davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
, 1876-07-09

o. .a2| napPlnes5es, anu " t4e ~ p1,tus shn,
when the next election comes round.
fChccrs1. Right here, my friends, want to
say word on another topic. am for peace;
1 am not for war If war can be averted. / am
not for holding up the bloody shirt, as the term
goes. unless it is necessary in order to protect
the people of this country; but, whenever It Is
necessary to protect the poorest, hum b1est, OBJ
scurcst citizen Of South Carolina, or Mississippi,
Louisiana, or Massachusetts, or Illinois, II the
State Government under which be lives VIII not
do it, then say that the National Government
has the power and ought to do it, and It 1t does
not do it, It is not worthy Of being called Gov
crnmcnt at all. Loud applause. That is the
position tho Republican party takes upon this
question. What eIsel Why we are In favor Of
SPEEDY RESUMPTION OF SPECIE PAYMENTS
rs the interests of the country will allo:r.
(Cheers. For 4 moment let INC refer to our
Democratic friends In that connection: Here
VIC have hard-money man from the East and
a soft-moncy man from the West Tilden turns
'sNepcal the Resumption act.'' Tilden says:
ssIf you do, it must be understood that It Is In
the interest OF resumption that you rcpea! IT,"
in other words, that 1t hinders resumption.
two men, one facing East, the other
facing West; one declaring, In favor Of
favor Of the repeal Of the Resumption law, IN
order that they may catch gudgeons West and
catch gudgeons East, and Tool enough people,
as they suppose, to get themselves elected to
the offices to which they aspire. In my indg-
uent. and in accordance with the judgment Of
one Of our leading papers in this city, refer to
the Chicago Time-that sort OF I" double-faced
fraud ~ will not go down with the American
people. {Cheers and laughter.
There IS another thing about this man Tflden.
We hear great deal said-a!ld think there isa
great deal in this point-and / call tho
attention Of tue people TO it because have
never heard 1t referred to bcfore-there Is
great deal OF trouble, as you know, over the
country In reference to the
BUILDING OF RAILROADS,
to their construction. to their cunning, to the
, 1876-11-12

The peculiar phase Of uncertainty "hlch
characterizes our Presidential election has
aroused John Bull from his chronic lethargy.
The London Tines of yesterday morning
printed special by cable over q column long
giving details of the situation. As your Or
binary Englishman is perverse'y dull in COM
pretending anything pertaining to political,
governmental, OF geographical matters in this
county, it is easy to imagine the muddle into
which the British people have been plunged
BY the existing state Of affairs. There is
only one class of individuals in London who
will feel and realize the fact that something
Of crisis exists here, and these are the hold
ers of American bonds, which securities,
according to the English market reports,
have been adversely affected
, 1876-11-12

men of previous generations They are a1;o
required to perform ceremony for t,,a
benefit Of neglected ghosts. Deifed heroes
whose name is legion, are also worshiped
The God Of Wealth, who was originally .
tax-collector, is an object of supreme adora-
ton. His style of collecting tarae
was unique enough to suggest a
new method Of dealing with Ch;
cago tax-fghters. He once called unon
family who refused to pay their taxes
whereupon he eamped down in their honsp.
hold and announced his intention to stav
until they paid. AS he was an enormous
enter, the taxes were soon forthcoming
There are numerous other less noted no5a
presiding over the different occupations and
arts who are industriously worshiped bv
those pursuing them The reader will mi
have failed to observe that China is profuse.
ly stocked with gods, and that we'll
regulated Chinnman who keeps up with bia
religious duties finds plenty to do to ken
him out OF mischief. In our next articla
We shall examine the worship Of spirits, WIN
are IS numerous as the sands on the saa-
Shore
, 1876-11-12

