Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1879-08-06

lean war; they have shown it in the war
for the preservation of the government;
but they will never pay their debt, and
no nation that votes its own taxes will
ever pay its debts. The republican party,
l think, and every loyal democrat stood
up and said, we will show you that we
value OR national honor higher than we
value our national life, even [applausel,
and we have gone on ever since the close
OF the rebellion
PAYING OFF OUR NATIONAL DEBT,
faster than any man on earth could count
the money. Three thousand millions Of
the five thousand millions that we ex-
pended, has been paid. We expended
five thousand millions Of dollars and
more than 100000 precious lives
to save this great government. And now
this people assert that all of that vast
treasure and all of those precious lives
were expended for nought; and tha,
there is not yet q union upon this CONT.
nent &c call the United States of Amer
lea.
| say fellow citizens therefore, that we
saved the national life and the national
honor: but what was the situation of the
government when this great republican
party came into power? l have shown
you
HOW WE STOOD
as to arms and to money, to ship and to
material. But what has the republican
party done? 1t came into power in 1861,
when your treasury was bankrupt, and,
as | said before, when your arms were
scattered and your ships were scattered,
and it took this nation when it was in
the very lowest depths of humiliation.
This was the condition of the nation
when the republican party took the reins
Of government. For the first time, we
took the reins on the 4th of March, 1861.
We borrowed all the money that we
could borrow to pay our soldies during
the year 1861. The time came when we
could borrow no more money, and
THERE WAS A TINE
when we owed forty millions Of dollars
Tor feed, clothing and supplies for our
army, and when we owed our poor SOL
dlers from two to four months deficiency
o. pay, and we had not one solitary dol
lar in the treasury OF the United States to
pay our honest debts; then the question
citizens, will tell you what we did do.
pie Of the United States, we have no
money and we can borrow no more
money. We have this vast army in the
field; will you trust us for food and
clothing? for pork, beef, potatoes and
flour? Will you trust us and take our
promise to pay, for in no other way can
we carry on the war; and with one &C.
cord, from north to south, from every
nook and corner of this great country,
CAME UP RESPONSES:
take anything, take everything; take all
that we have got, and pay whenever you
get able; and thus and there started the
greenback part Laughter. I don't
want anybody to claim the paternity of
the greenback party, because l was there
myself when that child was born. Laugh.
ter. | acted as both wet and dry nurse
to it laughter, and no man shall claim
the paternity Of that thing. Laughter.
We did issue, and we continued to is
sue, and the republican party is respon-
sible for the issuing of greenbacks, and
they were responsible to fulfill that
pledge the very moment they were able,
and they did redeem its pledges in the
coin of the realm. [Applause.] Tho
time on the first Of January,
1879, that we were able to re-
deem that last pledge, given in
THE HOUR OF EXTREMITY,
to the people of the United States. Gap.
plause.) And the very moment the day
came, we cid resume specie payment;
fulfilled the last pledge ever given, to
pay in the coin of the realm our obliga-
tons, and specie payment has come to
stay. (Applause.) AS l said moment
ago, we took charge Of this nation when
its credit was so low that it found no
purchasers for its bonds. We carried ii
successfully through the war, and we
have carried it successfully since the
war. While there was no purchaser for
your bonds in 1861 at any price, to-day
your four per cent. bonds are selling at
81 .O21a in the markets of the world, and
THE CREDIT OF THESE UNITED STATES
stands higher than the credit of any other
nation on earth save one. (Applause)
And yet, fellow citizens, you say that
this party having fulfilled its conditions,
it ought to die; the mission of the re-
publican party is ended, and it ought to
die. Well, fellow citizens if thereever
was political party that was prepared to
die, it is the republican party, Gong con-
tinued applause and laugher). But, my
fellow citizens, we have made other al
rangements Genewed laughter).
The great republican party, whose 25th
anniversary we celebrate, has accom-
plished more in that 20 years Of its exist
ence than any other political party that
ever lived on earth has accomplished in
thousand years (applause). 1t is the
only party that ever existed on earth for
% years, that at the end of that period
could point to one single solitary unfal.
filled pledge.
DEFY THE WORST ENEMY 7
of the rcpu oican party to name one sim
gle pledge that was ever made by tho
republican party, it has not to-day full
filled to the letter. Applause].
We promised to save your vast terrific.
ries from the blighted curse of human
slavery, and we not only saved your vast
territories from the blighting curse, but
we WiDcd the curse out of existence from