The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-02-07
An Exposition Of the Views OF Senator
Payne.


At recent banquet given at Column
bus, by Senator Payne, to the Ohio Leg
islature. that gentleman delivered the
following interesting and carefully-pre-
pared address:
Gentlemen of the General Assembly:
honorable and responsible position of mem
Der of the United States Senate. No doubt
the compliment was mainly intended for the
patiently waiting, long-suffering, ever faith
full and true Democrats of Northern Ohio.
For the first time in the history of the State
they have been recognized and honored by
their brethren. In their name l meet you to-
night to thank you for the noble act of justice
which has been so gracefully and generously
awarded to them. For myself, also, / have
desired this social gathering that / might in
person assure you of my sincere and lasting
gratitude, and give you frank expression
of my views on some or the present issues
of the day. For fifty years L have been q
resident of the State and colabofer in the
tive State elections 1 have supported and
voted none other than the Democratic tick
ct; and every one of those votes has
been cast in a Democratic ward in the city of
Cleveland. I have actively participated in
twelve Presidential canvasseS, in which,
among other questions, the issues of " The
Removal of the Deposits by General Jack
son; THE Independent Treasury" under an
Buren,: " The Annexation of Texas; The
War with Mexico THE Popular Sovereign
ty'' of Stephen A Douglas; The Lecompton
cession at Charleston;" The Civil War under
Lincon;" THE Abolition of Slavery" THE
Resumption and Maintenance of Specie Pay
ments;" THE Great Fraud of 1876, were by
me discussed before the people without eva
sion or disguise; and am proud to declare
that tonight, reviewing the past from this
advanced milestone in the journey of life,
there is not one of the opinions then expressed
that would recall or change, or modify, If
had the power to do So This is all l care to
say in vindication of the orthodoxy of my po-
itical faith, or of my steadfast loyalty to the
Democratic party.
Gentlemen, am induced to accept this Sem
atorship to which you have elected me mainly
by the hope and belief that in the discharge OF
its duties may be useful to the state ana the
party; the last must be secondary to and IN
harmony with the first, and both must have
the appreciation of my conscientious conv1c-
lions. / will in no case knowingly violate the
Constitution or perpetrate wrong. But to
be useful the representative must be cordial
ly sustained by his constituents, and that they
may sustain him there must be between him
and them substantial coincidence of views.
AS to the influence of the lobby, think you
need have no apprehension. They have always
deemed it expedient to give me wide berth,
and the increased rigidity that age imParts to
the features will not be less repellant to their
insidious approaches.
will now proceed 10 some more important
questions And first
CIVIL SERVICE.
For twenty-three years the dispensation of
Federal patronage has been in the hands of
the Republican party. Appointments nave
all been made from the adherents of that
party, and mostly from the class OF active
politicians. The Federal Judges, supreme,
circuit, and district, with their clerks, mar
shals, assistants, deputies, registers, master
commissioners, assignees, have been and are
Republicans. The heads of departments and
their subordinates through all grades, down
to thn and ha h-t
urers, collectors of both customs and internal
revenue, surveyors, postmasters, letter-car-
riers, numbering in the aggregate more than
one hundred thousand, have been supplied
from the one party, while nine-tenths of that
party and the entire Democratic party have
been and are now absolutely prescribed and
debarred the public service. During this pc
riOd money by the thousand millions has been
collected and diSbursed, and the books kept
by those partisan agents, furnishing an oppOr-
tunity and a temptation for population, fraud
and concealment to which / should dread TO
expose even the iron-cad integrity of Demo
Gratis. Inevitably, corruption and great
abuses have crept in and have been covered
up; favoritism, protegelsm, nepotIsm, I'M
becility and senility have obtained secure
Judgment; decentralization has followed, and
the public believe that a fetid mass exists, per-
meated with rottenness and gangrene. Now,
can this service be reformed and by what proc
ess? ] answer, yes. And the process is:
First, by electing a Democratic President
and that is assured the present year, unless
unwisdom and madness from the gods are
permitted to block the way. Secondly, by a
pitiless and radical overhauling and purging
of the present service. An Augean stable can
not be cleaned with toothbrush. You must
turn on the hose, ply the hickory broom and
scrub brush, disinfect the premises, and give
them u wholesome atmosphere for honest in
cIImbents Then let care be taken that none
but such as bear the JeifersOnian stamp OF
and those only from the Democratic party un
Gil its full ratable share enter to guard and
protect the public interest. If public office be
a sacritical burden, all citizens should be com
PEELED by cOnscriptiOn if need be- to share
their portion. If, on the other hand, as most
believe, it is a privilege and a blessing, one
half or three-fOurths of the whole population
should not be excluded from enjoying their
just and fair share of it BY this means re.
form is practicable. and until accomplished
no stable settlement of the question can be
obtained. Secondly,
THE TARIFF.
One year ago / ventured to make public
some opinions in regard to the tariff, recOg-
niZing the divergence of views in the Demo
cratic party and declaring that such diverg-
ence was the chief obstacle to the success of
the party. At the State Convention in June
those opinions were considered, condensed
and crystallized into what has since become
known as the "OhiO Platform" 1t was unan-
imously approved by the Convention. 1t dis
tictly rejects high tariff" or protection
for projections sake" on the one hand, and
the equally inadmissible doctrine Of free
other. II sought to find a compromise basis
intermediate between the two extremes.
which being equitable and just would chal-
lenge the assent and concurrence of all fair
minded men and measurably remove it
from the arena of partisan politics.
Let me illustrate its excellence by an
application 10 the interests of Ohio. For
several decades Ohio has held the third
rank in the classification of States. Until
the last her main dependence for growth was
in the development of her agricultural
Al.
tered, improved, populated and created into
new counties; there were vast tracts of valua-
BILE timber, the building of canals, facilitating
transportation to market, and later system
of railroads increasing these facilities and eX-
pending annually in their construction many
millions of money. But now these aspects are
greatly changed. There are now no more
lands subject to entry; there are no more
new counties in reserves; the valuable timber
has been marketed; the canals have ceased to
be tributary, and the railroad system is prac-
tically completed. The soil has been consid-
erably impoverished, the cereal crops are less
bouBtiful, while the great Improvement of
agricultural implements with the cOnsolida-
ton of small farms, has greatly reduced the
demand for farm-hands. Even her wool staple
is in peril of severe and injurious attack.
Is IL not the duty OF craftsmanship to
preYise the sources Of strength and growth
that shall enable her to maintain the grand
rank which she has hitherto held? The last
census shows where those germs of strength
are to be found. We have already more than
10000 manufacturing and mechanical indus
tries in which-induced in great part by Con-
invested, 10000 hands are employed, receiv-
ing annually in wages 600O0.0O0. S2l5 900 600
of material are used, and the manufactured
product is $S4S, O0O, 600 in value. More than
twenty per cent. of her population find their
employment and livelihood in these industries.
Iron ore and coal and other raw ma
terial are simply inexhaustible; her people
are educated, industrious and enterprising
and there Is no reason why thousand other
home industries should not spring up and
flourish in our towns and villages as they have
sprung up and are fourishing in the towns
and villages of New England. This
will assuredly be the result if only Con-
grefs will let US alone. We ask no high
rates or special protection that favor monopo-
lies, but we ask and demand stability and eX-
emption from agitation. Let the law of March
Iocf har q frial q raSIllfinr sfafisfioa