Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1878-08-14
RLAINE'S KEYNOTE.
Fuu Text Of His Speech Before the
Maine Convention.

ar. ChdtTHlun ana FetfOac Citizens:
The peop.e of Maine are distin-
guished, think, for two character
lstics; one is high sense of honor,
and the other strong common sense.
Applause. They do not propose
with high sense of honor to repudi-
ate any obligations. They do not be-
lieve with their strong common sense
that stamping o piece Of paper creates
value, And they remember lesson
which can never be forgotten, sim
gle incident which covers in it's scope
and its meaning the entire greenback
discussion. When had the honor
to enter Congress from an adjoining
district, there were $l50,O0O,OOO Of le-
gal tenders in this country, and they
wero worth $4,000, 600 in gold dol
lars. l staid there myself voting for
legal tender bills until we had $780,
0OO, 600 and they were worth $l45, OOO,-
600 in gold. We had three times as
many paper dollars, and the aggre-
gate was worth $2,00O,OOO less than
when we began, and if we had doub-
led the amount they would not have
been worth anything at all.
lido not, however, with all due re-
spect to my honored, valued and ell
oquent friend, have the slightest APP
prehension of the reputation of the
greenback dollar of this country, not
the slightest. beg to cay distinctly
that there is nothing in the situation
to-day, if he will pardon for differing
from him, to create an apprehension,
with sound common sense governing
lus, that we are to travel the road
with the national legal tender note
that was travelled by the continental
currency of the Revolution. Our
forefathers issued S24l, 5000 of legal
tender paper, and they did not have
over $550,000,000 of property in the
entire thirteen colonies. Applause.
To put us on the same perilous edge
we would have to put out Sc, 900, O0O.'
1000 of legal tender paper before We
got to the point they reached. Sup.
} pose the continental currency had on
ly reached the aggregate of $4,000,
600, is there a man here who believes
that with the victory and peace Of
1883 there would have been solita
ry dollar left? There would no
J have been dollar of it left behind
. So that while agree, and ! am SURE
that the great mass of the people o.
Maine agree, that an enlarged and in
flated issue of paper money in tim'
of peace is not only unconstitutional
but is wild and visionary, and would
end in the destruction Of the Who'll,
f mass. do not believe that with +,
property running up to $4,000, 900,
600 this day, the United States are il
the slightest danger of repudiating ,
solitary penny of the $342, 0O0,O 600 tina
is stamped upon their honor.
Mr.. Barker-Suppose they initiate
. Mr.. Blaine-Ah says the chair
man suppose they initiate. That re
, minds me that when we had reached
the point in 1864, of $500, 600, 900 lega
J tenders in circulation, and $50, O0O,0O'
of reserve, and the danger of rapit
depreciation was such that we wer,
on the road toward the continenta
result of the revolution, the congress
Of the United States, speaking TO
you and in your name, speaking t
its creditors of both continents an,
al nations, said and put on your etat
ute book, that the amount of lega
, tender notes issued and to be issue,
should never exceed $4,000, 600, an,
charge the greenback egitator no
, only with standing on an absurd an
visionary theory, not only with fly
ing in the face of the experience Of al
nations in all centuries, butt charg
him with a still more f1agitious cours
: of action. / charge him with invit
ing you and me to violate solem
and repeated and emphatic pledg
given by this nation in orticulo MORT.
as we then feared, given with as "a
cred will as the man who is drown
: ing, to save himself from destruction
beneath the waves, should say, "Sav
me and l will keep this pledge"
; The United States in its hour O
peril, said to the whole world, W
want your treasure, wcare in a strug
gle for nationality and existence: W,
will give you our bonds, and W
pledge you on the honor of this grea
nation, speaking W. unanimit
through both brancl OF congress
all parties and all sectlgls, we pIedg
you that we will 30 ell tirely protec
the currency in which our obligation
shall be paid that we will never per
nit the amount of legal tender cur
rency to be issued to exceed $4O0, 900,
600. | charge the greeenback agita
tor, standing safe on the soil of tn
country, beneath it's flag, saved by al
honorable pledge, that he, to-day, ask
you and me to join him in violatin
that pledge.
Robert Martin-We shan't do it,
| Mr.. Blaine--The people of Maine
will never do it--never, never, never