The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1884-06-20
General Davis Accepts.
TEXT OF Ills LETTER TO HON. r.. NJ.
SPEER PRESIDENT OF THE AL
.LENTOwN CONVENTION.

Gen. w. w. H. Davis having been
notified of his nomination as the dem
ocratic candidate for congressman. at
large he accepted in the following let
ter to Mr.. Speer president of the Allen
town convention. .....I4if....
%, DoYLEsTowN, Pa, June 18th 1884,
Hon. r.. M Speer, Chairman Dem
ocratic State Convention, My DEAR
Sir II am in receipt of your letter of
the 5th inst, informing me of my no.
mination as candidate for congressman
at-large. Although unsought, and
made against my repeated protest, !
feel it to be my duty to accept and
will meet defeat or victory with equal
cheerfulness. l.. =,
The country feels the necessity of
thorough, practical reform in the ma.
tional administration reform that
shall reach down to the very bottom.
The republican party have become 80
corrupt ir their quarter of century
of unrestrained license, they would
fall to pieces but for the cohesion of
public plunder The machinery of
government is loaded down with poll
tical barnacles, which cling to 1t like
leeches. When that party assumed
power, it was led by earnest, patriotic
men, with principles that challenged
public confidence now, the leaders
have no higher ambition than thespoils
of office and the war of factions. Re-
Gently, these spoilsmen, with unprece-
dented impudence, nominated one of
their own number for the presidential
Office. To cure the evils complained
of, halfway measures will not suffice /;
there must be a radical change every
where; in reforms we must hew to the
line. They who would rescue the
government, must unite to place it in
clean hands. When this shall have
been done the motto of Thomas JEFF
ferson, that "the whole art of govern
ment consists in being honest" will
be made the chief stone of the corner
in the great work of administrative
reform. .....
When Jefferson drew his immortal
Indictment against the King of Eng
land, he charged among other things,
that he had "erected a multitude Of
new offices, and sent hither swarms Of
officers, to harass our people and eat out
their substance" that he had affected
to render the military independent of,
and superior to civil power J" besides
"cutting off our trade with all parts Of
the world" The republican party
have been guilty of all these things
and much more. They have doubled
the number of offices and largely in
creased the salaries and we find mer
in all parts of the country, who went
into office poor and came out rich
Numerous offices have been created K
provide places for political hacks ant
personal friends. In time of profound
peace, they have made the military
superior to the civil power, by arrest
! ing citizens with an armed force with
out warrant, and sometimes shooting
them down when they refused to yiel(
cheerfully to arbitrary authority. l
we are to believe the testimony of on
of the conspirators, soldiers wer
brought to the capital to prevent those
lawfully elected to the highest offices
taking their seats but purjury did it
} work, and the army was saved the dis
grace of further participating in tn
greatest crime of the century. Whel
the government was turned over to tn
republicans in 1851, our foreign com
merce, fostered by democratic policy
was next to Great Britain in tonnage
Since then it has steadily fallen of
and, at the present rate of decrease
| will soon disappear trom the ocean.
The republican leaders have been s
absorbed with schemes for plunderin
. the treasury, and plotting for partisan
supremacy, every vital interest ha
. been neglected, and official corruptio
! allowed to go on uncballenged. De
! partments are run in the interests O
party, and slip-shod, corrupt method
! have been introduced into nearly ever
. branch of the public service. As on
result of this general neglect, the pee
pie are still burdened with war Ia
of one hundred millions, and are oblig
ed to pay fve million dollars to fiv
: thousand officers for collecting tn
same.
Our revenue system needs careful re
vision TO reduce taxes and Tighten th