Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1876-12-08
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.
To The Senate and House Of R6pre.
,,.Suts1oc

annual InessabSc " lOnSTesS,Lt SeeHla
proper that should refer to, and IN
some degree recapitulate, the events
and official acts of the past eight
years.
1t was my fortune or misfortune
to be called to the office of Chief ex-
ecutive without any previous pollti-
cal training. From the age Of II l
had never even witnessed the excite.
ment attending presidential cam
paign but twice antecedent to my
own candidacy, and at but one OF
them was l eligible rs u voter. I'm
der such circumstances it il but rea-
sonable to suppose that
ERRORS OF JUDGMENT
must have occurred. Even had they
not, differences of opinion between
the executive, bound by an oath to
the strict performance Of his duties,
and writers and debatcrs, must have
arisen. 1t is not necessarily evidence
OF blunders on the part of the execu-
tive because there are these difference
es of views. Mistakes have been
made, as all can see and as I admit;
but it seems to me oftencr in
SELECTIONS OF ASSISTANTS
appointed to aid in carrying out the
various duties of administering the
Government, in nearly every case Sc
lected without personal acquaint-
ance with the appointee, but upon
recommendations Of the representa-
tives chosen directly by the people.
1t is impossible, where so many
trusts are to be allotted, that the
right parties should be chosen in ev-
cry instance. History shows that
administrations, from the time of
Washington to the present, have not
been free from such mistakes. But
leave comparisons to history, claim
ing only that l have acted, in every
instance, from a conscientious desire
to do what was right, constitutional,
within the law, and for the very best
interests of the whole people. Fail
ures have been in errors of Judgment,
not intent.
MY CIVIL CAREER
commenced, too, at Il most critical
and difficult time. Less than four
years before, the country had emerg-
ed from a conflict such as no other
nation had ever survived. Nearly
one halt of the States had rebelled
against the Government, and of
those remaining taithfulto the Union,
large percentage of the public
sympathised with the rebellion, con-
stituting an enemy in the rear al
most as dangerous as
THE MORE HONORABLE ENEMY
in the front. The latter committed
errors of Judgment, but they main
tanned them openly and courageous,
ly. The former received the protec-
ton of the Government they would
see destroyed, and reaped all the Pc
cuniary advantage to be gained out
of the then existing state of affairs,
many of them by obtaining contracts
and by
SwINDLING THE GOVERNMENT
in the delivery of their goods. I'M
mediately on the cessation of hosti-
tiles, the then noble President, who
had carried the country So far through
its perils, fell martyr to his patriot
ism at the hands of an assassin. The
intervening time to my first inaugu-
ration was filled up with wrangli..gs
between Congress and the new exec
utive as to the best mode of recon-
struction, or, to speak more plainly,
as to whether the control of the
Government should be thrown i'm
mediately into the hands of those
who had SO emily and persistent
ly tried to destroy it, or whether the
victors should
HAVE AN EQUAL VOICE
with them in its control. Recon
struction as finally agreed upon means
this and only this, except that the
late slave was enfranchised, giving
an increase, as was supposed, to the
Union loving and Union supporting
voters. If free in the full sense OF
the word, they would not have dis.
appointed this expectation. Hence
at the beginning Of my first admins
tration, the work of reconstruction,
much embarrassed and delayed by
the disputes between Congress and
the Executive, was virtually accom-
plishcd. This was the work of the
Legislative bodies of the government.
My province was wholly IN APPROX
ing these acts-which / did most
heartily, urging the Legislatures CT
States that had not yet done so, to
ratify the fifteenth amendment to
the constitution The country was
laboring under an enormous debt,
contracted in the suppression of re-
belllon, SO oppressive as to discour-
age production. Another danger al
SO threatened us
FOREIGN WAR.
This last difficulty had to be adjusted
end was adjusted without war, and
in manner highly honorable to all
parties concerned.
TAXES HAVE BEEN REDUCED
within the last seven years nearly
three hundred millions of dollars,
and the national debt has been re-
duced in the same time over four
hundred and thirty-five millions of
dollars. By refunding the 6 per
cent. bonded debt for bonds bearing
5 and ~ per cent. respectively, the
annual interest has been reduced
from over $l30,OOO,OOO in 1869 to
but little over $lOO,0oO,OOO in 1876.
THE BALANCE OF TRADE
has been changed from over $780,
100000 against the United States in
1869 to more the sl2O,OOO,OOO in our
favor in 1876. 1t is confidently be-
lieved that the balance of trade in
favor of the United States will in
crease, and not diminish, and that
the pledge of Congress to
RESUME SPECIE PAYMENTS
in 1879 will be easily accomplished,
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