Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-10-22
SPEECH OF GEN. WOODFORD AT
ST. LOUIS.

hH ~
Armory Hall, st.. Louis, on the night Of the
18th:
Mr.. CHAIRMAN AND CITIZENS OF ST. LOUIS.
For this great welcome / give YOU hearty
thanks. You evidently mean business 20.
fore without waste OF introduction let me get
AZ the work of the hour. When on the floor of
the recent Democratic Convention at Cincin.
natl, distinguished soldier of the late Con.
tedelaoy prophesied and promised that the
candidates of the Democratic party should re
ceive the solid 1873 Electoral votes OF the solid
south, ne uttered that which was at once
challenge and a threat 1t was threat
against the industrial interests of the country.
EOr the land is at peace. Crops are good.
Wages arc paid in good money A wise pro.
tectiye system has developed our industries.
Every forge is aiiame and every factory il
hulnming, and when he said that the South
would vote TO change all this, II was threat
against the welfare of every man who works
n, In all the land. lApplause.l It was more, Mr..
chairman IL was challenge, Now know
that he was not afraid Of us and think by the
time he has digested the election returns of
Indiana and Ohio lapplausel he will be equally
certain that we are not afraid of him. The
solid south has borne every fruit but one that
It could have borne. lt might have borne the
cowardly fruit Of National surrender. IL did
not. The only other fruit It could have borne
was the solid North and that hangs full.
iruited on every truit-tree in your ncighbor-
ing states. am glad that the issue has come.
am glad that the issue has been fought out.
am glad that the solid South died at sunset
last night applausel, for am looking for
ter than solid south
THE SOLID NATION.
loud applause.l l know that there remains
work to be done We have some of it I'm New
York, and you have some Of IL in st. Louis.
We shall give to Garfield the thirty five Elec-
toral votes of New York. lApplause.l DO
you see 20 it that 81. Louis sends three Repub.
lican Congressman to sustain them.
Gentlemen, l hope that no Democratic
friend will think that intend anything dis.
courteous when frankly say this: Missouri
needs the Republican party just as much as
the Republican party needs Missouri. lAp-
plause1 Missouri needs an honest currency.
You are II state of labor. Your fields are as
fertile as any that the sun shines on in his go.
ing across this imperial republic. Your hills
are rich with iron, with lead and with zinc.
Your agricultural products of corn, tobacco,
hemp and wheat; your industrial possible.
ties require that Missouri should have the
best kind OF dollars and the best kind of flnan-
cial system that IL is possible for an intelligent
government 70 give 70 this country, This
kind of currency you haye &c. day. You owe
st not to the Democratic party. There has
not been an hour since the war began in 1861
that the Democratic party has not done every
thing it could do to debase the currency 20
cripple the finances, to interfere with eX-
changes, and so to
CRIPPLE, EMBARRAss AND INTERFERE
with the financial the industrial and the mer.
camille growth Of this State Of ofMissouri. Have
Iput it too strongly? A voice-NoJ
When in time OF war our gold and silver had
been spent and we were compelled to literal
ly coin the credit of the Nation, Missouri
Democrats and Northern Democrats, the en-.
tire land over, argued that the grcenback
issue was unconstitutional, and threatened
that If issued itwould certainlybe repuGiated;
didn't they2 (Voices-Hes.l If any Demo-
crat thinks to the contrary let him speak
frankly out. When we attempted to make
market for the National bonds, by requiring
that security for the National bank system,
almost every Democrat in Congress opposed
the establishment of the National banks You
men know what the old system of State banks
was; you know that II YOU took Missouri
money into Arkansas II was at q discount;
that II you carried Arkansas money into Iii.
