The Portland daily press., 1888-08-16

4
you In November with interest OF at least
lO0 per cent. la voice Good" and applause.
rour years ago, by serious and untoward
nccluents IN the State OF New YORK, the
american people were deprived Of the SER
vices Oh the most brilliant statesman Ameri-
ca mas produced [eheers and applausel, and
py tnose mistakes the power was taken from
the the hepuDiican party, which had controlled
and turned over to the Democratic party.
We accepted the result like IoyaI American
citlzens; we have stood quietly by from that
DAY 70 THIS watching the party in power. Its
course ana It's acts, and, as heretofore In the
campaigns which have preceded this. we
have been called upon TO defend our admin
| iStration and our acts, we now find our-
selves In position where we can properly
ana Justly cali In question the wisdom Of the
acts OF the party in power.
l propose here this afternoon to briefly call
/ your attention to some Of the acts Of the
| Democratic party since 1t has been In power
to some Of its omissions In the direction Of
duty; and also to show you that the charges
made against our party four years ago have
been proved to have been utterly unf0unded
and that the promises and pledges held out
/ TO the American people four years ago by
the Democratic party when 1t was seeking
your suffrages, have not been kept.
-Four years ago, you viii remember this
country rang from one end to the other with
/ the charges that the Republican party was
noneycombed with corruption; that every
| department was filed with men who had
betrayed public trusts, and that IL the peo-
| pie would turn the government over to the
Democratic party, and give IL control Of its
/ great affairs, in short, IL 1t would give
themthelbooks, they would prove these charg
es to be true. These charges have been so
often made that a considerable portion Of
our citizens had come to believe that there
| was more or less truth In them, but what
| has been the result? For three years and
half the Democratic party has had control Of
the federal government In all Of its great ex-
ecutive departments and Of the House of
| Representatives. 1t has had the Treasury
and its books and what has been the result?
Ihe moneys were counted. The accounts Of
the various collectors and disbursing officers
| nave Deen gone over, and the balance Is
struck. The moneys belonging to the treas
urv OF the people have been found to be
there, to the last penny; If there have been
any disclosures Of great defalcations or NAL
feasance In office perpetrated by the Repub-
lican party, the Democrats have failed to
unearth them during the time they have
been in control; these charges, one and all,
have been proven false.
| True, they have removed about one hum
dred thousand officials Of various grades and
OF that am not here to complain, but not a
| score Oh them were removed because OF
| charges OF misconduct In Office. They had
| to abandon the assertion of President Cleve-
land that no man should be removed except
Tor cause; the places were wanted and they
| could not wait for that: and so that false
| plea was abandoned and with 1t was aban-
doned the false plea OF civil service reform
on their part: need not go into a detailed
| account Of the officers who have been ap-
pointed in the places Of those who have been
removed. will simply state this fact that,
since the Democratic party came into power
and began to appoint its own men to the
minor offices 1t has been compelled to remove
malfeasanee in Office than it has Of Republi-
cans on that charge during the three years
and half 1t has held the power. [Appla use.l
The records prove that beyond question.
Inc Democratic party charged us with
gathering into the treasury vast surplus
and with burdening the people with unne-
cessary taxation. They told the people Of
TINS country they were being destroyed by
tne continuance OF war taxes, both In inter
nal revenue and customs and that a vast sur
plus had been accumulated which would fin
ally destroy the commerce and business in
terests OF the country; and they promised
you that II they were put in charge Of the
Government they would stop this
unnecessary taxation, this increase Of sur
plus, and they would so dispose Of the sur
plus as TO improve the times. Now what
were the:factsp They told you In 1884 that
there was surplus of S2oo0oo00o. Vice
President Hendricks himself stated that there
was surplus OF $500, ,O0O, 900 In the treasury
and that the Republican party was no more
nor less than desp0tism for accumulating
such surplus. What were the facts? When
we turned the treasury over to the Demo
cratic party, after taking out one hundred
million in gold held there as a reserve for the
payment OF greenbacks and the maintenance
OF specie payment; after taking out the
funds deposited there by the national banks
Tor the redemption of their notes, there was
a surplus Of twenty millions only. Was that
too much to carry on the business Of this
| great government? No, Think not What
have the Republicans done with the surplus
which had accumulated during their admin
fairs Of the treasury? They had begun on
paying the national debt, and when the keys
Of the treasury were surrendered large p0r-
ton OF 4 had been liquidated. They had re-
duced the interest account to less than fifty
million dollars. And so, month after month,
the bonds were called in and the national
| debt paid, never keeping a surplus of more
than twenty to forty million dollars. Did
| the Democratic party continue that policy? :?
