The weekly Oskaloosa herald. [volume] (Oskaloosa, Iowa) 1855-1885, 1876-10-26
SPEECH OF HON. CHAs. BEARDSLEY.

SPEECH OF HON. CHAS. BEARDSLEf.
Last Saturday evening, after near
" week of rain, the weather was
wet, cold and disagreeable, and fears
were entertained that even for such
popular speaker as DR.. BEARDsLEY,
the crowd would be small, but all
were destined to be agreeably disap-
pointed, for after short parade OF
companies b, G and d, of First
Regiment Mahaska Co. Hayes and
Wheeler guards, the procession
marched to the hall, and in less than
five minutes after the last torch-bear-
er was in the room, every seat In the
large court room was filed over ioo
stood in the aisles, and no less than
three hundred were turned away
from the hall, unable to find standing
room even. 1t was fine ovation TO
a worthy speaker, and after listening
for nearly two hours to the doctors
mastery handling of the questions of
the day, no one regretted being there,
(unless he was a hard-shell Demo
craft and the numerous hearty and
prolonged rounds Of applause that
greeted the many splendid hits, at
tested to the quality of the speech.
All the older citizens knew the doc
tor as an editor, (for he was editor of
the HERALD during the dark days of
the rebellion but few knew him as
speaker, and all were anxious to
hear HIM; and if the vigorous hand
shakes he received over his success
did not lame his arm, then he ought
to rent that arm out for a pu mp han
die. We shall not attempt a full
synopsis of his speech, but simply
notice few points he made. His
documentary proof, brief and point
ed, was all authenticated by depart
ment attestations, and were figures
not to be denied. He took up the
losses and defalcations under the
various administrations for 40 years
back, in every department, and show
ed by documents of undoubted verac-
lty, that in every department, nder
eUery administration, the loss was far
greater than under the present, and
that the average loss was ten times
greater under Democratic than Re-
publican rule. This was one reason
why a change was not necessary.
The administration of the civil SER
vice under Democratic rule as shown
by the rebel House last winter, kick
ing Union soldiers out and putting
rebels in, was hardly an argum ent in
favor of change, and any one knows
that was but the beginning of what
would follow if Tilden is elected.
The insane charge that the Republi-
can administration is responsible for
the hard times would hardly hold
good when we remember that Ger
many, France, England and other
European countries are having much
harder times than we arc, and they
will hardly say that the Republican
administration of the U. S., is resporl-
sible therefor, but they might do so
with just as much consistency as the
Democrats do. The other cry that
hard times are caused by scarcity
of paper money will hardly stick, for
we have today 1898, 100000 more
than we had in 1864, when money
was as easy as at any time in our
country's history. The doctor read
a few of the various defalters under
Democratic administrations, by
which the government lost millions
and millions in every department.
The Democratic collector Of the port
of New York from 1929 TO 1888, s.
Swartout, defaulted for a million and
a quarter Of dollars, and when final
ly removed because the country de-
handed it, Jesse Hoyt was appoint
ed TO succeed him, and in two years
managed TO turn up defaulter for
quarter of million. Jake Thomp-
son, one of Buchanan's cabinet Off
GERS stole $4,000. r. r. Crum in
the war department stole 1924, 900,
and so on through a long list of hun
dreds and hundreds, "a full list of
which we will furnish any one upon
application, only few of which the
speaker read. Hardly proper par
ty to trust the government with.
When Democracy was last in power
it couldn't borrow money for less than
II per cent, yet Republicans are now
borrowing at A.. After touching
upon the national questions general
ly and dwelling somewhat upon the
Southern question, the speaker COM
pared the candidates for the Presl-
dency in an able manner, and closed
by reading an extract from a letter
from the gallant Gen. SAMUEL A.
RICE, written in 1868, compared it
with the Copperhead editorials Hen
dershott was writing in those days.
The speech was grand success,
the meeting rouser, and all felt
happy but the Democrats The
various companies escorted the
speaker to the depot, and sent him
whirling homeward with three rous-
ing cheers.
Before the st. Louis Convention
$40 oboroad namncratio ,,apo,o -,