The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1879-01-30
Coy. Hoyt,s Inaugural Address.


HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,, AND
FELLOW CITIZENS: We are associated
to-day in the observance of Il time
honored custom. TO you the occasion
which convenes us Is mainly cere-
monial in character. And yet not
only to you who are gathered imme-
diately within the sound of my voice,
but to all the citizens of the State it is
an occasion of serious import You
and they are to witness q change in
the Chief Magistracy of your com
monwealth. To myself it is more sig
nificant. While / gratefully accept
my share of the pleasure incident to a
pageant like this. it is suggestive of
delicate duties and grave responsible
ties. Elected to be Chief Magistrate
of the State, my official life begins
here and now.
You have witnessed in my assump-
tion of the oath of office, sacred APP.
peal to Almighty God, and solemn
pledge of fidelity in the discharge OF
my official obligations. "The Su-
preme Executive power shall be vested
in the Governor, who shall take care
that the laws be faithfully executed"
This is the language of our State Con-
stitution. 1t briefly, simply and ade.
quately defines my principal duty.
fully understand these words-I fully
comprehend tire oath / have Just
taken. The people of Pennsylvania
expect me to keep that oath. BY the
help of their prayers, and by the favor
of Divine Providence, | expect to keep
it.
1t will be common pleasure to us to
be exempted from giving special at
tention at this time to matters of pub
lie business. The conspicuous ability,
and the long and varied experience OF
my distinguished predecessor, has per-
mitted nothing to escape his attention
which concerned the public good, or
was of sufficient importance to he
commended to the special action of
the General Assembly, orwhich might
challenge the consideration of the
people. His last Annual Message il a
document at once 80 iudiciOus, timely
and comprehensive in its review Oi
puplic affairs and its recommendation
as to relieve me, for the present, from
all care in respect 10 that branch ofthe
executive duty. | may therefore re-
gard myself as at liberty to glance at
some topics not inappropriate to this
occasion, in which all good citizens
feel deep concern.
The question uppcrmOst in the mind
of the country relates to the revival oi
business. The last five years will be
memorable in our national history as q
period of industrial depression, and
consequent social distress. These five
years have disclosed the causes of oul
troubles and their experience should
lead Us to the true methods of rccoV-
cry. They will be found to lie in the
moral forces of society, and not in leg
islative enactmcnts or executive inter
ference. | shall offer you no discourse
upon the financial theories Which have
veXed us during these years. We
have come with great unanimity to
recognize the actual facts which lie at
the bottom of this whole subject. A
generation of younger business men
had come upon the stage at period of
excitement following the war, and OF
speculation fairly reaching the degree
of gambling. The vastly expanded
credit which men gave, one to another,
in all forms of business, the result OF
an inflated currency, led TO unnatural
values, as measured in such currency.
The temptations for contracting debts
were great and not easily resisted. We
spent more than we earned; we forgot
that 1.-The extravaganza of the rich
was not the gain of the poor -" that
protusiOn ana waste were not for the
good of trade and that everything
consumed and destroyed was so much
lost in the labor which had produced
it. Circulating capital was locked W
in tiXe1 property. The wages fund
was impaired We abandoned the
maXims of experience and the simplest
truths in political economy. We
measured values by a standard not
common to the civilized world with
which we were in daily and necessary
commercial intercourse. We failed tC
remember that the issue of paper
money, whether greenbacks, nationa
bank notes, bills of exchange OF
checks, did not add Il dollar to tn,
wealth OF the nation, and that while
Indispensable as Il circulatingmedium
it could only have a representativ,
value. We did not advert sufficiently
to the present physical and financia
fact that by the tacit agreement of tn,
nations the precious metals are tn,
only standard of value, the only "cur
rent money with the mcrchant,n w
did not seem to know that the instinct
of practical, shrewd and enterprisini
nation of business men must tinall
and forever reject the use of an IRE
deemable currency. At the last, pa
day came, as it always must, am
bankruptcy came with it, as it alway
will under like causes. Our capacit
to consume was destroyed. The pro
ducer was without buyers for his mel
chandise. Debtor and creditor alik
had to pause for the day of settlement
A system of economy and saving wa
forced upon us, and it was the on
process to restore us. 1t cost us a har
struggle, self-denial and suffering, hu
the result was health moral and finar
cial. The virtues of sObricty and il
dustry, renewed in practice, give U
discipline and strength. They widene
and deepened our manhood and We
manhood Discarding the cheap d,
vices of mere theorists, the dishOne:
proposals of mere agitators, and til
eharlatanry of Il political ecOnom
which undertook to teach us how
create wealth without labor, we al
now ready to go forward. Hencefort
we are to produce and exchange actu;
things, and not gamble i'm merely fict
tious values. Resumption has take
place, confidence is restored, and bus
ness will flow in healthy channels :
long as values are stable and the
measure honest. Pennsylvania is &
empire in its resources, and her peop
in the past have developed and use
them only by the virtues of labor al
economy. For the future we must a
cept the same conditions.
1t is possible that within our be
ders there may require some readjus
ment of our population to the centr
of industry - some redistribution