not anticipate them nor
trench upon their domain. My office is to
simply express to you the earnest sympa-
thy, the strong approval, and the spirit OF
CO operation OF this great commonwealth,
which represent to-day.
In the past three centuries the progress
OF science has been something marvellous.
In astronomy, geology, physics and chem
istry, and in all of those departments oil
science which in modern phrase are comp
rehended under the name of biology, the
achievements have been so vast that the
earlier discoveries in science would have tC
~
what are now ascertsiDed facts. KepleI
aud Newton would scarcely comprehend the
revelations of the modern instruments that
have been employed to discover the inter
Tor constitution Of heavenly bodies. While
they could merely watch and define the
general movements of these bodies aud
ascertain their surface, it is given to us tC
discern the secret internal constitution oil
those bodies, Priestley, Lavoisier, and
even Davy would have to go through new
training to entitle them to be called chem.
ists In all the departments of science
these achievements have been thus great
BY what means, by what methods have
these results been accomplished? BY
patient study. By researches persistently
carried into the secret working places OF
nature. You will answer, it was not by
these mcans alone. 1t was in a large de-
gree by the application of scientific analy-
sis and scientific methods to these inquir.
les. Now you propose, gentlemen, to ex-
tend the application of this method still
further--to apply the same implements
and modes Of InquisltiOn to the problems
of human society. | congratulate you
that in doing it you do it under the au-
spices of the society for the Promotion OF
Social Science. i feel quite sure that you
must derive instruction and aid-at least
that you will absorb much that is interest
ing and that is valuable from association
with the intelligent, cultivated gentlemen
who belong TO that association. You as.
sumo that the complex phenomena OF so
ciety its grand tides of movement, It's
SUGGESTIONS Of changes, growth and decay
,f Iaf mn N
crime-are capable of being reduced tC
formula, being analysed, studied, and
stated in the results OF your discoveries
Now, gentlemen, it seems TO me that M
more interesting, no more important OBJ
iect of investigation could be presented tC
the human mind. am quite sure tha
the application of the same philosophy
which has achieved such grand results
elsewhere will astonish you; will astonisl
veryone by the results which it will attalr
in this new department to which it will bt
applied. Even those most uncertain
things that depend on the human will ar,
capable Of being studied, of icing ana
lyzed, of being classified, and their results
stated. Human life has been held fortl
the sacred writings and in all ages a
the most uncertain thing possible, and We
il you will take u large number of individ
ual lives and group them you can com
pute within traction their average dura
ton.
In the great metropolis n which N,
home is and its immediate suburbs Their,
are something like 100000 families. /
would be scarcely probable that any one o
those families should know what TODD the.
will have upon their table tomorrow, ant
yet every one goes TO market without con
Germ, without plan, even without pur
pose. They find everything they desire I
supply their wants or crafty their tastes
and nothing of any Importance is left u
the end Of the day. AL over this cont
nent, in every pay It it, myriads of bus
hands are preparing supplies tor this grea