The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1886-10-14
SENATOR VOORHEES,.
His Recent Great speech at Indianap
oils 4 Mastery Presentation OF tn,
Issues of the Day.

Issues of the Day.
The following is brief telegraphic
synopsis of Hon. Daniel w. Voorhees,
recent speech at Indianapolis. in which
be sounded the keynote of the cam
paign in the State.
Ex-senator Mcdonald presided, and
on the stage were number of the
prominent men of the party, not only
of local, but State conspicuousness, and
when the president of the meeting in
troduced Mr.. Voorhees, in the fewest
words possible, the orator of the even
ing received a greeting which demon
strated how closely he has woven HIM
self into the hearts of the people of In
diana. 1t is conceded that the speech
is the ableSt political effort of the Sem
ator in any campaign. Contrary to his
usual custom, it was prepared with
care, rs if the Senator had reason to
believe that it would be accepted as
keynote by the opposition, who would
carefully scan every sentence for the
purpose of criticism. Taken as an en-
tirety. it is a magnificent effort, and if
there is a Republican so hopeful as to
draw comfort therefrOm he will pass
among his fellows rs a modern Mark
Tapley.
Senator Voorhees, was particularly
happy in his review of civil service.
as practiced by Republicans during
their long lease of political power, and
he emphasized his argument by copi-
Gus quotations from Hoar, of MaSSa-
chusetts. and from other standard Re-
puplicans like Sumner and Greeley,
who were the first to raise their voices
against the iniquity which had crept
into their own party in their admins
tration of the spoils of Office. In 1871
there was an act authorizing a COM
mission to promote the efficiency of the
civil service, and it was approved by
Grant, whom the Senator credited with
! an honest desire to GS something in
that direction, but it was starved to
| death by the party in its infancy, and
General Cox, of Ohio, at that time
Cabinet officer, was made to feel the
sting of the party lash when he lifted
his protest against the plundering of
the department employees i'll the name
of the party.
During his argument in this connec-
ton the Senator began with the retire.
ment of Belkrap, then a Cabinet Off
Ger, who resigned to avoid investiga-
ton, and he continued the review
through the iniquity which, made Hayes
President by the count in Louisiana
and Florida, and the rewards in the
way of offices that were parceled out to
every one connected with that business,
from John Sherman up or down. to
show that with them it was a snare
and a delusion, and that they invari-
ably rewarded a party worker for his
services to the party and not because
of any special qualifications he had for
the duty and for the office to which he
was assigned.
The Senator also reviewed the Re-
publican financial policy at consider
able length, showing that both silver and
greenbackS exist to-day as part of the
currency by express command of the
American people, irrespective to a
great extent of party affiliations, and
directly in spite of the persistent and
determined hostility of Republican
leaders and Republican Administra-
tions. The plea of the opposition that
the public lands be reserved for actual
settlers was another matter which he
exploded by reciting the enormous
grants which the Republican Con-
crosses had voted away to corpora
tons in nine wears, in this wav dis
posing of IA, 53S, 1874 acres, while with
in two years of Democratic Admin
iStration it has been ordered that
nearly 102, 100000 acres of land held
by railroad corporations shall be
thrown open to the people for homes
and farms.
He also investigated the labor ques-
ton, citing the various enactmentS with
in the past year for the relief of the la
boring man, not the least of which are the
bills putting the seal of condemnation
on the use of convict labor by striking
from the appropriations every item for
the use of convict labor on public
buildings, and also prohibiting the i'm
pOrtatiOn of labo~ under contract to
compete with American workmen 1t
was this latter bill which the Republic
ans managed to defeat.
The tariff question was also given |
judicious attention, and his argument |
was based on the broad axiom that all |
taxation shall be limited to the require |
ments of an economical government, |
and that the necessary reduction in |
taxation must be effected without de-
priving American labor of the ability |
to successfully compete with foreign
labor. In his judgment a tariff which
IS
and no more, for honest government,
and at the same time incidentally pro-
tects the laboring classes, the manu-
featuring interests and the agricultural
and business pursuits of the country,
will be of Democratic origin when it
comes, and it will have the sanction of
the most illustriOus names in the history
OF the Republic.
The question of pensions was also
treated at length, with the sentiment
that any man or men guilty of unfair
ness, illiberality or bad faith toward
the soldiers of the war for the Union
would be speedily and utterly over
whelmed by the execrations of the
whole American people.
The work of the recent COMPRESSION
al session was then reviewed. showing
what had been accomplished for the
soldiers, and the effort of the Repub-
licans to belittle the administration of
the Pension Department came in for
its full share of eXecratiOn.
On the question of prohibition, taking
for his text: ''Where do the roads
fork?" the Senator was particularly
facetiouS IN picturing the entangiements
Of the party whose leader in Maine was
for prohibition, while in this State the