Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1880-08-27
Speech by the Maine Senator.

on the 9th. After saying that he would
spend little time in mere personal
eulogy of General Garfield and none at
all in any attempt at detraction of
General Hancock, Mr.. Blaine said:
Both gentlemen are able, upright and honor
able, and neihter party will gain anything 10y
an an egort at depreciation or vituperation Of
the opposing candidate. The policies and
measures of political organizations are to be
judged by their past history and presentmem-
bership, not by the personal characteristics of
the particular individual that may be selected
as a standard-bearer. The people of the
United States are to-day enjoying a great de
gree of prosperity; labor is in demand and
well paid; capital is active and well invested;
farmers, manufacturers and, mechanics are
everywhere encouraged by abundant employ
ment and fair profit. Aside from the inherent
energy of the American people, what are the
causes that brought about this condition of af-
fairsr | do not mean petty or incidental
causes, but grand and general causes. Any
intelligent man will see that this condition of
affairs came about as the consequence of two
great events in our history. One was the
preservation of the Union of the States, the
other was the establishment of the National
finances on an enduring foundation, by the
restoration of specie payment; and all that i
ask the voters of Maine to consider is whether
these great aids were brought about by the
supporters of General Garfield or by the sup
porters of General Hancock. If tonight you
analyze the respective political organizations,
you Will find that the men who did battle for
the Union of the States are in large mass
field, and that, with very few exceptions those
who rebelled against the Union and those who
sympathized with, but did not join, the Re-
bellion, are supporting General Hancock. The
former class prevailed in the contest, and if
the Union was worth the great struggle it re-
CURED TO save it, ask you if it be not wholly
illogical and unnecessarily perilOus to hand
over its Government to those who sought its
destructon2
On the financial question the division is
even more marked than on that relating to
the preservation of the Union. We came out
of the war with debt that was discouraging-
ly large, and with currency dangerously
deprecated. To provide for the reduction of
the debt and the restoration of the currency
to the specie standard was the great work of
craftsmanship that devolved upon the Repub-
iican party. At every step in this gigantic
undertaking, the Democratic party, the pres
ent supporters OF General Hancock, have
presented themselves as an obstruction and a
hindrance The three great enactments that
brought sound currency to the people were
| first, the act to strengthen the public credit
in 1859; second, the act to provide for the re-
! funding of the public debt in 1870; and third,
the act for the resumption of specie payment
passed in 1870. Against every one of these
| measures the Democratic party offered q
| stern resistance. believe | am entirely ac-
| curate in saying that in neither branch of
Congress did any one of these great and es-
sential measures receive the support of
single Democratic vote. Messrs. Thurman
and Bayard, the leaders of the Democratic
Pposiion an 10 tbase uea III Vigorous op
| 1869, declaring that the United States would
| pay its obligations in the money of the world
| was pending, Mr.. Thurman and Mr.. Bayard
! both voted for proposition to pay off the
| public debt at the rate represented by its
| coin value at the time the loans were negot-
| ated, declaring in the amendment they sup
! ported that this was the Just measure of the
| obligation of the United States; and when
thls amendment was rejected, Mr.. Thurman
| onered and Mr.. Bayard voted for an amend
ment excepting the $40 bonds then more than
! half the public debt from any obligation of
coin payment Had the policy advocated by
| nONr rOn6 nrN1 Nl,., Lol.
| democratic party been sustained the public
| debt would have been paid off at from thirty
eight to sixty-five cents on the dollar: the Ma
| ton would have been diShonored and its pub
| lie credit forever blasted. The proposition
maintained by the Democratic party at that
time was more sweeping in its terms and
more disastrous in its certain consequences,
than any of the modern Greenback heresies
The second great measure to which have
@Te1erred @ was the Funding act of July IA, 1870
| That statute, under whose benef1cent opera
tion such relief has come to the taxpayers of
| the United states, was opposed at every step
py tne ne entire Democratlc party in Congress
| lead. The provision exempting bonds from
taxation was absolutely essential to funding
| the debt at a low rate of interest Yet Mr..
