The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1877-10-04
SENATOR THURMANS views.


MARION, o September 22.-The follow
ing is short synopsis of Senator Thur
mans speech to. day. A large audience
of representative Democrats and many
Republicans were in attendance. Senator
Thurman spoke two hours. His remarks
covered the question first relative to the
disputed Presidential election. Mr.. Thur
man claimed the fair and undoubted cleo
ton of Samuel ], Tilden to the Presiden'
cy; that the count by the Returning
Board of Louisiana and of Florida was
fraudulent, and the methods by which
the final results were arrived at in these
States we've clearly illegal under the law
which created the returning boards, 10
say nothing of the unconstitutionallty OF
the act itself He claimed that the Elec-
toral Commission, in refusing to hear eV'
idence of want of jurisdiction in the re-
turns of Florida and Louisiana, were clear
lv in error. He warned the people OF the
dangers of closely contested elections II
such proceedings did not receive their
severe and immediate condemnation.
Second-Senator Thurman claimed that
the policy of President Hayes was pre-,
cisely that which he mr. Thurman mad
contended for during the past ten years,
He contrasted this policy with the speech.
es of Republican partisans last year, and
drew the conclusion that the Democracy
were right as the result in the South had
proven,
Third-He claimed the necessity of re-
form in the administration of John SheI-
man; in evi IenCe showing by his speech
that an array of useless relatives had ied
upon the Government for years, drawing
nav for no services whatever to the amont
of nearly S2OOO,0O0 in portion of the
cnstoms service and the Treasury Depart
ment,and claimed that this indicated ex-
travagance in all the departments of the
Government, and that reform IN the i'll'
lest sense of the word could only be Sc
cured bv a complete change OF admins
tration and in all departments and ,su61or;,
dinate positions, by placing men who had
no interest in concealing and covering up
the wrong-doings of the past.
In reference to the depression of busl'
ness and the want of employment of Ia
bor. the Senator said that without refer
ring to the destruction of property in the
civil war ard the peculiar circumstances
to which the war gave rise, there were
three great causes that deserved notice;
6rst the effect of improved labor-saving
machinery; second, of fexorbitant taxation;
third of the appreciation in the value OF
the currency-that is, in the purchasing
power of the dollar. He spoke at some
length of the effect of each of these cads-
es and in reference to the last said that,
however desirable return to a sound ba-
sis for our currency might belt could not
be denied that it was severe operation
upon people or governments in debit that
experience showed that we were reach
ing the specie basis as fast as just re-
gard to the interests ofthe country would
permit, and that to force resumption was
neither Just nor polite. He feared that
forced resumption could not be maintain
ed, but thought that without arbitrary
measures resumption would take place in
a comparatively short time and would
be maintained. He explained the acts OF
Congress demonetizing silver, and adyo-
Gated remonetizing the dollar ofthe faith
ers as an act of simple justice as well as
of good policy.