The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1879-12-25

ritory and in material resources on the
earth and under the earth, the United
States of America may be regarded as
about equal to the whole Of Europe.
What of her present condition? Our
national debt is, say So 100000. That
of the nations l have named is more than
eight times as much. We are reducing
ours, it'may be, rapidly enough. Ram
not aware that this is the case with. any
nation in Europe. Their debtsare rather
increasing. The great payment from
France to Germany did not reduce her
debt; il was only change Of creditors:j Z
The debt of France, according to the ALI
manach de Gotha, is more than 4,6O0,-.
900.
The standing armies.of these countries
occupying about as much territory as we
do,number nearly three millions Of men.
They spend their lives in. watching the
people, whose substance they devour,
and in fighting the battles Of. ,dynastiel
rivalries and ambition. Our, standing
army numbers q 900 men. Let US hope
it may never be large, that we may shun
wars, and ever be able to rely, for safety
and order in our midst, upon an impair
tial, popular and constitutional admins.
tration of the Government,
There are in the United States, in (
round numbers, $4,000 miles of railroads;
in the whole of Europe $4,000. / lplght1
90 on with such comparisons. Alla
in this connection to refer t0'One
subiect-populaAe Aeducation. S,Ehe
tics of education in Europe al sm
,,raotsafa WIN
briefy.to our own. The U4nltSH.ur oI
has already donated for agri ceISNIi;ts il. I;tasI
legesJ8 ,O6S,000 acres Of land ioL ,XsI
fcolleges, 1,265000 acrest anta I2scha
IS, ,083, 900 acres. But fthe eSSfatioi
our people is in the care, Of H. 81
What have the States donef ~I&e3ll n.
you but single year. From the'repprtN
of the Commissioner it appears that in
1877 there were enrolled in the public
schools 8,942,000 pupils, and expended
for their education $81 100000. Let ms
give you,as l find it in q table.under date
of 1877, the proportion of people in lead-S
ing nations unable to read or write. 1
Russia it is 81 per cent, in Spain 80,
Italy 79, in Austria 49, in ,England IS, IN
France 80, in the United
Germany 12 per cent. osdSsaAS4e'61
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS to Germany, and let
these other proud old nations make their
acknowledgements to us. What shall |
say of our political institutions? Surely
l need make no comparison here. They
are the best in the world, the best that =.
ever have been. What shall l say of our
personal rights and privileges here? All
have the same rights aud privileges, none
are exclusive. What shall l say of free.
dom ;here2 Religion is free, speech i9
free, the press is free, and all Srk, inhab-
itants are free. What shall IGsay tUf the
chances of life and comfort l.ere2 Better
than any where else. Are any home.
less? The Governments ready to do
nate farms of 100 aCres Of land t0all who
will make their homes upon them.
Such in the fewest words is the present
standing of the United States of America.
What of, her prospeCts2 have been
making what may seem to you very
ambitious comparison, have compared
the United States, not with any single
nation, but with the mass of the nations
in Europe, Why notP Let me repeat.
Our territory iS about as large, our mate
rial resources jricher, and debt not one
eight the ambunt of theirs, sand dimin"
ishing. Nog so theirs. Our standing,
army is small, theirs multitudinous and
eating like aI cancer. Our internal i'm
provements are about equal to theirs;
our educatioil more advanced; our en-
barrassments fewer; our opportunities
better. .41,<
The aggregateA population Of theseIHa
tions in Europe tS which h9Ve reteFrao
is about 293,0000n0. Ours, by the last
census, about 39001DOO, Two hundred
and ninety-three miE&lols Of inhabitants
are, to-day, living upon a territory not
larger than oursS What tina territory
holds ours can hold, and there is d prob
ability, l will venture to say there is a
certainty, that in the not distant future
the population here will be as large as
that of Europe. What then? Shall we
be one Government, with all the econo-
mics of administra ton that implies, or
shall we be broken into many nations,
wasting their energies in rivalries and
mutual strife. Shall we, on that great
day, be the United States Of America, the
mere continuation and expansion of
what we are? What a contamination
that would Shall these sacred, written
Constitutions we now have be preserved
and faithfully administered, or shall they
be thrown away2 Shall the people rule
then as now, or shall the voice of free
dom be silenced by the drums of despot-
ism2 Shall the Federal Government
and State Governments be ss now, both
under limitation, with the ultimate SOW
ereignty in the people, or shall The one be
an empire and The other but provincesP
Speaking for myself IeOould not give to the
Federal Government as much additional
po,Uer as l could hold in the hollow of ma,
hand. Speaking for myself ayould not take
dwdy from the State Governments as much OF
their power as l could hold IN The hollow Of
my hand Secession and GENERALIZATION,
political monsters both of Hlent Recession and
centratsGtion-Scylld and gtarybdiS The
channel of safely kes betpse(1 Them. May aOe
be able to keep ii, mGgsgs Toue aOdtchfully,
and seuer take our recFohings from aOrittea
Constitution. 5;i
Grant being loudly called for said;
81 have listened to every word the ell
oquent gentleman has uttered and en-
dorse every one of them. Ifthe gentle.
! man and myself have ever differed in
politics it has been because we voted
different tickets, for our views are cer-
tainly the same. Laughter and APP
plause. Gentlemen, thank you for
this kind reception and for your kindly
interest in the words spoken by your
eloquent speaker"