! Bayard offered and advocated an amendment
| striking out this provision from the law, and
al the Democrats in Congress voted with him.
| Mr.. Bayard further advocated the substitution
| of the old State-Bank system for the National
| Bank system-a measure fraught with merci-
less disaster to the whole financial and COM
| party was able to defeat the destructive
proposition, and the Funding act of July II,
1870, was placed on the statute-book. At the
time OF It's passage seVen-ei ghths of the public
debt was bearing six per cent. interest to-day
| scarcely one-eighth of the debt bears that
rate and next year, If the Republican policy
| Is preserved, all the remainder of the skies
| VIII be FUNDED at four per cent When the
| war closed the annual interest of the public
debt exceeded Si5CSOO'QoO; to-day, under the
annual interest is less than SS0,00), 900 and the
| principal of the debt has been reduced more
| than SS0O0O0,000. The third and crowning
measure of the Republican financial policy
was the act of 1875 for the resumption of spe-
| Gle payments, passed by the Republican party
| over the united opposition of the Democrats,
not asingle Democratic Senator or Represent
| atlVe voting for it, and year and half after
| It's passage the Democratic party in National
| convention, by unanimous VOTE demanded
| the repeal of the Resumption act, and if there
| be one prominent Democrat in the United
! states who separated himself from his party
| servation.
have not singled out Mr.. Thurman and Mr..
| Bayard In any offensive sense, but simply as
| the leaders OF the Democratic party, and the
record shows that every step taken for the
! restoration of specie payment and the better
adjustment of the National debt has been OPP
| posed, hindered and obstructed by both these
| eminent Senators and by all their followers
| nor is 1t in the light of to-day any eXaggera-
ton to say that if the policy advocated by
| them had been adopted, the finances of the
| country would still be in confusion. the Ma
| tlonal credit would have received a fatal blow
ana an edIort at steady progress and orderly
| development of the great business and COM
| mercial interests of the country would have
| been vain and fruitless. If the measures [
| have quoted and the records l have referred
to correctly depict the course of the Demo-
| cratic party in the past, what might you eX-
| pect from II in the future? And in the light
| OF this experience and in full view of these
facts, ask all the voters of Maine and of the
| whole Union, so far as my voice can reach
them' whether they think the financial policy
I l.VsIla la.... sl.v a
| should now be placed under the control of the
men who were its bitter opponents, or whether
it had better be kept In the hands of its
| friendsH Among these friends, none strong
| er, abler more Jealous or more consistent can
| be found than James A. Garfield. Never by
word or deed, so far as l know, has General
! Hancock ever made any expression on the
| subject. His letter of acceptance is discreet
| ly, or, as should say, indisoreetly silent in
regard TO This great subject, as, indeed, it is in
reference to all matters of administration that
may come up for Judgment before President
| of the United States.
In addition to these great National reasons
! 1or the people of Maine renewing their eX-
| preston of confidence in the Republican party
| we have a State issue OF portentous magnf-
tude. From the foundation of the Govern
ment of Maine, in 1870, down TO the year 1879,
| we were blest with good government and hon
| est administration. No matter which party
was in power--whether the old Democratic
| party, or the old Wing party, or the Republic
| can party-there was general oonhdence on
| the part of the whole people in the integrity
and uprishtness of the Administration. Elec-
| tion frauds were unknown in the State suf-
frage was perfectly free, and election returns
| were counted with scrupulous care and inn
| partiality. In the entire sixty years, in the
| election of Legislature annually, there had
| been but fifteen cases in which the irregular
| ity and effectiveness of returns were such as
| to deprive the Governor and Council of the
| power to give the certificate TO the man who
| was properly elected, and in every ono of
| these cases, when referred to the Legislatures
| the riEhtful man was seated, but when Gov
ernor Garcelon and his Council came 10 count
| the returns of last years election, they found
the returns defective in so many towns that
thlrty-seyen members of the legislature act
ually elected, were counted out, and
thirty-seven men that were actually de-
feated were counted in, and thus the
| Legislature, strongly Republican in both
branches, was changed 10 a Democratic
or Fusion majority in both Senate and
House. These thirty-seven defective cases
all happened TO be, Republicans, and
! the town officers of Maine, who in six
~. years had made but fifteen mis-.
takes, or one on an average every
| four years, were suddenly found by Governor
Garcelon and his Council To have made thirty
seven blunders in a single year, and all these
/ miqtakaq nv a ging1Ilar " NJ han