Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1880-10-19
General Garfield Responding to
the Congratulations of Business
Men.

An excursion party filling - cars went to
Mentor, Friday, under the auspices of the
Cleveland Republican Business Mems Club,
to congratulate General Garfield on the re-
suit Of the October elections. George ii.
Ely, President of the club, made a speech,
to which General Garfield responded as fol-
| lows
"MR. ELY AND GENTLEMEN OF CLEvE-
LAND This is a new situation, and new SEN
| sations and suggestions arise with it.
| should be altogether unworthy of this State
and of my native country if | did not feel
deep sensibility at this expression of your
confidence in me, and at this greater, more
significant expression of your understanding
of what the great contest now pending in this
country means in relation to our prosperity.
You are business men of Cleveland. and that
means great deal; you are citizens of Ohio.
and that means more; You are citizens of
the Republic, and that means a great deal
more, and in your three-fold capacity | greet
you and .hank you for this demonstration of
your confidence. Let me speak moment
about these three thoughts. You are bust
ness men; suppose, not this yard full alone
but all the business men of America were as
sembled together. what would they do?
Rather, what would they not do, if they got
from the eternal powers an insurance policy
that four years to come there should be no
disturbance in the great forces that play upon
the business prosperity of this people? The
power that could underwrite such a policy to
you would call from you more sacrifice in a
mere business sense than you ever made I'M
der any circumstances. Now no such guar
antee will be given you by the supernatural
powers. but while trosts pestilence, tempests,
and all the great accidents that come to us
without our power to prevent it, are beyond
our reach, yet there is a great political or
| ganzation in this country that can give YOU
| a policy, underwritten by its faith and in its
| own hand. against all the evils that can come
| to YOU from bad legislation and the reckless
wicketlness of bad finance. For such a bus
mess insurance the business men of Cleve-
land and the business men of America are
manifestly willing to make some effort and
be at some sacrifice. and that, | take it, is the
business meaning of this assemblage here to-
day."
Now. the second thought had was, Won
are citizens of Ohio. and you are living illus
trations of the first children of the pioneers
who planted Ohio. When your fathers were
born Ohio was unknown, except as a track
less wilderness, and yet where the smoke
| from not dozen white mems cabins assembled
| to the skv in all this territory, now three and
quarter millions of happy people. prosper
GUS honor able and successful. are living and
guiding the destinies of people as great in
numbers and wealth all who inhab-
lied the thirteen colonies when our fathers
won their independence. What a spectacle
is that? And all this prosperity was won
hv the simple, plain. straightforward process
of downright hard work. That was what
.i;A IL I ahpr first laid fba 81
that God made, and then capital. which is
only another name for crystalized labor saved
up, protected and saved by the strong arms
of equal and Just and honest laws. Now that
is Ohio. Well. now there is third and lar
ger thought. Proud as you are of what You
have been and what YOU have done for Cleve-
land. for Ohio. yet your pride rises at a little
piece of bunting, flag with stars and stripes
upon it. That speaks of great con-
tinent with a government that covers it
from sea to sea. from the lakes to
the Gulf, and that Won as citizens of that Re-
public have a right to walk on every foot of
it as the equal of any man that lives any
where. and that the score of black men that
see here and there have just as good a right
as the whitest of us all Now these are the
thoughts that come to me as l look upon
these Cuyahoga faces. You are in the midst
of great contest. gentlemen. On that con-
test. on the struggle of it, on the issue of it.
on nv relation to it, l say nothing. For the
time beng I am out of politics, but l am
with you. And now, gentlemen, thank You
for coming here. thank you for these wise
and earnest words of encouragement which |
your Chairman has spoken. and thank you
for your purpose of standing by your faith to i
the end let it lead us wherever it will, and |
finally, hope to have the pleasure of taking /
v<,xs~ ed