The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1878-10-03
The Presidents Speech at Toledo.
After speaking some time, the President
0uched our financial troubles. He said:

say, my friends, that in material wealth
we nave all the essential elements, and yet
it is in your thoughts, can almost read it in
your faces, that for five years past there has
been stagnation in business, and the depres-
sion still seems to exist. Now, the few
plain words that I desire to say on this sub
| ject are, first, a word or two as to the cause.
The opinion known to most men is that the
war is the cause of it. Now, my friends,
what was the cause OF that extraordinary
and remarkable event happening in 1873?
There is no mystery in it. 1t was bound to
be, sooner or later You could not escape
it. See this line of soldiers marching along.
I was delighted to have them as my escort
this morning. dressed in the old uniform.
There was no nonsense about them. The
war made the hard times, as war always
does. What is war? We know what it is
Fa.ow. When that war began we were threat
ened with its effccts-with its results. re-
| member a brilliant writer in Cincinnati,
i where resided in 1860, who said Why,
\ this country can't go to war. He said that
I, the people of Cincinnati live on the business
/ in the South. Let us go to war, and in six
months the grass will grow in your byways
and streets. Did it? Why, my friends,
the war hadn't been prosecuted ninety days
until every man saw what mistake it was,
and that every street was buster than before.
A million of men in the South were taken
| from the ranks of industry, and instead of
making property they became destroyers
| and consumers of property. So it was in the
| North; but every man who had wheat or
corn or coal or labor found, when war came,
that he had better customer than ever be-
fore-a customer that wanted all he had
and wanted it immedately-a customer who
would not haggle about the price. That Gus
toner he had in the person of the United
States, and business, instead of being de-
pressed, began to revive. Property which
had laid on the shelves Of the merchants for
a long time increased in value day by day.
The result of it then was we made money
fast; we made it easily. We could not af
ford to borrow at high rates of interest, be-
cause our investments were sure to be prof
table. Our trading and fast living were the
result of the war. [ need not enlarge on it,
Finally the war ended, men in the ranks re-
turned to their homes, and the material
needs OF the Government began to go down.
You lost your best customer-the United
States. 1t didn't want to buy. 1t wanted
to sell. Now, every wise man knew we
should have a day OF settlement. The flush
times of war were to be followed by hard
times, like these we have lately known, and
there is the cause. Now, my friends, it is
sufficient to say that it is written in the laws
of political economy that wars are followed
by hard times and panics. The only mys-
terry in the whole thing is that the hard
times did not come before they did. Now.
we have got the cause what is the effect?
The moment we began to have hard times
we began to retrench-every man to cut his
expenses down and to curtail his expendi-
lures. Each man in little while began to
find himself a little better off than he was.
It may be long time-one year, two years,
L., ,I,<x, H. ,1rrf 70 t1ox
and the majority get their expenses less
than their receipts, then we are all better
off. The Government of the United States
is the people of the United States. When
you are all extravagant the Government will
be extravagant. When you are all getting
to watch yourselves, to watch each par
ticular point, you set your officers to watch
ing more particularly. When the war end
ed we had debt of So, 400, ,000 on our
shoulders, upon which we were paying sew
en-three per cent. interest. Our taxes were
raised to nearly $500, 100000 in a time OF
profound peace. Our currency was worth
sixty or seventy cents on the dollar. In our
foreign trade the balance was against us
nearly 500, 900, 000a year, and now how are
we? The debt is reduced nearly third.
How many wise man shook his head at the
close of the war and said the people can
never pay the debt? Why, VIC have got
third Of it paid off already. That interest
which you paid is reduced from $40, O00, 900
to $95, 000,0 900. We no longer pay seven
three per cent. interest. We can get all the
money we want at four per, cent. What
does this mean for you and / {? Those who
borrow money know that when the Govern
ment pays seven per cent. it will cost them
twelve and fifteen per cent. and when the
Government pays six and four it will go
down for us, and so as the credit OF the Gov
eminent grows better, your credit and mine
grows better. We are down to four per cent.
on interest; and now as to the currency.
1t was a currency worth sixty cents on the
dollar on one day, but did not stick at that
price. You never could tell on Monday
what it would be on Saturday, Who lost by
the tickle standard of values? Always the
laborer and producer. Why? Simply be-
cause the middle-man, being business
man, understands that the standard of value
is likely to 60 up or go down to his advant-
age. Therefore, when he sells he does it
having reference to the fact that the standard
of value may change, and consequently he
charges enough to make himself safe, and
the consumer heals the loss. That is a tickle
standard of value. [Applause.l Now, my
friends, how do you see it to-day? The cur
rency has been going up, up, until it is nine
ty-nine and half. 1t is as interchangeable
as Lake Erie. 1t does not go down at all.
1t is steady. 1t is no longer a yard stick
that is one foot in March, three feet in May,
and six feet in July. 1t is three feet all the
time. Tremendous applause.l Now, my
friends, that is the currency. AS to our bal
ance of trade, Before the panic the bal
ance of trade was against US Sl,OO0,00O
year-that is to say, we bought abroad that
much more than we sold abroad. How IS it
to day? We are selling more produce than
ayyo hofOrn in Ollr hict0rV-m0rn
wheat, We have even gone so far as to take
watches made at Elgin, Ill.,, and made in
New England, and carry them right over
to the foot of the Alps, where the people
have been making watches for three hundred
years, and selling the watches to those peo-
Pile. Now, my friends, as l said before, we
are selling s207 900, 900 a year abroad more
than we are buying abroad. How does that
operate? Like every man who sells more
than he buys-he is getting rich. So it is
with the United States. You each OF you
are getting out of the panic. We are all
getting out of the panic, and nothing but
our own unwisdom will get us into it again.
What do we want? We want confidence.
Do not encourage your Legislature or your
Congress to legislate too much. 1t was
favOrite maxim with Jefferson that the world
was governed too mucn. Too much legisla-
ton on financial subjects is the bane OF our
times. My 1r1enuS, let us all Hoiu up our
hands in favor of letting well-enough alone,
and standing firmly by our present con stitu-
tional currency, that destroys no man.
[Great applause. ssse5gAg
Miss Jeanette Bennett, daughter Of the
late James Gordon Bennett, of the New
York Hereld, was married at Newport, r,
l., on the 18th inst, to Mr.. Isaac Bell, of
New York. The affair was quiet, and the
bridal presents valued at 100000.
Elk. Gov. Sam Bard, well known in news
paper circles, and at one time postmaster at
Atlanta, died at Baton Rouge, La, on the
10Th. He was publishing a paper in that
place.
ITCHING PILEs.-The symptoms ale
moisture, like perspiration. il tense itching
increased by scratching, very distressing
particularly at night as if pin worms were
crawling in and about the rectum, the pri-
vate parts are sometimes affected if allowed
to continue, very serious results may follow.