State Of the Union. The excitement now
GREW wilder. The crowd that thronged
TIE Tribune Office redoubled, and dispatches
innumerable we're showered upon us from all
quarters asking, Elbows it gomez" and
"Who's elected ?" and s What do you think
of South Carolina ?" and "What are your
private advices ?"-everybody wanted pri-
vate adyices-and there were more people on
the ragged edge, and in the cave Of gloom,
turns aboard to come in, than are likely to
ever be seen again. What was tr1e of Chi
cago was true Of the entire Union and
throughout the land the like scenes were be-
ing enacted, the like keen anxiety WINS felt
Friday simplifed the situation nothing,
aud the wild talk of desperate political ad-
venturers and hot-heads infamed the excite
ment and provoked grave apprehensions,
until there came President GRANTS timely
suggestion that leading men OF both parties
go to Louisiana to see that there was fair
count of the vote, and his admonition that
"The country could not afford to have the
result tainted by suspicion of Illegal or false
returns" That commended itself to the
sober second-thought of the people yester-
day, while the result in Louisiana, Florida,
and South Carolina remained in doubt, and
so remains at this writing. Instead Of ex-
plosive utterances as to what might happen
as the vote OF those States was declared, the
firm, strong under-current Of public opinion
was that what must be made to happen was
IN honest count, and that the result, no mat
ter whether it elect HAYES or T11DES, must
be abided by. That feeling is growing
hourly. It makes certain that the country
will be safe under the Presidency Of either,
and that the day is far distant when We need
despair Of the Republic. And SO begins
another week, with the result of the Presi-
Dental election still unascertained.
, 1876-11-12

The elections being over, and the Represent
atives of this city in the Legislature having
been chosen, it is advisable that there should
be an intelligent and careful consideration of
the legal wants Of the city, that these
Representatives may go to Springfield in
January with some definite idea of the serv-
ice required Of them.
The City of Chicago is not alone in the
need for Legislative remedy in the matter Of
the Revenue law. All the other cities in the
State are in the same distress, and the Rep
resentatives Of Chicago will find in the Leg;s-
lnture the delegates from other cities anxious
and willing to cooperate in any measure Of
relief. As the case stands now, unless there
be some change in the law, the governments
of cities in this State must suspend their
functions. The direct evils under which
this city with all others in n1inois) suffers
are: !. The inability to enforce the co1lec-
ton of taxes. 2. The consequent loss of
revenue, necessitating suspension of gov
ernment or the creation of Illegal debt.
8. The failure Of the law to provide for the
collection Of unpaid taxes for former years.
Municipal corporations havo no means Of
support save by the revenue from taxes; the
levy Of taxes is confined to specific appropria-
tions for current expenditures the ta1-levy
is therefore reduced to the minimum, and the
failure to collect the tax leaves The CITY with
a large deficit in revenue.
The Courts Of Illinois have followed the
doctrine that to demand tax Of citizen is
on par with indicdng him for crime that, if
the citizen pleads defect in the Indictment
or tax-warrant, the accused is entitled to
every presumption Of innocence Of any in-
debtedness for taxes, The trial is conducted
with all the severity Of construction in favor
Of the accused, and, if there be the slightest
defect OF technicality on which he can be &C.
quilted, the Court pronounces him innocent,
and lectures the public authorities upon the
despotism of attempting to make man pay
taxes to support the Government of the city.
Where an Indictment for horse-stealing is set
ASIDE for informality, the accused may be ze-
indicted, tried, and convicted; but, where a
, 1876-11-12

Once more is heard from our illinois e1-
Governor, PA1a1En,-the same who yet burns
with indignation unquenchabie at Pm1
sHn1DAss usurpation in posting q small de-
tach1nent OF troops here to protect the citi-
zens after the great fire. PALMER would burn
with Il new indignation this time, but that in
stead he prefers to sitin Judgment Itis upon
President GRANT; and sitting in judgment
upon his orders to Gen SHERMAN to see that
no overturning Of the ballot-box by violence
be permitted in Louisiana, our Ex-Governor
delivers himself to the effect that SIN brief,
GRANT is not responsible" If it's comfort
to PALMER to talk in that fashion about the
Presidents dispatches to SHERMAN, GRANT
can afford to let him PA1MEn) enjoy it.
But the Ex-Governor may thank his fortune
1t the verdict passed upon himself, when his
career IS judged, is that he wasn't RESPONSE
bic
, 1876-11-12

The Associated Press agent ut Charleston,
S. c., is paving the way for the disamecable
process of climbing down." He has, since
e1ection-day, relGtously held to the opinion
that South Carolina had gone Democratic.
It has only been IN opinion. but the agent
was compelled, from the unfortunate circum-
stances Of his location, to give it to the coun-
try daily. The time has come, however,
when respect for the truth or the fear of
being accused of willfm misrepresentation
has riumphed over local pride, and this
veritable chronicler Of daily events hes an
nouneed to the country that Mr. T11pEss
majority in that State has fallen much more
behind that of HAsR1os's than was expect
ed In fact, he thinks the formers majority
IN the State may possibly be less than 100.
He still sticks to HAMPTON, however.
, 1876-11-12

NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 11.-IIad the National con-
test been decided elsewhere, the Republican vic
tory would not be questioned Us to this State.
Now Democrats from all quarters sending
appeals to Louisiana Democrats 10 insure DEM
critic majority at all hazards. 4 dispatch from
the Chicago Times Office, published in the Demo-
crdt here, says: ''All eyes aud hopes turn toward
Louisiana II you timely submit to dscnfran-
chisement, the end is defeat for hope and reform.
The North will say God-speed to cleaning out of
the PACKARD and KELLOGG scoundrels." This Is
only sample Of the incendiary dispatches sent to
this iuhammablc people.
and publish such IN appeal to violence and
threat of war as is contained in this dispatch
to the mndmen in New Orleans. It is we'll
known that the returns Of the late election in
Louisiana have not been made and will not
be completed for several days to come. Be-
fore the result can be known to any one
these mad1nen insist that the State
has gone and must be counted for
TnDES, and if necessary that such
result must be enforced by nightly civil
war. The Chicago dispatch urges these peo-
pie to make this war and declare the vote for
TuDEs, and this before any one knows or
can know how the State has voted The
American people will demand fair and hon
est election. The facts, however, are neces-
sary TO an understanding Of the truth. When
these facts are ascertained and the truth
made known the country will demand that
there be IN honest result declared in Louis
lana, no matter whether it elect TMpEs or
HAYES. An honest election is far more i'm
portant than the election Of any one man
over another; and the country, Democrats
and Republicans, will, when the facts are
known, SO insist upon declaration Of the
honest result that no man, unless madman
or an incendiary, will dare to take arms to
secure an opposite declaration. The send
ing of such dispatch to New Orleans was
50 criminal, as well as so stupid, that we
question whether the editor of the Times, at
his advanced age, had any part in the pro-
,eed;ng. He certainly can have no desire to
witness the bloody and ruinous results which
his dispatch, emanating from his office, ad-
rises and insticates.
, 1876-11-12

ed, he would not be q candidate for re-elec-
ton. Mr. T11DEN, in his letter Of accept
ance, while declining to make any q self-im-
| posed restrictions" declared that the re-elec-
ton Of q President should be prohibited BY
constitutional provision. Here, then, are the
two candidates at the recent election both
testifying to the fatal effects Of having more
than one term for each President.
The country Inns just passed through
most intense and extraordinary excitement
over the choice of President. For sl1 sue
cessive months it has engrossed the public
mind. It has led to al manner OF ezeesses.
It has led to the expenditure Of millions OF
dollars to corrupt and debauch the public
morals. It has flooded tho country with
torrent Of calumny, vituperation, and per
jury. It has lowered the standard Of Official
and personal purity in public estimation
The active campaign has been attended with
more or less drunkenness and personal ex-
cesses. Young men have become involved
in the whirl of party excitement, and have
become familiar with e1cesses and dissipa-
ton to which they would otherwise have
been strangers. Health, and money, and
time, and good morals, have been sacrificed
In less than two years the subject Of the
succession will be again agitated and the
popular mind put in training for the next
campaign, so thst the actual rest from one
campaign to the other never exceeds two
years. In the present case all the excite
men.s preceding the election have followed
it and Il: demagogues are trying to fan that e1-
citemsnt into civil war
This is altogether too frequent. Tolength-
en- the term to six years would give the
country time to recover from one exciting
season before engaging in the next.
When Congress meets in December one of
the wisest things that could be done would !
be to submit to the country an article Of the
Constitution extending the Presidential term
to SIX years, and making the President ine1i-
gible for two terms in succession. Such q
provision, we have no doubt, would be vel
coined by the people, who have become
wearied and exhausted by the ferceness and
intensity Of the late election.
, 1876-11-12

