The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1878-09-21
The F,resfdenf's speech at Toledo.
rHs f,arrsE ortTHg HARD TINES.

In your faces, that for five years past there
has been stagnation in business. and the
depression still seems to exist. Now, the
few plain words that desire to say on this
subject are, first, word or two rs to the
ca,lse. The opinion. known to most men
is that the war is the cause OF it. Now,
nv friends, what was the cause OF
that extraordinary and remarkable event
happening in 1882 There Is no mys-
tery in It. 1t was bound to be, sooner or
later. You could not escape IT. See THIS
line of soldiers marching along. ! was de-
lighted to have them as my escort TINS
morning, dressed in the old uniform. There
was no nonsense about them. The war
made the hard times, as war always does.
What is WARP We know what it is now.
w hen that war began we were threatened
with its efiects-with its results. ] remem-
her brilliant writer in Cincinnati, where
T resided in 1860, who said: Why, this
country can't go to war. He said that the
neople Of Cincinnati live on the business in
the South. Let us go to war, and IN SIX
months the glass will grow III your by
ways and streets. Did it? Why, my
friends, the war hadn't been prosecuted
ninety days until every man saw what mis-
take it was, and that every street was busler
than before. A million Of men in the South
were taken from the ranks OF industry, and
instead OF making property they became
destrovers and consumers OF property. SO
il was in the North; but every man who
had wheat or corn or coal or labor found,
when war came, that he had better Gus
toner than ever beforc-a customer that
wanted all be had got, and wanted it imme-
diately-a customer who would not haggle
about the price. That customer he had in
the person OF the United States, and bust
ness, instead OF being depressed, began to
revive. Property which had laid on the
shelves OF the merchants for long time
increased in value day by day. The result
OF 1t then was we made money fast; we made
it easily. We could afford to borrow at high
rates of interest, because our investments
were sure to be profitable. Our trading
and fast living were the result OF the war
| need not enlarge on it. Finally the war
ended, men in the ranks returned to their
homes, and the material needs OF the Gov
eminent began 10 go down. You lost
your best customer-the United States.
It didn't want to buy. II wanted
TO sell. Now, every wise man knew
we should have day OF settlement.
The flush times OF war were to be followed
known, and there is the cause. Now, my
friends, it is sufficient 10 say that it is writ
ten in the laws OF political economy that
wars are followed by hard times and panics.
The only mystery 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
,,,np IN ont his avnnOsns down and n aIlJ-
tail his expenditures. Each man in little
while began to find himself little better
of than he was. 1t may be 4 long time
one year, two years, five years-but when
it does get to the end, and the majority gel
their expenses less than their receipts, then
we are all better of. The Government OF
the United States is the people of the
United States. When you are all cXtraya-
CANT the Government will be eXtraya-
giant. When you are all getting to
watch yourselves, to watch each particular
point, you set your officers to watching
more particularly. When the war ended
we had debt Of S2,4Q0, 000,0 on our shout
ders. upon which we were paying seven
three per cent. interest. Our taxes were
raised to nearly S500,000,000 in 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 S100,000,000 year, and now how
are we? The debt is reduced nearly Il
third. How many wise man shook his
head at the close OF the war and said the
people can never pay that debt. Why, we
have got third OF it paid off already.
That interest which you paid is reduced
from S140.000.000 to s95,000,000. We no
longer pay seYen-three per cent. interest.
We can get all the money we want at four
per cent. What does that mean for you
and l.? Those who borrow money know
that when the Government 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 Government 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 Il 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 laborcr and pro-
Queer. Why? Simply because the middle
man, being businessman, understands
that the standard of value is likely TO go up
or 10 go down to his disadvantage. There
fore, when he sells he does it having refer
ence TO the fact that the standard Of value
may change, and consequently he charges
enough to make himself safe, and the con-
sumner heals the loss. That is tickle
standard OF value. [Applause.] Now, my
friends, how do you see 1t to-day? The cur
rency has been going zip, UP, until it is nine
ty-nine and a haE. 1t is as interchangeable
rs Lake Erie. 1t does not 60 down at all.
1t is steady. 1t is no longer Il yard-stick
that is one foot in March, three feet in May,
and six feet in July. It is three feet all the
time. Tremendous applause.] Now, my
friends, that is the currency. AS to our
balance Of trade. Before the panic the
balance Of trade was against us 100000 a
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
ever before in our history-more corn, more
wheat. We have even gone so far rs 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 hum
dred years, and selling the watches to those
people. Now, my friends, as l said before.
we are selling S20I,O00,000 a year abroad
more than we are buying abroad. How docs
Inat Opefale! LINZ eftit lhal WIN 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 ont of the panic, and nothing
but our own unwisdom will get us into it
again. What do we want? We want con-
tidence. DO not encourage your Legisla-
ture or your Congress to legislate too much.
It was a fayorit6 maxim with Jefferson that
the world was governed too much. Too
much legislation on financial subjects is the
bane Of our times. Ny friends, let us all
hold up our hands in favor OF letting we'll