The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1879-02-20
STALWART TALK.

your choice to represent you in the Senate of the
United States you have my most profound
thanks and gratitude Words fail to express
the emotions of my heart And yet, gentlemen,
| do not attribute this token of your regard to
anything personal in myself, but rather to the
principles that | have had the honor to advocate
IN common with yourselves during the last two
decades. am not here, gentlemen of the con-
vention and Mr.. Chairman, to apologize for or
to explain anything that have ever said or ever
done in public capacity. Ny record is made
and there it stands open to the world, and this l
say-this have right to say-that never dur
ing the whole of my political career in the Sen
ate of the United States have l uttered sent-
ment Or cast a vote that would alter. explain.
or change in any regard. We are all liable to
err, and with others undoubtedly have erred
but | will say this in my own vindicaton, that
never have | cast vote and never have ut
tered a sentiment in the halls of the Senate that
l. would net tomorrow cast and utter under
similar and exactly the same circumstances.
Mr.. Chairman, it may be proper, and / may
say highly proper, that should make very brief
review of the events with which in the past we
have been connected The Republican party,
to which we all belong and which we all love
and revere and reverence, was born in Michi-
gan nearly quarter of century ago. | saw
! the birth OF the infant, and was present at its
baptism. 1t was an infant derided by its Dem
ocratic opponents and derided by the fossils of
the old Wing party then defunct 1t was
party with one idea substantially when first it
| was born, and that idea was an idea that COW
! cred continent 1t was that the vast Terrific
rles of these United States, large enough to Gre
ate ten empires in Europe, should be forever
devoted to freedom, free men, free thought,
| free speech and the free exercise of republican
/ institutions. This party grew until in 1857 the
| onslaught became fearful and dreadful It
was fought in the Congress of the United
States When | entered that body there were
twenty Republicans to forty~four Democrats.
Three of those Democrats, and may their
names ever be revered, stood with those Re-
! publicans for free Observation-Disclosures of Hi
| nois, Broderick of California and our own
| Charles E. Stewart of Michigan. They fought
! with us shoulder to shoulder till that contest
| was ended and victory perched upon the ban
ners OF freedom, and anon the years rolled on
! and IN 1860 the lamented and revered Abraham
Lincoln was selected President of the United
States, and the hydra-hea monster
! slavery raised his head and pro-
claimed that no man who loved freedom
! and hated slavery should be inaugurated Presi-
dent of the United States. The people ordained
that he shoHld be President of the United States,
and the war broke Out-a war more terrible
| than any civil war that ever cursed the earth
The nation was ill-prepared for war. Her
| forces were scattered all over the vast terri
tories of the United States, and her fleets were
| scattered wherever the winds of the heavens
! blew and water is found Her credit was ruined
and her arms destroyed or scattered or given to
| the enemy. We were in no condition what
| ever to enter into that contest, and there is
where the Republican party grappled with this
monster-grapp in deadly struggle for life.
The nation poured out it's blood like water that
the nation might live Her people offered
themselves by the thousands and hundreds of
| thOusands-aye, by millione-and the ,,reat
question was: How shall these mon be fed
and clothed, and the munitions of war fur
nished to carry this fearful strife on? The
wealth of the land was poured at our feet Il
there WAS no more wealth to pour, and in the
progress of time we found that we were in debt
some $40,OO0,00O or $50,0000O0 Our soldiers
were in arrears of pay for many months, and
there was not one single dollar i'll the treasury
to meet Immediate demands, and then the
the nation whether or no the war
should cease, and the national
life cease. or whether the people of this great
| land would come to the rescue of the nation
and it's flag. They said: We have no money;
will you trust us for the necessary supplies to
carry on this war? VIII yougiye us provisions
to feed your soldiers in the field and take our
obligations that we will pay as soon as we are
able to pay?" And, with one voice, from one
end of the land to the other, came the response:
Take all we have Give us your obligations
and we will trust you. Carry on the war and
save the nation" and we did carry ON the war
to a successful issue, and we did save the ma
ton. During the war we had no friend on
earth All the governments of the earth de-
sired and earnestly prayed that our national
life might cease, and little Switzerland alone
was with us in our fearful struggle. We had
f1.o o1a
| but we conquered, and after we had con-
quered the ms tons of the earth said these mon
! will fight They have shown that they will
| fight hey have shown it in the Mexican war,
and III the present war, but they will never pay
their debts Men who vote taxes upon them
selves will not maintain the national honor, and
during the years following you heard repudia-
ton talked all over the land, but the Republi-
| can party and the war Democrats came up as
one man and put their feet upon re-
pudiation ia any and every form. Your
bonds were selling in 1865 and bringing 6
per cent, principal and interest payable in
coin, for 90 cents on the dollar, but gradually
they advanced till your 6-per-cent bonds were
above par, and you issued per cents, and the
per cents have come above par, and then you
issued ~ per cents, and your AIS came
above par, and you issued per cents andfyou
have gone on till day the credit of the United
States Of America stands higher than the credit
of any other nation on the face Of Gods earth
Thanks to the honor and faith of the Repub-
/ lican party of these United States, you have
! shown to the world that national honor is as
dear to you as national life, and so the world to-
day understands it; and yet, Notwithstanding
all that you have done, it is said by some that
your mission is ended, and that the Republican
party ought to die A party that took your
ton when it was in the very depths of humilia-
ton, when your credit did not exist and when
your bonds bearing 6-per-cent interest, pay
able in one year, principal and interest in coin,
were sold for IS cents on the dollar and now
the Republican party has raised it until your f.
percent bonds running thirty. years are
caught up to-day at the rate of $8,000,000
day, and very soon there will be no g. per-cent
bonds out, and no per cents and no AZ per
cents, and you will have your whole national
debt funded into 4 per cents The credit of
this Government stands higher, as I have said,
than the credit of any otner government on the
earth--yet you ought to die Why, fellow-citi-
zens, tue Republican party has accomplished
more in the short quarter of century of it's
existence than any other political party that
ever existed on earth in ten centuries. You
have not only saved from the blightlng curse