St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1879-07-18
Secretary Sherman in Philadelphia.
HE MAKES A SPEECH.

PHILADELPHIA, July Ia. After Sec
rotary Sherman's party had partaken of
refreshments, William Brockie, Presi-
dent of the Maritime Exchange, called
the meeting to order and introduced
the Secretary, who said:
Gentlemen, did not expect when l
received your kind invitation that |
would be called upon to make a speech
and do not understand that my friends
here desire me to make a speech, but
[ will commence by returning thanks
for the pleasure | have enjoyed in in
speeding the shores of the Delaware and
in witnessing the immense progress and
growth of the commerce of the great
city of Philadelphia. 1t presents a COM
binatiOn of trade and commerce that
know of in no other city in this country,
but as those points are quite familiar to
you | will not enlarge upon them. In
regard to the resumption experiment..
my friend has paid me compliments that
are entirely exaggerated. i do not de-
sire any such compliments. A year or
two ago 1 thought 1 was great deal
too much abused by great many now
| am praised for a great many things
do not deserve. So | hold "A pretty fair
balance. 1 had an idea when / assum-
ed the Office | now hold that it would
be good thing to get back to re-
sumption of specie payment. They say
| am pretty stubborn about the princi-
Piles hold to, and that l will carry out
what L begin. l never had any doubt
about the ability to resume none at
all. A great many good men, some of
these no doubt who hear me, thought
it was not wise undertaking to at
tempt to make the vast volume of our
paper money equal to gold; that we
did not coin enough to do it. | was the
Judge | had law on my side; the pow
er to bring it about and the determina-
ton to do it. The result has been hap
Ply and beneficial to all classes of inter
ests and all industries, and to the rich
and poor, those who labor as well as
those who spend money, all are bene-
fitted by stable currency, such as we
have to-day.
Now, gentlemen, think l have said
all l need l am very hopeful of the
future progress of our country. We are
happily situated, compared with other
countries; we have broad, uncultivated
acres of land that have never been
broken up by the pillow. We have mines
compared with the enormous value of
which the Wanted mines of Peru were
poor and scant. The COmstock lode
and others are greater than anything in
the history of the world.
Two years ago labor was suffering in
the principal cities of this country. Men
were afraid that our institutions could
not stand the strain and that they
would break down and that period of
depression greater than that in England,
France or Germany had come. People
were suffering and could not get work,
while discomfort reigned supreme.
Some went to uncultivated lands in the
West, others went away, and migration
finally equaled the demand and supply
OF labor until now, in two years, | be-
lleve there is not any part of the United
States where honest labor cannot get
an honest days work and honest money
to pay for it. There are those who hold
that our currency never could be main
tanned equal to coin with demand on
the United States of $8O,OOO,O 900 or
800, 100000 year. | can say to YOU
now that we have the means. So rare
~ do they care for gold or silver for
money that only $7,OOO,OOO have been
drawn for notes and greenbacks. This
is the strangest thing about it; now
that gold is so easy to get, nobody cares
to take the trouble to carry it,
1t is fact that in every month last
year and year before and year before
that, there was more gold paid from the
Treasury than has now been demand
from the list of January of this wear to
the present time for all purposes, and
our notes, instead of being 10 or is per
cent. below par, now that we have gold
and silver to pay them, are actually at
a premium. The Treasury Department
at San Francisco wanted notes instead
of gold and we refused to give them
greenbacks. .It
In New York and Philadelphia no
one wants gold when they couldn't
get it everybody wanted it ; when they
can, nobody does. Resumption is now
a fixed fact, but we have got to stand
by and not let demagogues and trick
STEERS cheat us out of what we have ac-
cemplished. e.t