Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1880-10-28
SECRETARY SHERMAN.
His Able and Exhaustive
Speech at Milwaukee.
The Putrid Democratic Party
Stripped of It's False Pre-
lenses.
A Clear and Concise Statement Of
the Difference Between the
Two Parties
The Pernicious Doctrine of State
Rights The Resumption OF
Specie Payments.

The following magnificent speech was
delivered by Secretary John Sherman to
an immense audience gathered at Schlitz
Park, Milwaukee, October 18TH:
LADIES AND GENTLEAIEN-Eirst Of all
allow me to return to you and through
you TO your fellow citizens in Wisconsin
my heartfelt and grateful acknowledgment
for a day of unusual happiness to me, for
the cordial and hearty greeting of friends
though strangers to me all. 1t seemed as
| entered the state Of Wisconsin and visit
ed the beautiful town of Racine, that the
people around me were not like strangers,
that l was not in a strange land, but in the
midst of cordial and hearty friends And
as | came to this great and beautiful city
of Milwaukee, with its 10000 people,
when saw the greetings in the streets and
the great crowds that are filling the streets,
along with the vast procession, and when
come here and meet this vast audience, /
feel that | am not in a strange land but at
home here among you. | know that this
cordial and hearty greeting does not come
from any personal cause. L am to you a
stranger. My face is unknown to you, but
the bond of sympathy that rests between
us Is that both alike are in favor of honest
politics, honest money, good times and
plenty of both. IGreat applause. AS
Gov. Smith has said, you early took your
position that the only way to pay a debt
was to pay it. [Applause.l The only
way to bring about the resumption OF
specie payment was TO prepare for it, and
when the time came, to make the dollar
of paper money in the laborer's
hand equal to the dollar OF gold coin, and
that every means should be adopted to
strengthen the public credit, to lower the
rate Of interest, and to decrease the public
debt. In other words, honesty among ma
tions as well as among individuals was the
best policy. Great applause. Now ]
know that the best return l can make to
you for your cordial greetings, is by a
plain and simple statement of the condi-
ton of political affairs in this country, and
of some Of the public measures that have
brought our present state of prosperity
| \ on know that | am a republican, belong
ing to the great republican party of the
United States | know that there has
been and that there is a division of opin,
ion not only here in Milwaukee, but
throughout the country, among the Amer
lean people who have divided themselves
into two great political parties. | admit in
the outset that the great mass of these par
ties, the great mass of the men, women
and children who compose them-honeSt
women and children-are very apt to fol-
low their brothers, fathers and sweet
hearts. admit that the great BODY are
honest, good people, desirous Of promot-
ing common good and general welfare.
No party can set itself up above the other
| in morality or national feeling. Both are
honest. butthese two parties are.
SEPARATE WIDE FROM EACH OTHER.
The American people are divided into
these two parties. We must ascertain. if
we can, the reason of this division and see
what measures or what condition of affairs
separate them, and come, if we can, at
the real groundwork of this difference OF
opinion. | intend to spend a few mo-
ments in pointing out to you the broad di-
viding line between these two national
parties and TO make it SO plain that you
can see my meaning, 10 show there is a
governing issue that divides them, not de-
| pending upon passing questions of the day
| that Will disappear with this election, but
issues that commenced at the beginning
of the government and will continue as
! long as this government lasts What is
that difference? 1t is an honest difference
of opinion as to the nature and frame
work of the national government The
republicans Of the United States believe
this is a national government with power
to make laws vested in congress. with
power to construe laws vested in courts
| with power to execute laws vested in the
president of the United States. We
believe that this government is supreme
in all the great essential powers Of ma,
tional government to commit to it by the
people of the United States. We believe
it reaches its broad hand to every citizen o1
the United States without regard to state
lines and that is the duty OF the national
government to protect every man, woman
and child, however poor, whether poor ol
rich, however humble or lowly, in all the
rights of American citizenship. Grea
applause We believe there is no mar
too rich or too lofty IN this country tC
annul the national authority All mus
obey it. Great applause.
There Is no man so humble or lOWly
but what the national authority must re
spect his rights and see that they are pre-
served. Great applause.
The tendency of the republican ideas i
TO elevate our nation, to advance our cOun
try higher and higher among the score 0
nations, TO make this a powerful great re
public of fifty millions of free people
soon to become one hundred millions
now already the most powerful nation il
the world; rich in boundless resources
rich in liberty, rich in independence, ricl
IL free thought, every man equal TO eacl
other and each the master of himelf, hav
ing the right TO cast one vote and no more
Great applause.
The tendency of republican measures
to strengthen this national government
In the last twenty years our government
has advanced from the feeble confederac,
existing before the war TO
|
GREAT AND POWERFUL NATION.
, with an army and navy. small it is true
but with q country and a people stron
enough behind that little army and nav
,, TO make all the world respect Us. Grea
applause.l On the other hand, the idea
and tendency of the democratic party is /
; belittle, to degrade, to cripple the ration
: al government, to subordinate the nation
al government to the power of states. /
other words, the idea is that the state Q
South Carolina is bigger man than Uncl
e Sam; that a feeble state may by publ
). ). action, by fraud, by violence or law cor
! troll and imperil and tie up the power 0
= this government OF ours. Their effort
i to belittle the national government, to re
g duce it to the abject condition it was i
during the time Of James Buchanan
when that poor old man. at the beginnin