The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-08-21

. AG O124N LIN G1k w ILL
tinued to hold the senate and the presidency,
aud to have ths consequent power TO negative
any measure of relief democratic house OF
representatives might propose. i.
Is there, then, any injustice in calling that
party to account for the evils the country has
suffered and yet suffers? Can 1t with truth be
said that these evils could not be foreseen. or,
If foreseen, could not have been avoided or
diminishedg He would be bold man who
would make that assertion. For, although no
government ever was, or ever Will be. omnis-
cient and omnlPotent, although disasters have
happened that no rulers, however wise, could
have foreseen or averted, yet the d sasters OF
which am speaking are not of that character,
and might have been foreSeen and, to great
extent, prevented. 1t is but justice, then, to
say to our republican rulers, you have had ev-
cry opportunity to do good and avert evil, and
you have failed to do either. You have had
opportunities such as no other party ever en-
joyed to benefit your country, and you have,
by want of Intelligence or virtue, or both,
brought 1t TO the verge of ruin. 1t is time,
high time, that you surrender the reins of gov
ernment.
this topic, let me call your attention to some
particulars. II is not uncommon to hear IL as
serted that there has been no contraction of
the currency, and it is but a few months since
the chairman of the finance committee of the
senate asserted that the charge of contraction
was simply ga contraction of the truth" But
what is the truth? shall not go into the dis
puted que stion of what, for practical purposes,
constituted our currency at the end of the war
fine myself to the three years and half that
have elapsed since the passage of the resump-
ton act, January IA, 1915, and to what is unde-
niable currency-namely, greenoacks and ma
Now, ON January IA, 1873, there were out
standing:
OF greenbacks, in round numbers. $685., 100000
On June i, 3i6 ,6el s6
Decrease. S3a, 1881
On January IA, 1875, there were outstanding:
OF national bank Isl ,S6l $50
On June l, 22,5I5965
S29, SOo 4S5
So that, since the passage of the resum ption
act, the decrease in greenbaczs and bank notes
-303 ,9S4 plus 20 800, 4S5 has produced a
traction of s6i, 634 469. IL to this be added the
Sill. 9OS of greenbacks on deposit in the treas
ury for the REDEEM ption of bank notes, and
which are, consequently, W thdrawn from cir
culation, the contraction amounts To over
S6,0UO,O0O, being at the rate of over one millian
eight hundred Thousand dollars per month.
But, say the advocates of the resumption
act, this contraction was necessary in order 10
resume specie payment on January l, 1879.
Now, fellow citizens, it is one thing to begin
specie pay me mt, and it is quite another thing
to maintain it. 1t is quite probable that the
secretary OF the treasury can begin TO pay spe-
Gle for greenbacks on January l, 1879, and that
most, If not all, of the banss can begin to pay
specie or greenbacks at the same time; but the
great question iemainS, could such specie pay
ment be maintained? If II could not why
should the people be ground between the mp
specie payments somewhat earlier than the
condition Of the country would insure It's con-
tinuance? On this question the following facts
of value:
Great Britain and France are prominently
the hard money countries of chriStendOm.
The former has, in coin and bullion, about
three dol airs for every dollar of her paper
money. OF course she can maintain specie
pay ments, at least so long as she avoids war.
France has more meta lie than paper money,
and, when at peace. can easily maintain spe-
Gle payment. But the United States
nat Nn1In
for every dollar in coin, and even a
little war, or a change in the balance of trade,
might, so long as that dispropoTtion exists
make shipwreck of their pretended specie
payment. According to the best information
1 can obtain, the product of our mines is
likely TO fail or 1t is probable that the maxi
mum product has been reached, and that, un
less new and valuable mines be discovered,
there will henceforth be steady decrease in
production; but, nevertheless, If the balance
of trade should continue in our favor the in
huX of gold and silver, together with the pro-
duct of the mines. would enable us TO begin
and maintain specie payments quite as soon
as Ustice to the debtor class would permit. If
this be true, why resort to forced resumption?
Why crush the unfortunate in order to antici-
pate, by a comparatively brief period, an adj
vent that would come naturally and unat-
tended with severe distress?
2. / now turn to another topic, the expendi-
lures of the government, to which too little
attention has been paid. L propose to compare
democratic expenditure with republican eX-
penditure, in order that you may judge which
of the two parties is the better entitled to
praise for honest and economical government;
or, to put 1T in another form, which party
ought to be condemned for dishonest and
waSteful extravaganza.
The last fiscal year of democratic admins
tration was that ending June 30, 1860. The or
binary expenses of the government for that
year. exclusive of pensions and interest on
public debt were S5S,955,952.
These expenses, stated in detail were commit
ting cents):
For the war Az, 202
For the navy department.....~.........l l,5l4;649
For the Indian department.............. 299l, III
For the miscellaneous or civil. q y11 ,yIS
Now compare these expenditures with those
OF the last year in which the republican party
had unlimi'e ed control, the fiscal year ending
government for that year exclusive of pen
slOns and interest on the public debit were
Sl42,073,6 32; being $50, $50 in excess of the
last year OF democratic adminiStra ton: or, In
other words the republican expenditures were
nearly two and a half times as great as the
democratic expenditures. But 1T may be said
that our population was much greater In 1870
than IL was in 1850, and that this accounts for
the Increase expenses of government This
explanation will not suffice. The population
in 1850 was 81 ,4i3,S2l, and the expenditures
were al the rate of Sl.S7% per capita. In 1875
the population, as nSriy as it can be esti-
were at the rate of 80 per capita.
Again, IL may be SAID that the increase OF
expenses grew out of the war. This explana-
given ana those / shall hereafter give, eX-
clude the expenditures occasioned by the war,
namely, pensions. the public debt and the in
terest thereon; and confine my comparison TO
the ordinary expenses of government, namely,
the cost of The war, navy, Indian and civil
depar ments in time of peace. The increase
in these departments is shown in detail in the
following table:
DETAILS.
1850. 1875. Increase
War department 1t. 472 2O2 4I,l2O,645 24,64S 443
Navy IL 81 1919 81 ,497 ,626 1882 977
Indian ................ 299ll2 SSSi,656 $685. 5S5
q s77s7s n O7O.7o2 1902 IA
Increase... ........ ............. 80, liz $40
But 1T may be said that the comparison
should not be of single year with a single
year, because special circumstances might
make such n comparison unfair; and that the
IL To- N