The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1878-10-05
President Hayes on Hard Times.

TOLEDO, ONO, september 10
President and Mrs. Hayes and Webb
Hayes arrived from Fremont this
morning. Alter lunch at the Boody
house at 1870 an escort of Mayor
Jones and reception committee and
the Sixteenth regiment, o. N. G.,
proceeded to the fair grounds, where
fully $1,000 people assembled. AS
the head Of the procession entered
the grounds national salute was
fired by the Fourth battery, .. \. G.
| President Hayes was welcomed in
speeches by Mayor Jones and Presi-
dent Baumgardner, of the Tri State
fair association, and in response he
spoke as follows:
Nh Friends and Fell03O Citizens: The
three States of Michigan, Indiana
and Ohio, it is safe to assume, are
each numerousIy represented in the
audience before me. These States are
fortunate in their history, in their
/ geography, in their soil, in their eli
mate and in their people. A part
and very important part of the old
northwestern territory, that beauti-
| full region northwest of the river
Ohio, which WAS given to the United
States by the State of Virginia in
1887, and organically devoted tefree
dom and treemen forever. Applausel
Aud now you have to-day assembled
to show what the productions of
your barns, your shops and your
mines have to exhibit.
After speaking of the material
wealth of this section, the President
continued
The war made the hard times as
war always does. A million of men
in the South were taken from the
ranks of industry, and, Instead of
making property they became con-
sumers and destroyers of property.
SO it was in the North, but every
man who had wheat or corn, or coal
or labor found when war came he
had better customer than ever be-
fore, a customer that wanted all he
had got and wanted II Immediately
IA customer who would not haggle
about the price. That customer he
had in the person of the United
States, and business, instead of be-
ing depressed, began to revive. Prop
erly which had laid OH the shelves of
the merchants for q long time in
creased i'll value day by day. The
result of it then was we made money
fast, we made it easily; we could af-
ford to borrow at high rates OF inter-
est because our investments were
sure 10 be profitable. Our trading
and fast living were the results of
the war. Finally the war ended ;
men in the ranks returned to their
homes, and the material needs Of the
Government began to go down. You
! l'DSI .NouI DtSU CuSlOlIlci lIit I iIiltu
States. 1t didn't want to buy 1t
waited to sell. Now every wise
man knew we should have day OF
settlement. 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 mystery in the
whole thing is that the hard times
didn't come before they did. Now
we have got the cause. What is the
effect? The moment we began to
retrench, every man to cut down his
expenses and to curtail his eXpendi-
lures. Each man in little viii {
began to find himself a little better
off than he was. 1t may be long
time-One year, two years, five years
but when 1T does get to the end and
the majority get their expenses less
than their receipts then we are better
off. The government of the United
States is the people of the United
States. When you are all eXtraya
giant. When you all begin to watch
: yourselves, to watch each particular
point, you set your officers to watch
ing more particularly. When the
war ended we had "A debt of 400,
900, 900 on our shoulders, upon which
we were paying 7.3 per cent. interest
Our taxes were raised to nearly $500,
900, 900 in time of profound peace
Our currency was worth 60 or II
cents on the dollar. In our foreign
trade the balancing was against u>
!, nearly S100,000,000 year and now
how are wee The debt is reduced
nearly a third. How many a wise
man shook his head at the close OF
the war and said, The people can
never pay that debt2 Why we have
got n third of it paid off already
That interest which you. paid is re
duced from Sl40,000;000 to S95,000,.
600. We no longer pay 7.3 per cent
interest. We can get all the money