nois it was AT a discount; if you took Illinois
money into Indiana it was at a discount, and
all the way from TO 20 cents on every dollar
that labor earned was lost because under the
old state BAN. system there was no real Sc
cur1ty for the paper money that you had in
your pocket; To-day the National system
gives you bills that when offered to you You
never think of asking in what State they were
issued. Bank bills issued in Oregon, in Maine,
in Florida, in Louisiana, in New York, or in
Missouri are each equally good, and no work
ing man to-day loses one dime on the paper
money that is paid him, for that paper money,
whether 1t be greenback or National bank
bill, is
REDEEMABLR IN GOLD
--redeemable I'm gold. not merely in this land
ever commerce goes In all its dealings lap
plausel-in all its dealings round the civilized
globe; and yet the same Democracy that op-
posed the issue of the greenback in war, that
would rather have seen the Nation die under
the danger of rebellion than issue the green
back with which to pay soldiers and with
party which fought the organization of the
National banks in 1868 practically pleaded for
tne IepuulHuoh Oh tne Nhuohl ucDt, anu
when, on the 18th of March, 1853, our Republi-
can President had come into power, when the
act to strengthen the public credit was intro.
duced, almost the entire Democratic party i'm
both Houses of Congress went upon the
record rs opposed to the payment of the Ma
tional debt in coin. More than that; when in
1870 we tried to refund the National debt 80
that we might pay only four per cent. interest
or four and half, rather, in place of six, this
Democratic party opposed the funding
scheme. Why, even so distinguished hard
money man as Senator Bayard, of Delaware
and if any Democrat be hard money, Senator
Bayard surely iS-even so distinguished man
as Senator Bayard, moved an amendment to
the Refunding act Of 1870 wiping out the Ma
tional banks and returning to the old State
bank system. Then, again in 1875 when our
industries we're locked in this death grapple
with imitation, the Democratic party here in
Missouri, oyer in Illinois, over in Indiana,
over in Ohio, stood on the side of the Green
back heresy, and we were compelled, in
order to maintain the credit of the Govern
ment, to
the Democratic party by that act Nay, one
year later there gathered i'm city-you may
remember IL well-it my memory serves me
right think Il was the city of St. Louis there
gathered n great Democratic National Con.
vention, which announced the astonishing
financial doctrine that the way to keep a
promise was 10 tell q lie that the way to keep
the Resumption act, which promised gold in
1873, was to repeal the thing; and all Demo-
tIhlk Threw up InelE nNnuS anu GIleu EUre-
ka." Loud applause and laughter.l We had
20 beat st. Louis nomination in 1876 we
have now got TO beat half st. Louis candi-
date in 1880. [Applause.l
So by this brief review of facts have shown
you by history which can not be gainsRid that
in all these years, from the commencement of
the war, the Democratic party has stood in
solid opposition to every measure that looked
towards sustaining the National credit. Ithas
stood IN iyoH 0i every measure me- that Looked
souri,, you need Republican ideas of hard
money, of National credit, far more than the
Republican party needs the State of Missouri.
20 one Step further. A State so peopled, a
State with such resources, a State with such
wise and efficient tariff system that shall pro
tect the labor and industry of the state of
Missouri lCheers Where stands the Dem
ocratic party on this? Its National platform
asks for IA tariff for revenue only. Now, there
must be Democrats in this audience, and
hope there are, for have not come to call the
righteous but sinners 70 rpDentence TTau0h
ter and applause l want any Democrat,
whether he be worlNingman or capitalist, to
ask himself honestly this question; Is the
Democratic party as reliable on the tariff
question rs the Republican party? [Cries, |
mol NoPI You Democrats say that you are
for tariff for revenue only. We Republicans
say that we believe in such adjustment of the
tariff as shall afford
THE MOST COMPLETE PROTECTION POSSIBLE
TO every kind Of American industry. Zap.
In 1850 under the old.time system, there
were In the city of st. Louis 3, ,l57 manufactur.
ing establishments; these establishments |
used capital of S9O,0a, 40. In ten years,
during the war, under the operation OF our
present tariff system, those manufactures
grew in number TO II ,SIl, and in that year, of !
1870, the capital employed in manufacturing
establishments in the city of St. Louis had !
reached the enormous amount OF $50, ,25I ga !
Applause Within the ten years that are |
gone, from 1870 to 1880, although Democracv |
has ruled st. Louis and the State, although |
Democracy has tried to tear down this tariff |
system, although Democracy has cared much |
for 10 Gouth and but little for Miggnutd Nth