Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1880-10-07

postoficas, and the like, at the national cost,
| Is another serious and increasing drain on the
treasury. From small places whsre no such
| expenditure Is needed. eUms applications for
| public buildings; many Of them hsve recently
| 'ssed the Senate. One place IN North Caro-
| rs where & public building wss voted. has
not more than 2 500 inhabitants. None at sIl
f3Iniliar with the facts can doubt that with
fuil Democratic swing, the doors of the treas
| ury vii open, and copious streams will run
south snd empty into the pockets OF no end Of
! exDectants
Whichever way we turn, reasons rise up be-
| lore Us for keeping the staff in the hands OF
| those who have vastly most at stake IN the
| Wholesome preservation of the government,
| its revenues and its laws. Those with the
| least at stake fought for one-half the govern
ment, and now the question is whether We
| had better vote them both halves. The Demo-
/ crate party has had possession Of one house
| OF congress for four years, aud Of beth houses
for two years. What useful thing has been
! done or proposed? They have stricken some
| million of tax from whisky and tobacco. They
| nave attempted by revolutionary means to put
| the executive under duress. and to cripple the
! government In order TO overthrow just and
| time-honoEed laws. What else? l do not
know.
| PRETENDED DEMOCRATIC ECONOMY.
| It is said that the Democracy have reduced
! appropriations. do not so understand it.
! The claim Of economy is no better than a
/ JuSgle. Here are the exact figures year by
| year, Republican, aud Democratic, of sums
! annually appropriated for current expenses,
| stated in currency and gold
/ For Fiscal Year. Currency. Gold
1874 (Republicanl SIP 29O, 700 s. S15S sos So
! 1875 iRepublican)... 155.0IL75S.29 1858 1922
1876 Republican,. 147 7l4940S1 rs, 693 IT'S O3
/ 1871 Democratic]... 124 22,00.92 1861 Iot.13
1873 (DemocraticJ... IS $50 1888. Is So 236 AS. 50
1879 (DemOcratic)... 112 0l6.S0l2I I7L672,775 50
1850 lDemocratic).,. I62, 40+64L76 1862 4O4647.76
/ 1881 tDemOcraticl... 154,1lS,2I264 154 ,2l264
| II viii be seen that under Republican ma
! 9rity appropriations steadily de, ressed down
| to Democratic accessions in 1877. In the first
| year, the Democrats continued reduction,
! ON tting, however, needed appropriations.
In their second yesr-the year preceding con-
| GressiOnal eleetIons-they boldly neglected to
! provide for many obvious and indispensable
| appropriations. This was exposed on the spot
| as an electiCneering device, but the figures
went forth and had their effect. There they
| stand in th9 tables of 1878 as a great apparent
saving, loudly Dragged about at the time But
! as everybody familiar with the workings of the
! government knew beforehand must be the
pretended saving VIII Oh had been purposely
! left out of the regular appropriation bills,
| came in as deficiency bills" after the election
st the next session. There stands the proof
| in the tables of 1879. The appropr ations that
/
| year of Republican rUle-greater in currency
by 1924, 301, 868. 40-greater in gold by $41, 979-
! O57 56.
For last year the appropriations exceeded
| the last Republican year more than fifteen
| millions, and for this year they are considera-
bly, larger; and in both years appropriations
we're purposely omitted IN cases in which they
are sure to be supplied at the next session.
THE GREAT WORK OF RESUMPTION.
In the face of the facts, bold and arrant as
the claim is, the country is gravely told of
wondrous Democratic economies, and il now
begins to be stated that the resumption OF
specie payments wSs really brought about by
the frugalty of q Democratic Congress-
TLaughter.] If q race was to be sailed for on
the sea of fiction, the inventor of this state
ment would surely take the cup. [Uproarious
applause.
The resumption OF specie payments was a
trans candant achievement. The credit of it
belongs to some party, and to that party future
generations will look back with grateful ad-
miration. Whoever would know the truth
about it can e silly do so.
After the war we had afoat well toward a
thousand millions of paper ourrency. It fuc-
tuated in value fro 80 to 70 cents on the dol
lar The public debt was more than twenty
eight hundred millions, and more than
tWenty-three hundred millions of it bore
interest The annual interest charge was q
| hundred and fifty millions. The first Pr8si-
| Dental election afterward was in 1868. The
two parties, of course, arrayed themselves on
the greatest financial issue which has ever
| arisen in this country, or perhaps in any coun-
| Try. The question was, what should be done
with the colossal debt inflicted by the rebellion,
| and with the sea Of paper promises We had
| been compelled to put out. The Democratic
| party PRONOUNCED fOrrepudiation. The declar-
alton was covert and indirect, bat it meant re-
pudiation. They resolved that all debts should
be paid N paper promises, unless the Obliga-
| ton expressly on its face said otherwise, or
| unless the law mentioned that coin should be
paid. They resolved that i" government bonds
| and all other securities" should all be taxed.
| They resolved that "every species of property :"
should be taxed, az taxed at its "real value. !"
I They resolved that there should be but one
! currency for the Government and the "bonG-
| holder" Taken together, these declara ions
| were plain reputation.
! Nobody pretended that the obligations of the
! Government were payable in honest money for
the reasons which alone could allow them to
! be go paid under the Democratic resolution.
! Had their payment in honest money been
! specified literally and technically in the way
! required by the resolution, there would have
/ been no efficacy OF meaning in SUCH s. resolve;
and declaring that the bondholder should have
/ only the same currency that the Government
received clearly and conclusively meant that
payment OF bonds was to made in legal tender
notes TApplause.l
| Inc DOndS l9O been SOLD on an express
agreement that they should never be taxed,
and exemption flom taxation had entered into
| the transaction and been discounted as an ele-
ment Of value, and paid for IN the price given
for the bonds [Applausel To tax not only
! the bonds, but . every species OF property at
its zeal value" would have taxed barrel Of
-four as well as g barrel Of whisky, would have
! taxed land, and all else. Such scheme would
not only have worn frontlet Of Reputation,
/ but would have thrown into chaos the whole
revenue and business of the country. APP
plause. This was the Democratic position.
| THE REPUBLICANS TAKE THEIR STAND.
! The Republicans IN their national conven-
/ ton declared two things: First, that the repu-
| diation is national crime and that every debt
! must be paid to the utternost, not according to
| the letter, but the spirit of the law. Second,
| that the wise course was to improve our credit
so as to refund our bonded debt at lower inter-
est, and that this could not be done if repudia-
/ ton, open or covert partial or total, was
! threatened or suspected On this platform
/ General Grant was elected. Applause. His
| first Presidential syllable was spoken on the
portico Of the capitol to assembled thousands,
! and spoken with lips which only an instant be-
| fore had touched the Bible to solemnize an
oath of faithfulness in Office. Ii his inauguraI
address then delivered. stand these words:
| "a great debt has been contracted IN Sc
curing to Us and our posterity the union: the
payment of this debt, principal and interest,
| as well as the return to specie basis az soon
| as it can be accomplished without material de-
! triment to the debtor class or to the country
at large, must be provided for. To protect
| the national honor, every dollar OF Govern