1t never made a call for the redemption Of
bonds for fully six months after 1t came into
| power; and when they made the first call the
surplus had grown from twenty million TO
l eighty million dollars; and from that day it
has never been lower than eighty millions,
but allowed to accumulate until now there
| Is more than one hundred million surplus in
| the treasury.
For what purpose was 1t allowed to accu-
mulate? For the express purpose Of threat
| ening the manufacturing industries Of this
country and all its business interests. II so
much money as this accumulates In the
treasury it will withdraw the circulating
medium from the channels Of business, it
Will bring on hard times therefore you mu st
consent to reduction of the tariff. That
was the proposition, and 1t Is for that pur-
pose this surplus has been allowed to accu-
mulate until today IL is over one hundred
million dollars. This administration has
had power, under the laws Of the United
States. during every moment Of its existence
| TO buy bonds at the market rate, or at any
rate 1t saw fit to pay for them, and 10 cancel
them and so stop the payment of interest.
Instead Of that 1t has loaned to the national
banks sixty million dollars which they hold
without paying any interest to the federal
government. III 1t had used this sixty mill
lion dollars in buying and paying off the
bonds due in 1891, we should have saved
many millions in interest, now lost; but it
was concerted plan on the part Of the rev.
enue reformers so called Tor free traders as l
call them) [applause.l to force the busi-
ness interests Of this country to consent to a
| reduction OF the tariff system, in order that
the surplus might be reduced and less money
collected from the people.
Heretofore what has the Republican party
done in the matter of reduction of taxation
We are charged with burdening the people
and with having left a burdensome system
upon them. Since the war closed and whilst
the Republican party held power 1t reduced,
| or removed, many taxes Of various kinds,
among which was the internal revenue tax
which you will remember covered almost
L 6NcIytHlu6s UcAuS ltNlcu LOT the purpose OF
raising money to carry on the war and save
the Union; but we have gradually wiped 1t
out until there is taxation only ON tobacco
and spirituous and malt liquors. In short,
we have gone on reducing taxation until, by
the various bills we have passed we have
reduced 1t something more than three hun
dred and fifty million dollars per annum, or
the amonnt collected would have amounted
to that II the taxation had been left where
It was at the close of the war. Thus the
Republican party met every emergency, re-
duced taxation, defended the public credit,
reduced the public debt and the rate Of in
terest, and made provision for the pension
ing of our soldiers and kept the country
stan ding upon the even keel Of progress
| Applause. We surrendered the power
and after three years of eogitation, knowing
that this surplus would accumulate, the
Democratic party has just begun to make
suggestions for change. Controlling all
this time the House Of Representatives, the
only legal body for inaugurating bills for
reducing taxation, for three years, they have
failed TO make suggestions Of any kind what
ever. They seem to have been dazed by the
possession OF power. Unaccustomed to govern
ment. 1t seemed impossible for them tC
formulate and policy, but, after three wears
OIL power, the President, who went into office
without having known idea in regard to the
tariff or revenue, (for certainly IL he ever had
any before his election he failed TO express
It to any human being, neither his letter oi
acceptance or any Of his public acts having
gwen the people OF the country any under
standing as to what his views were upon
II fAVh o. aBAA hU