The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-12-31
BANQUETED BY BOSTONIANS.
A Large Number Of Distinguished Men
Dine with Merchants of Boston.
Great Questions. Including Bankruptcy, Sill
yer and Tariff. Discussed by Senators Ed
munds, Evarts, Allison and Frye.

| boston merchants Association. at WHICH SeVerai
distinguished senators and representatives of the
United States were the honored guests. was a
notable event in the club history of Boston. 1t
| was held in the spacious banquet hall of the Ho-
| tel Vendome, which was beautifully decorated.
Plates were laid for over three hundred, and all
the places were filled. At the head of the tables
sat President Wood, of the Merchants
| Association, who acted as chairman.
| At his right, in the order named. were Governor
Robinson, Senator Edmunds. Senator Allison,
Senator Dawes, Ex-Governor Reed, of Massachu-
setts, and Congressman j. Randolph Tucker, of
| Virginia; on his left Mayor O'Brien, of Boston,
| Senators Evarts, Hoar, Frye, Jonathan Chace,
| Congressman Benjamin Butterworth, of Ohio,
| Hon. o. Ames and Hon. John d. Long. The din
ner itself occupied some four hours, and the post
prandial exercises occupied four hours more. The
invitations issued to the guests who were expected
| to speak nominally confined them to the
| leading national issues of the day, but as the
night wore on, there was more Or less struggling
from the main point. A vein of humor ran
through all the speeches, and it evident that
most of the distinguished orators did not con-
| slider the occasion one upon which to put forward
| dry measures. Governor Robinson was greeted
with three cheers, as, indeed, were all the sue
| ceeding speakers. The Governor welcomed the
| guests of the evening, referring to the existing
difference in value between the gold and the sill
yer dollars and said that upon one thing the
! merchants of Boston united-the prompt pass
! age of a national bankruptcy law.
Senator Edmunds was the next speaker. On
| the subject of a bankruptcy bill he said: Il
| rather suppose that among the gentlemen pres
ent there is not one who does not believe such q
law essential to the business welfare of the Ma
ton. The fundamental idea of bankrupt law
&c Eos, 1,v,,ry 80. &c
one State. he said was citizen Of all. Every
where in the Republic there should
be- the same relations of confidence and
| responsibility between the creditor and
the debtor There is thing wider and
| more worthy OF consideration When we look
ct the jeaiousies and discords that seem to be
threatening society in all parts of the globe. we
may rest assured that it grows out Of funda
mental sentiment of intrinsic discomfort. There
is no genuine discomfort in any considerable
part of society that does not have some small
ground Of justice and truth to stand upon, and
the speaker urged the capitalists ameng his
hearers to closely investigate those
signs of dissatisfaction, with the
end that the therefor may
be removed, and that the relations between en-
ployer and employee may be streng thened upon
basis of justice and right. Now, if we could
provide bankruptcy system that should enter
ntO the merits of trade for cash, and should be
inspired with the principle that what is good be-
tween the borrower and lender is good between
the buyer and the seller, the thing
that you sell, having to be the thing
that you buy yourself, and the thing you
buy having to be always the thing that you ex-
| pect to buy, then it would be a good thing for
the country. 1t might be good thing, but it
would not do for the sort of people here among
us to mix up the bankruptcy law with the rela-
| tons of the buyer and seller / was going to
| speak about the tariff, but. as usual when L get
| up to say anything. | 60 into bankruptcy at
once" Loud applause, during which the speaker
| took his seat.
| Mayor OBrien welcomed the banoueters on
| behalf Of the city, and said that if vote were
taken In this city to-day Boston would unani-
mously favor the repeal Of the silver-coinage
| law, and would be just as unanimous in favor Of
| national bankruptcy law. On the tariff there
was great diversity of opinion.
Senator Evarts was the next speaker. He
spoke in humorous strain for time, referring to
the statement that $40, 600, 900 were represented
at the banquet. and saying that since the great
aggregation of capital was divided on the tariff
| question, 1t was rather unreasonable to ex-
pect Congress to agree upon it, and
then added: THE great mass of our
| population agree with you upon this
| question of silver and gold. Great masses of
| men, great neighborhoods, great interests take
| an opposite view on this question of silver 1t
| has been suggested that this question is mainly,
! or largely concerned with and influenced by
what may be called protection or patron
| age of the production of our silver
silver mines feel present and immediate pres
| sure of that kind but, as look at it, and have
for the last seven years. that Is really part of
the interest of the American people in this mat
| ter. In my judgment the great body
of this people will feel, as they certainly
| should feel, that whatever they may think
of what is nominated in the bond
| of the debt, and whether there might be this or
| that easier solution of the question, that this
great body of the people are determined that the
| debt is to be paid, on the honor of the United
States IN the sense that the creditor is entitled
| to feel that he should be paid. If that continues,
if that was the spirit of the people when the debt
| was two fold and the interest was four fold,
| now. when we have reduced it within its present
| narrow limits of debt and interest this Nation
is not going to lower its head to any criticism in
the way in which it is going to pay its debts.
| But if it be true that we are to discard vituper-
alton, and are to discard exaggeraton. then we
| should know how to deal, in the coun-
| ellis of this Nation, with this present
| and practical question concerning coinage of
| silver in any way that shall bring US out in that
! consistent and deliberate determination that.
| when coming from the common counsels of the
country, shall be accepted until there shall be
! developed some necessity for further action He
argued in favor of a simple and inexpensive
| bankrupt law.
| The next speaker was Senator VIM B. ALI
| son, of Iowa, who favored national BANKRUPT
| bill and might say he was one of the few sena-
| tors who had believed the law should be amend
| ed and not repealed that there will be no diff
| fculty on that question. The tariff is a larger
question, and coming from an agricultural
| State. it might be supposed there was q shadow
Of difference of opinion there and in
Massachusetts, think can say to you that
believe the prevailing opinion in my State is in
| favor of encouraging the manufactures of our
country, and that, so far as legislation can prop
eriy accomplish it. 1t is duty to take care OF
the American laborer, rather than the laborer OF
other countries. Mr.. Allison pronounced him
self as decidedly in favor of bimetalism, and ar
| gued at length in support of, s position.
Senator Frye, of Maine. was then introduced.
and delivered long and vigorous speech, ir
which he denounced the silver dollar as sscoined
lie" urged the benefcence of protective tariff
and earnestly advocated fostering the carryinf
trade with subsidies if necessary. and the an