The announcement made in the last issue
Of The TRIBUNE by telegraph from Spring
field, Of the death Of Gen. BLACK, the Dem
ocratic candidate for Congress from the
Fourteenth District in this State, was incor-
rect. A dispatch before US from Gen.
BLACK himself states that he is not only
not dead, but better than he has been for q
long time past It is not given to every man
to read his own obituaries, but, as Gen.
B1AcK's have already begun to appear, he
Will have an opportunity Of knowing what
people honestly think Of him. As the
In Memorin1ns in the Generals case are
likely to be very pleasant and handsome, he
will at least fiud compensation for the orig
inal error in some very aattering reading.
, 1876-11-12

It Will be seen by reference to our
Washington special this morning that sena-
:ors LOGAN and EDMUEDs declined to 60 to
Louisiana to see to it, as suggested by Presi-
dent GRANT, that a fair canvass be made Of
the Louisiana election returns. The
Hon WILLIAM IL EvARrs, Judge STAN
LEY MATTHEWS, Ben HARRISON of Indi-
ana, e1-Gov. JoHS A. Dn, E. RocKwooD
HoAn, E. ". S7ouGHToS, e1-Gov. E. F.
NoYEs, and others Of equal character and
prominence named in TIE TRIBUNE specials,
it is understood will accept. They will go to
Louisian. backed by the moral support Of
the whole people, and their presence there
will guarantee prompt exposure Of any
attempt at fraud in the count.
, 1876-11-12

man is released from taxation because Of in
formaity in the proceedings. the law does
not provide the means for re-taSiug his
property, and forthwith the community is
subject to q special extra tux to make good
the deficit. The tax-dghter actually fares
better in the Courts-the Judges take q
more humane view of his case, in conse~
quence Of the greater atrocity charged against
him Of owing taxes to support the City Gov
ernment-than does the horse-thief or the
assassin. It is time this view Of taxation
should be changed. The Supreme Court
has lately taken broader view, and, recog-
nizing that Governments are necessary, and
that revenue is necessary to maintain Gov
<ernments, has begun to close the door on all
tax-tighting complaints where the merits or
legality Of the tax itself cannot be question
ed or denied. The Courts, however, cannot
make laws, and the present Revenue law
is sadly deficient. It is based upon the as
sumption that all men are patriotic, honest,
and scrupulously exact in paying their
taxes; but this assumption is fallacious, and
now, not only hero in Chicago, but in all the
other cities, and in various counties, there is
large and growing proportion of the people
who pay no taxes, resorting to the Courts
for protection under defects in the law, and
imposing on the rest of the public IN undue
proportion Of taxation. All over the State
there is branch Of the legal profession that
undertakes tax-fghting on shares.
Chicago wants some legal provision made
under which can he collected the So, 100000
of back taxes which have been evaded. It
also wants some provision of law by which
the tax can be collected when due. At
present tho property-owner who does not
fight his tax borrows the amount from the
city, county, and State, paying 10 per cent
therefor, and pays at his leisure. The city
ought to be able to realize at tax-sale the
whole of its revenue, and for this end there
must be some change in the law.
We hope the Common Council will invite
to the consultations on this subject the best
and most experienced citizens, and
that with the aid of legal advice there be
prepared between now and january such
bills for the amendment of the Revenue law
rs will secure the reforms needed.
, 1876-11-12

FREQUENCY OF ELECTION EXCITEMENTs.
We have no doubt there will be general
| acceptance Of the suggestion that our cleo
tons for President are altogether too fre-
quent Once in four years is too often
for such general uphcaval of the coun-
try and the universal excitement attend
ant thereon There is no stability in the
Executive Department. The first two years
of new Executive are occupied in the dis
tribution Of patronage and in preparing for
legislation; the next two years are spent in
preparing for the succession. A year before
the Presidents term is over he has been
either set aside by his own party or is can
didate for reelection, and, in either case, has
ceased to control his own party and the gon-
eral public. This is not by any means new
question. It has been discussed for many
years. As long ago as in JAcksoN's term it
was pressed, and, while popular with the peo-
pie, it has never found favor with the poll
ticians. The objection to one term, and
that of sir years, has been that it reduces
the chances of candidates to obtain that
Office. A man at GO years Of age desiring
and expecting the Presidency can afford 10
wait for the expiration Of but few four-year
terms, and would have even less hope if the
terms were made six years each An annual
election would not he too frequent for these
people. The Government, however, was
not instituted for oficeholders, but for the
general welfare, and these frequent elections
are injurious to the interests Of the country
and destructive Of the public morals.
The adoption of constitutional provision
fixing one term for the President, and that
term to be six years, would give to the Presi-
dency stability and independence to which
the Office is now stranger. Tho President
is now mere Office agents. man whose
business is not to select persons to fill Office,
but to appoint the mon to Office who have
been selected By the members of Congress
Of his party. Unless the President do this,
then the Senate will refuse to confirm the
Of any other persons, and the
President will be abandoned by his party in
Congress. If, however, the President have
no hope for reelection, and have sir years of |
Office, he can afford to be independent, md
can appeal to the people from Congress at |
the intermediate elections. So strongly i'm
pressed was Gov. HAYES on this subject. that
he frankly wrote his declaration that, if elect
, 1876-11-12

