The daily gazette., 1878-08-14
Senator Thurman's speech.
BE EFF iNLs HIS FINANCIAL coNsIs.
TENcY-THE ELECTORAL FRAUD
DENOUNCED,

lENCf-IHE ELECTORAL FRAUD
\ DENOUNCED.
Hon. Allen q. Thurman, a Senator
from Ohio, addressed the people of Ham.
llton, In that Slate, yesterday, on the
political situation. He began by defend
Ing hl mself from the charge OF having
surrendered his convictions to appease
popula clamo :" He ha | always beer
hard-money democrat, and the charge
was that he had surrendered his conyic.
tions to appease the clamor Of the green,
hackers. This he denied, saying;
~ have steadily opposed contraction
ever since 1t was inaugurated. | spoke
and voted against the resumption acI
when 1t passed, and at the last session
OF Congress voted for its repeal. work.
Ell ba-d to restore silver to the
place it held before its demonetizatio
Several years ago drew a resolution fol
our State convention favoriDg the grad.
ual substitution of greenbacks for nation.
al bank notes, and that resolution, in.
ljudiciously amended, as l believe every
one now admits, was passed by the con.
ventiOn.
was one of the first to propose In the
Senate that greenbacks should be receiva.
Bile for customs duties, and at the last ses-
sion voted for the making them thus re-
ceivable. l have been the advocate of a
stable currency, and your platform de-
mands stability. / have contended that
the precions metals ought not TO be demo
netized, and the platform asserts the same
doctrine. Ihave spoken and voted against
an increase Of our bonded debt. have
advocated, to the best Of my ability, strict
economy, reduction Of expenditures, and
a revenue tariff. Ny course, therefore,
hafbeen perfectly consistent with the plat
form Of our convention, % the Journals
and debates Of the Senate will show.
And beg leave 10 add that have never
given vote in the nine years have sat
in the Senate TO which exception was
taken by the democracy Of Ohio, so far as
know, or have ever heard.
In regard to unlimited expansion Mr..
Thurman said:
N "It is said that If greenbacks were to
constitute our only paper currency its
volume would depend upon the action Of
Congrt IS, and not upon the natural laws
Of trade, and that as Congress is liable to
be influenced by popular feeling on the
one hand, or the arts and appliances Of
special interests on the other, the curren-
cy would be subject to imitation or con-
traction, as either influence might pre-
vail, to degree that would be ruinous
to business and prosperity.
SIN answer to this objection, and ad-
mittiug that it is not without force, / have
to say, in the first place, that it is equally
dotent whether our paper currency be
greenbacks exclusively or bank-notes ex-
clusively; for, let it be the one or the 9TH
err Congress would have the power to
expand it or contract 1t at will. For ID
stance, were Congress to repeal the tax
on State bank circulation multitude Of
banks would spring up under State laws,
and great imitation of the currency
would take place. On the other hand,
should Congress retain that tax and re-
tire the greenbacks, as the republican
financiers demand, frightful contraction
would result. In brief, if Congress
should have neither sense nor honesty,
it might for theItime being ruin the coun
try; but to assume that would do so
would be to condemn our form of gov
ernment.
"But our platform squarely meets this
difficulty. 1t condemns contraction on
the one hand, or 'kiting' on the other. 1t
demands that the amount of such issues
(greenbacks) be so regulated by legisla-
ton or organic law as to give the people
an assurance of stability in volume of
currency, and consequent stability of
value, and, in unmistakable terms, it op-
poses the demonetization or disuse of the
precious metals"
Touching the events succeeding the
late presidential election, Mr.. Thurman
said
"There is one great drama Of fraud,
one huge black spot upon the national
escutcheon, that cannot be passed by with
a mere allusion. The seat Of the chief
magistrate-that seat that In times past
has been and in all times should be an
emblem of purity and honor-is occupied
by a man who was never elected to 1t,
and whose elevation was accomplished by
the grossest frauds and boldest usurpa-
tions that ever disgraced the history Of a
fee people,"
1 have no time to day to go into de-
tai led statement of these frauds and usur-
how the returning board Of Florida, in
plain violation Of the law Of the State, in
equally plain violation Of che solemn de-
G sion OF the highest court Of the State,
threw out q sufficien number OF demo-
cratic ballots to give tho vote Of the State
to the Hayes electors instead Of to the
Tilden electors, who had been chosen by
the people. Nor how, In like manner,
the returning board Of Louisiana threw
out from six TO eight thousand votes
given to the Tilden electors, thereby dis
franchising the people Of whole precincts
and counties, and completely reversing
the vote of the State. Nor how, by o
vote Of eight to seven In the electoral
commission, all inquiry into these frauds
aud murpations was precluded, and the
doctrine solemnly announced and acted
upon that no matter by what frauds, no
matter BY what illegalities, no matter by
what usurpations returning or canvass
ing board may defeat the will OF the
people, the wrong Is remediless, the con-
stitution is powerless, the people are
helpless, and usurpation must triumph
and prevail.
"These are now all matters of history
but although the erroneous decision by
which Congress counted in Hayes and
Wheeler may not be reversible, that fact
only makes it the more incumbent upon
the people to condemn the decision and
the means by which it was brought about. |
IL such an usurpation can pass without
rebuke it will soon be in vain to talk OF
oo,st;tuti onal modas and honest elections