Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1881-08-11
GOV. FOSTER AT .ELYRIA.

ult., Gov. Foster, in a telling address Of
about an hour in length, opened the
campaign in good style. His address
may be summarized rs follows: s
The Ohio State campaign is important
as connected with and influencing ma
tional affairs. 1t is important that the
people of Ohio should approve the ma
tional measures and policy of the party,
which have brought the country to a
condition of SO great happiness and
prosperity. This party it is which has
stood by the resumption of specie pay
ment of the bonded debt, protection to
American manufactures and homestead
laws for the poor.
1t is important that the Ohio Legisla-
ture, to be elected this fall, should be
Republican, for that Legislature will ap-
portion the districts of the States Con-
gressional representation for ten years
to follow. When the Democrats gerry
wandered the Ohio Congressional dis
tricts in 1878, they secured by it enough
Congressman to hold control of the
House of Representatives; and the cor
rectien of the gerrymander by the Re-
publicaHs in 1880 has given the Lower
House again to the Republican PARTY.
The condition of parties is now such that
four or five Congressman, one way or the
other, from Ohio, can change the COM
plexion of the House of Representatives
at Washington.
The present national administration,
in Office but little over four months,
has refunded, ,0n its own motion, $780,
O0O.O of the public debtat 81 per cent
interest, work at which Democratic
1Congress signally failed; and has un-
earthed the great Star Route corruption,
which eluded a costly Democratic in
yestigation. H -t
State affairs may well occupy great
share of the public attention during this
campaign, for this is great State, great
in extent Of territory, in population, in
wealth, in intelligence and in produc-
tiOns., The public institutions of the
State are important, inasn,uch as the
sites and buildings of the State irstitu-
tions and county jails. infirmaries and
orphans homes cost S14,0O0,OO0, and
their yearly expenses are S2,250,OOO.
They are important also on account of
the large number of inmates. Most of
these institutions were built and nur-
tnred by Republican legislation. For
years they were run on partisan princi-
Piles, being reorganiZed at each change
hOf party. and when the Republicans un-
der Foster went into power in 1879, five
or six of them were badly demOralized.
Gov. Foster thought they ought to be
run on ether than purely partisan prin-
ciples and it was with his advice that
the Governor was given power to ap-
point and remove the trustees of the
! State institutions at his pleasure. That
that Foster should appoint to each in
stitution three Republicans and two
Democrats. If the people of Ohio should
be so foolish as to put Democratic
Governor in at any time, he could
change the party control of an institu-
tion simply by removing one Republi-
can and replacing him with Democrat,
leaving four old trustees with their
knowledge of affairs. We have had two
years of that management and great saw
ings have resulted. Out of the, Athens
establishment thirty-two useless Dem
ocrats were cast, but the steward is still
Democrat and the expenses uf the in
stitutions are S25,0OO year less than
two years ago. There are fOrty-twO less
people employed in the Columbus In
sane Asylum and the annual expenses
have been reduced S35.OOO. The Ohio
| Penitentiary has one Democratic trus-
tee, Democratic book-keeper and u
couple other Democratic officials. In
1878 it had 1890 inmates and the ex-
penses exceeded the receipts by Sl7.500;
in 1879 it had 1,571 inmates and the ex-
penses exceeded the receipts by S3,716.
Those were two years under Bishop.
Now there are 1,2o9 inmates, the annual
receipts exceed the expenses by $4,000
to 10000, and Gov. Foster is sure under
present control such surplus can be
shown for the future. zi. =
1t was at the suggestion Of Foster and
the aid of the Republican Legislature
that $2,S0O,OO0 of the State debt, draw
ing 81 per cent. interest, was this year
refunded at 3.3 per cent. interest, annu-
ally saving S133, ,35s.42 of interest, and
to save more each succeeding year as
other smounts of bonds are refunded, or
paid off by the accumulating sinking
fund. The Governor is personally proud
of that transaction.
Adjutant General Gibson pushed the
collection of old State claims against
the General Government, and had col
lected $6S,OO0 on them, the State agent
expecting to collect at least 100000
more. 1t was by Gen. Gibson's efforts
that the State cleared its $4,000 ordi-
nance debt to the United States, and re-
ceived credit of 100000.
Two years ago the people voted for
Gov. Foster on faith, but this year he
comes before them on the splendid record
of his thorough administration, and it
is right that these things should be
made known to the people. No rotten
ness can be discovered in any depart
ment of the State. Although he and his
associates were not elected as temper
ance men, yet out of seventy-five gentle
men in the State House, not one is a
drinking man. Why should not such
an administration be continued? Repub-
licans are not perfection, but, Democrats,
what have you to offer instead of this /?
There are SO counties i'm the State, 40 of
them Democratic. Within ten years
there have been 23 defaulting Democrat
| ic county treasurers, and now Stark fur
nishes another; while there have been
in that time only four Republican de-
faulting treasurers.
/ What have Democrats done for the la
boring men? Where was the Democracy
when the Republicans moved to free
100000 laboring men, to give them
votes, to pass the homestead laws Of
1851, to protect American laboring men
by the tariff
Gov. Foster said: The Democratic
candidate for Governor this year was
not heard of by one out of every thou
sand Democratic voters two weeks be-
fore his nominations, and never voted
but one Democratic ticket, that for Ham
cock last autumn. At. that time he
wrote letter in which he said that he
had left the Republican party because 1t
had become corrupt, and because that
corruption had eliminated in the nomi-
nation of man who was convicted
hriheAtakar and neriurar. Men of LO-