The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1880-08-11
Senator Riains's ;Misssate ents.

HENRY h DEsaNTUs Of 1ndalasia.
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Senator Biainsis Misstatelnents.
Senator Blaine Is probably oone of the
most forcible .talkerssiR aha scountry-that
is to say he is ready TO give: force to his
utterances by the most extrayagant asser-
tions. This is char acteristic- of Blaine
and has earned him title to leadership
in the Republican party TO make = for
chile speech 10 one thing. however. and to
deliver q mere collection of uuwarranted
assertions in a forcible manner quite
another thing-and must be SO guaged.
Senator Blaine IL capable of either Of
these, but at Bath, Maine, in opening the
campaign, he chose to rely on extraya-
CANT assertions rather than deal with actual
facts, hence his speech Isl open.to acriti-
cism. trr
The most fagrantly wild assertion of
Senator Blaine, was that relative to re-
sumption 1t is q favorite hobby with the
Republican managers. to claim all the
credit for resumption, good times, and
even bountifuf crops and Blaine, of course.
but sounds thee Republican battle cry.
But it is truef We say emphatically, ino.
Senator Blaine said in bis speech at
Bath, that the great measure that
brought sound revenue to the people
were:-- oe-
/. The act to strengthen the public
credit, in 1878 a------e d. ~
2. The act to provide for the refunding
of the public debt, in 1870: and
5. Theaet for the resumption Of specie
payments, passed in 1875.
Against every ore of these measures"
said the senator, ''the Democratic party
offered a stern Resistance believe L am
entirely accurate 10 saying that 10 neither
branch of congress did any of these great
and essential u easures receive the support
of a single Democratic vote"
If Mr.. Blaine makes these statements ex
peeting them 10 be believed, be either
imagines his hearers are ignoramuses or
that they will accept IS true, his
utterances without further questioning.
simply because he says so. Certainly Mr..
Blaine knows better, because he Ess mem
Der of Congress at the times when those
acts he enumerates passed, and is thorough
ly famiIiariwith position of his fellow men,
bers.
Mr.. Blaine is not Lsatisfied to simply
enumerate the acts. but he openly charges
that they became laws solely through Re-
publican support and that not single
Democrat voted for either of the measures.
If this be so, which Is not the case. how
did these measures pass without Democra
tic support. TheIHouse of Representa-
tiVes vas at the time and is now composed
of a majority of Democrats, hence it would
have been impossible for the act to
strengthen the public credit to have passed
in 1878, without the assistance of at least
a portion of the Democratic members,
The Republicans being in a minority in
1878. could mot have passed the act in
question without Democratic assistance
this is an incontrovertlbIe fact, minority
cannot OutVote majority. This expIodes
Mir. Blaiue's assertion number one
The act to provide for the refunding of
the public debt in 1870. was passed by a
Republican Congress-. that party having
majority IN both braDcbes at the time, but
"bCu dESeTIS (Hat IL was VlO-
lently opposed by the Democratic mem
uers. he steps aside 10 state that which he
must know is untrue. While Democrats
differed as to the means, their iealty to
the public credit was never questioned,
and for Mr.. Blaine to insinuate to the
contrary is evidence of malicious hatred
of the Democrats and will be measured
accordingly,
The act passed for the resum ption OF
special payments passed in 1875. was at a
time when the Democrats were in control
of the House of Representatives. and to
have passed the measure without Demo-
cratic assistance would have been an utter
impossbliitv. Mr.. Blaine knew this when
he made the statement, but he went on
recklessly neglectsul of the truth, and
openly asserted that the Democrats voted
solidly against this measure. He must
have known he was not stating the exact
truth when he made the assertion, for.
Senator Blaine is as familiar as any man
in Congress with the history of this meas
ure. But he was laboring TO secure Be-
publican votessand 50 long as these could
be more easily made by DEPRESSING from
the truth. Mr. Blaine did not hesitate to
make random statements.
The Democratic members of congress
were opposed to fixing date for resump-
tion-not opposed to resumption. Through
the prohigacy of the Republican party,
and the action Of that party in demonetiz-
ing silver in ls73. the country was in a
state of bankruptcy The trying ordeal
ofilS7S-that terrible panic which, paraIiz-
cd our business interests. made hundreds
and thousands bankrupt, which made rich