The Leavenworth weekly times., 1878-10-17
blaine OF MAINE.


J perfect ovation. a; his meetings ia iowa
the people turned out alrost en- mas, COM
! ing into the towns from all The surrounding
country for many miies to listen TO bin.
At Chicago last Non4sy night, the Immense
"TabeIlacle" was crowded TO its utmost
over eight thousand people being present
to hear his address, anu the papers sly the
occasion reminded them OF old times, when
Republicanism and Pstrioti-m were synon-
ymous terms. His speech on this occasion
was one Of the most brilliant ever msde in
the State, and was interrupted by freqreut
outbursts OF the widest applause 'ien.
| Logan presided, and when he introduced
Mr. Blaine, the Senator had to wait several
minutes for the applause and che,'- to s.b-
side so that his voice could be heard From
the i'''I-Oc.a'.'s report We copy 'he salient
features OF the address as follows:
| Na. BLAINE SAID:
Mr.. Chairman and cirizers VI Illinois
No man and no party Of men can make "A
political issue that Is not in the minds OF
the people, and this year, wheib"r the peo-
pie like II or not, the currency question IL
dominant and prominent in the minds of
the American people, and it will be there
until il is settled. and il will never lie set
tied, as nothing else is ever settled, until it
is settled right. [Applause The 9ues-
tion on which you are invited TO vote, the
question which engages popular attention
from ocean TO ocean from lake to Gulf is a
peculiar one. For l suppose, Mr. Chair
man, tina; the question is not whether The
people of the Uni'sd States shall go for
ward to the resumption Of specie pay ment,
but whether. having actually reached spe-
Gle payment, they will, by positive legisla
tiob, go backward and adopt irredeemable
paper currency. Because | submit in tie
presence of men here who are far more COM
petent than 1 TO speak Of it, ! submit to
those who have resided longest in theWesr,
that there never was nor has been a time
since Chicago was city-fully forty years
now, or more-theie never has been a time
when the papr money circulated among
the people.
so MAR TO GOLD VALUE
as the 500, 100000 of paper money in the
United States is tonight. [Applause i
appeal TO those who have known it longest
and known it best for the truth Of this as
sertion. And, practically having, as ! say
by series of wise measures, based upon
a series Of biiterest experiences, having
brought the currency Of this country up to
practical equality with coin, and being
just ready 10 welcome coin into circulation
Ia hundred millions waiting to leap into
the channels of circulation-the question
is now whether We will keep the matter
there and welcome the coin, or whether we
will 60 backward and expel the coin, and
20 once mole on the sea of irredeema able
promise, and all the evils that are attend
ing upon it. / turn the issue upon the
gentlemen who
TALK ABOUT RESUMPTION
| They come to us and picture the harGships
Of resumption. Why. The hardships
that are CONNECTED with il have been gone
through with. We have made the sacrifi-
css; We have gone clear through with them,
and We have Zone until We are now on Pis-
gah's top looking right down into the prom
ised land. lApplause. It is inviting and
pleasant, and cheerful, and prosperous, and
just as We are going in TO enjoy its fruits
up etc. the modern Greenback party and
saws, "Now, don't take a step in that di-
rection; come back. and wander foriv
years more in the financial wilderness"
Loud Applause and Laughter Now,
MIR. Chairman, il is worth while, | think,
to look briefly a: the question historically,
TO look at the facts which have brought us |
where We nov stand and have brought us
face TO face with the situation as il is
SEVENTEEN YEARS Ago
the United States was called upon to con-
tr,,r
troubles-a revolt in eleven States, a rebel |
lion OF unparalleled magnitude, a treasury
empty, credit that had been well nigh |
biasted-snd under these circumstances Mr.. |
Lincoln, then President of The United States
assembled Codgress on the 4ih day Of July.
1861, to take into consideration the gravity |
Of the situation and provide for the main
tenance OF the government. TIE first step
taken by that Congress, financially, was 10
authorize the Secretary Of the Treasury TO
borrow G0O0,0 ,000 on the faith and credit
Of the government. He was further au-
thorized TO issue S50,000000 OF demand
notes, and put them in circulation as mon
ey. Ii was done; you remember them;
they were paid out; and during The mill
tary emergency that was rendered still
more embarrassing and complicated by
threatened troubles with England, growing
ou; Of the cases OF Slidell and Mason, the
banks of the United States.
SUSPENDED SPECIE PIGMENTS,
and the Government of the United States
followed suit per force. And in one of the
last days OF December, '6l, S3,000,000 of
United States demand notes went TO protest
in the city of New York, at the Assistant
Treasurer office. The United States being
compelled TO do Just what you or have to
do if We owe a note and cannot pay tive
60 to protest, and the United States did the
same. The Congress OF the United States,
after the holidays in that year, in j Jznuary,
'92, met sgain with an empty treasury; it
met with discredited national currency,
and it was then compelled 10 take that
step, unprecedented Heretofore in the his
tory OF the United States, a step which had
never been taken before in any other coun-
try, except with disaster, but step render
ed imperiously necessary by the gravity and
the embarrassment Of the situation; mean
the step which authorized the Secretary of
the Treasury to issue Sl50,000000 of cur
reIcy.
PAPER CURRENCY
and pronounce it legal tender for all
between man and man. An
step l say, and yet, Mr..
have never had any patience
at all with those gentlemen who have been :.
wise after the facts, and who have assured
us that they saw the misstep and mistake
on the part of the government. 1t was
neither. 1t vas the dictate of absolute ne
cessity which knows no law. The gentle |.
man may be very wise to discuss calmly
now the ethics of the measure we we're COM
PEELED to take. Applause And it was
no time to find quibbles and constitutional ,
points. When we were taking men by the
thousands and tens of thousands, and hum
dreds of thousands, and placing them in the