Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1880-08-05
SP Il
HON. CARL SEIZURE
" 1ss q Z % . +.
Indianapolis, Indiana, July Goth. 1880.

| Felioc-cifizens In response to the in
/ yitation with which large number Of eiti-
yens Of indianapolis have honorcd me |
/ shall speak TO YOU only on a few Of the
| questions which will be discussed in the
present contest; on those. mean, which
, come directly home TO YOU. | shall address
myself TO the conservative business men of
the country. whose interest in politics i
only that OF the public good.
/ ! shall appeal not TO YOUR passions. but
/ to your reason. and without anv resort to
I the artifocs of oraiory, give YOU plain
practical talk. The language of party war
/ fare is apt TO ay 10 violent exa;gerations for
the purpose Of producing strong impress
/ SONS; the language Of reason and common
/ sense will abstain from them. Let me say
at the outset, therefore. that ] do not agree
With those who speak of the prescn, mo-
ment the greatest crisis IN the history Of
American affairs The questions we have
( to dispose of are not those of immediate
I life or death: but the bearing they have
/ upon the future welfare of the nation. and
upsn those interests which most nearly
affect Us. Is important eaough to make Us
consider well what ~e are doing. To call for
our best Judgment and n strenuous effort 10
put tina; judgment into execution.
BEPC BIIChN ADMINISTRATIONS AND TIE
COUNTgys MED.
In the frst place le, us make II clear 10
our own minds what want. The answer
is. in general term. tha; we want a good
government that If We have it wc must
rndeavor to keep it, and that If ne have it
not Ne must cndea,or to get Il. " hat Is
good government We NAV answer again
IN general terms. that II is government
which well understands the public business.
and understanding It, iTanSacis IT within the
limits Of It's constitutional power, inielh-
gently. honcstl, and justly. The second
question We have to answer 20 ourselves -.
how far the Government We have comes up
10 these requisites. how far the principles
upon which It acts. the methods II EMPLOYS.
the aims II parsucs. and the degree vi eth
clcnC, II develops. answer the public need.
and how far in ihls respect Ne ought 10 pre-
serve what Ne have or look for other things
We have not.
As a member of the present AImini,ira-
ton nov on the point of Welding IT, power
into the hands Of new sct Of public ser
wants. NAV Dc permitted TO appeal to the
candid Judgment Of the American people a.
10 the manner IN which the public business
has been conducted during these la; Years
While It might h. natural that. bearing a
part of the responsibility myself. ! should
- inclined t. take a favorable ,!cg Of u.
performance. still feel that nv way, OF
thinking arr independent enough not to be
tray me into mere partisan cuiogy. and that
Ne MAY ooniidsntl, RELY upon the Judgment
frequently expressed. not only b, our friends.
but also hx Nel MANY candid men among
our opponents. A. a matter Of course do
not expect Democratic politicians and ora
tor. 10 give u that fairness OF Judgment IN
the beat %! al election contest which they
could not Gcul u during the rcpose Of 4
/ previous praol. and which they ~.li not
deny u wAtn tins contest j. over for II j.
common eXperleno. that partisan spiFit
viii. under the excitement of the campaign,
call u man a villain to-day whose worth Wa.
recognized YESTERDAY, and whose merit wlll
again be admitted tomorrow. think | am
not eNaggerating when say that the fair
minded men of this country AL! admit. and
do adinI, IN their hearts to-day, that on the
whole the public business has been conduct
ed by this Administration. a. far a. II was
IN iis control. honestly, inielligcntlN and
successfully | should be the llst man 10
claim perfection for Il. for a. one of those
Who had an opportunity TO watch AFFAIR." in
detail. am well aware Of errors committed
and of failure, suffered in this and that
respect No administration of government
ever has been or ever will be free from them
and with respect to them claim no larger
measure of charity than would be claimed
by any member Of a Government acting
I upon correct motives Of duty, and willing to
{ have the acts and the general success Of the
Administration impaTtial!y Judged a. a
whole IL has maintained the public faith
/ and raised the credit of the United States
| 10 a point nese reached before. Ii has with
consistent energy followed a police re-
! lIeNing the country of the evils OF an IRA
tIonal and dangerous system, and greatly
/ promoted the prosperity of the people by
i the restoration Of specie payments. IL has
funded enormous masses of the national IN
debtedness at 4 lower interest, aud thus
saved many millions year to the TAXPAYER
1t has faithfully executed the laws with a
| conscientious obsery anee of sound constiiu-
tional principles. By It's fidelity TO these
constitutional principles it has removed
many obstacles which stood in the way Of 4
| friendlyonderstanding between the different
sections OF the country and different classes
of people. Ii has. under trying crcum-
stances, when the public peace was disturbed
by not and violence on the part of numer-
Gus class Of citizens, greatly aided the res
toration of order and security bs calm and
moderate employment Of the limited power
at its command. without in any case resort
ing to a doubtful stretch of authority. Ii
has reformed many abuses in the public
F; siee. infused a higher sense of duty into its
I different branches, raised its moral tone, in
creased It's efficiency. punished dishonesty
and kept the service unsullied by the scan
dals arising from lax notions OF official in
tegrty. In saying this am no, unmndful
Of the fact that the reform Of the public ser
vice has not overcome in so high degree
as Was intended and as was desirable the
obstacles opposing II in the shape Of inyet-
crate political habit and antagonfstic inter
est that therefore the highest standard has
not been reached that some mistakes have
been made In the selection of persons for
public position-points Of which shall say
more in the course of these remarks but it
Is certainly true that the service is now
showing greater degree of efficiency,
higher moral spirit, and stronger sense Of
duty than has prevailed perhaps at any time
since the period when the administrative
machinery was demoralized by the introduc-
ton Of the spoils system. II has in many
of its branches introduced rules and methods
which have borne excellent fruit, and are
capable of the most benefeient develop
ment if further carried on by coming Admin
istraiions in sympathy with them.
] think | can say without exaggerstion
that these achievements will stand unques-
toned in history by all fair-minded men,
Withal the country is on the whole in good
condition. The people are prosperous again
business is reyiving our industries are ac-
tive; labor finds ready and remunerative
employment; the Government enjoys the
confidence Of the business community in a
rare degree, as our financial management
has won the confidence of the whole world.
/ Everybody sees reason to look hopefully
into the future. provided the conduct of our
public affairs remains as good as it has been.
Nov the time for q change in the per-
sonnei Of the Administration has arrived.
and if the present conduct Of affairs is on
the whole good, patriotic and sensible citi-
xens will see to it that the change now to