The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1884-07-11
Blaine as a Business Man.
His Wisconsin Address Suggesting tn
EHunicipaI-Knde btedness Act.
Boston Journal.)

boston JOurnal.)
VIII the business men of the country by
their votes place the destinies of this coun-
try in the hands of the Democratic party?
Do they wish to enlarge the area of Demo-
cratic rapacity, as we have it in New York
and as they are striving to plant it in Bos-
ton? Are the methods of the leaders of the
Democracy in New York such as to induce
the Republicans to vote against Mr.. Blaine?
The business men of this country, the me-
chanics and laboring men of this country
cannot afford to vote against the party which
has given prosperity to the country. We
have not ha,, in forty years candidate
so thoroughly conversant with the bust
ness interests Of this country as Mr. Blaine.
He is practically one of the best business
men in public life, and his career In Con-
gress has been one prolonged study of the
course of trade and the guiding elements of
honest finance. Take Mr.. Blaine's record
on the important subject of taxation. Ten
years ago he was the first to sound the alarm
regarding the increasing danger of munich
pal indebtedness. In a speech in Wiscon-
sin it was he who suggested the municipal
indebtedness acts. He suggested that it
would be wise and salutary provision to
define in State constitutions the precise
| ends for which municipal credit should be
used-limiting those uses to proper aud re-
stricted objects, and forbdding in any
event the creation of a debt beyond
specified percentage of the official valua-
| ton of the city or town.
This was in 1874 and in 1875 Massachu-
sets adopted the suggestion and passed the
| Municipal-Indebtedne act-a measure
which checked extravaganza, and is beyond
| question The most important legislative act
| of the last ten years, especially for business
men, who pay 80 per cent. of all the munic-
| ipal taxes which are levied There is bus
| mess ring to the whole address, the conclud-
| ing sentence of which we will give as indie
| alive of the business sagacity of the man
| who uttered it.
with population so widely extended
with local interests so greatly diversified
and often in seeming conflict, it is not to be
| expected that SO great Government as ours
can at all times be administered with perfect
| satisfaction to every section and every cit-
| zen. But we daily grow to know more of
each other, and / am sure it will be found
of the East and of the West, of the North
and of the South, that the more intimately
| they become acquainted and related the bet
| ter they will like each other aud the less
will appear the differences that sometimes
divide them. Tariff and currency, internal
improvement and cheap transportation, are
| all susceptible of fair settlement after full
discussion; and in the final arbitrament of a
wise craftsmanship it will be found in regard
to these questions, and all others of like
magnitude, that the interest of Que section
is the interest of all, and that the more
perfect union which our fathers sought to
establish will be fully and finally realized
when each section is unwilling to enjoy an
undue advantage over any other, and when
all sectious are alike ready to be governed
in what they ask and ia what they give, in
what they demand and in what they con-
cede, by that spirit of patriotism which al
ways obeys the authority of principle and
always yields to the 'despotism of duty"