If Louisiana or any other State has voted
Democratic, let it be SO counted; but That is
very different from taking the canvassing Of
the returns out of the hands Of the authori-
ties and by force declaring result without
reference to the real result Of the vote. To
this the country will not submit, and if Mr.
TnDEs be defeated, even if by one vote, he
must abide the result, and the Solid South
must submit, just Us they were forced to
submit to the election Of A1r. LINCOLN in
1860
, 1876-11-12

The Chicago Times takes exception to the
position of TIE TRIBUNE that the party out
of power has the advantage Of the party in
power, in political campaign, and says:
It has been supposed that the incumbents Of the
Offices are more or less affected by anxiety about
the result OF elections involving their official ten
ure, and that when the political contest bids fair
to be close, they will make some pccuniary sacri-
fees for the sake Of their party and their share OF
the spoils. 1t has also been supposed that the
officeholders generally have friends who are more
or less Influenced in their political action by per-
sonal considerations. It each of the 20, 600 place.
holders under the National Government has half
dozen personal friends who would be sorry to see
him turned ont Of Office, there is a solid army of
nearly half million for the support Of the party
III power, and this number exceeds the majority
generally cast for President on the popular vote,
The view which the Times takes is only cor
rect as applied to Democrats in Office. The
argument of The TRIBUNE was applicable
only to Republicans in Office. It is we'll
known fact that a Democrat in office will
mortgage his property, chattel-mortgage his
body, and forfeit his soul, to keep in, and
that MI his re1atives will gather round him
and try to keep him in but this is not true
Of Republicans. The half-dozen relatives of
the Republican in Office are not going to
waste their substance in his behalf On
general principles the Times knows very
well, if it knows anything, that, where there
is one man who expects Office of the party
in power, there ara ten men who ex-
pect it Of the party out Of power
when it gets in. The hungry and long
famished wolf outside the fold will
make greater effort to get into it than the
full dog inside Will make to keep him out
The hungry animal is keen, active, and do
termined; the full one is slow and supine
The Times furthermore makes no account of
the envies, jealousies, and heartburnings of
those outside towards those inside, in the same
party. There are scores Of men probably in
this city who feel that they ought to be
Postmasters who would do nothing to re-
tain the present one in his position There
are scores who think that they ought to have
places in the Custom-House and Revenue
who will spend no money or
make no effort to retain the present Col
ectors in their places. It makes no
ng upon vague expectations and direct |
promises, in which the Democrats are
1otoriously profuse, and Of the fact that, if !
hey refuse to be bled, they forfeit all claim
o Office, direct or indirect. The 10000 !
olace-ho1ders of whom the Times speaks |
indeed hold the fort; but what Of the 700, 600 |
;torming the fort with empty stomachs, heat
ID imaginntions, vivid fancies, and the des-
'eration that always grows out of starvation,
'ach one overrating the value, perquisites,
md capncity Of the Office for which he has
ought, bled, and died? There is no force
;nown in the whole world Of Science or
Nature like that of q Democrat nfter an Office
The only parallel for his desperation is that
# starving dog gnawing at bone he has
onnd in the gutter
, 1876-11-12

cast in the three Congressional Districts
here aggregate $4,000 In making the ap-
portionment in this State, Lake and DuPage
Counties were attached to Cook to entitle us
to three members; but St. Louis County,
with 27, 900 votes less than Cook County,
has also three members. How did that hap
pen? The truth is, St. Louis lacss the
population OF this city by $4,000 or up
wards, as shown by their deficiency Of votes.