The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1892-11-18
BEFORE Ind LETTER.

Before the election Mr.. Chauncey
NJ. Depew, the silver-tongued Repub-
lican orator, being reminded OF Il
speech he once made in which he re-
ferred to eXPresident Cleveland as
the typical American" said that
after the election, when Mr.. Cleveland
had had his fall, he would deliver an
eulogium upon him which would
serve as his epitaph. Mr.. Depew had
his opportunity Tuesday evening, at
a dinner of the Chamber of Commerce,
in New York. There were present,
besides Mr.. Depew, Mr.. Cleveland,
Whitelaw Reid, Attorney General
Miller, Secretary Foster, Congressman
w. G. p. Breckenridge, Murat Halls
tead and others. Congressman Brock
inridge responded to the toast The
House of Representatives" He said ::
81 can speak only for myself, but l
am equally sure of my associates.
Our purpose is, as God shall give us
strength, to go in a different direction
from that in which the country has
been travelling the past thirty-two
years, but in such way as to make
changes carefully and cautiously, so
as not to alter the adjustment of bust
ness. lam not speaking as partisan,
but as an American Representative
trying to find the reformation which
will meet with the popular opinion,
so as to avoid revolution.
The public debt must be extin-
guished as rapidly as can be done
with safety to the taxpayers. There
must be change in our banking laws
so as to supply sufficient currency
for the needs of the entire country.
The nation wants a bimetallic me
dunn, that is, a single standard with
a double currency, but it is not will
ing to have any currency, which is
not equal to the best all over the coun-
try. He who works all day gets the
cheapest dollar, and we intend that
he shall get a dollar as good as any
other dollar"
Elk President Cleveland was loudly
called for. He responded and after
referring to the warmth of his well
come, he said men speak of ''our bust
ness interests" as something awful and
mysterious. His relations to the bust
ness interests were entirely pleasant
and free from fear and trepidation :;
that while he appreciated these inter
ests he did not believe any other in
terest should be obliged to feed from
the crumbs which fall from the table
of business, not did he believe that
table should be robbed of good things
which are honestly and fairly there
merely because some other tables are
not well provided.
Mr. Cleveland added sit comes to
this: We are all interested as Ameri-
cans in common pursuit. Our pur-
pose is, or ought to be, in our several
spheres, to add to the general fund of
national prosperity. From this fund
we are all entitled to draw, perhaps
not equally. but justly, each receiv-
ing fair portion of individual pros
perity. Let us avoid trampling on
each other in our anxiety to be first
in the distribution of shares, and let
us not attempt to appropriate the
shares of Others"
Mr. Whitelaw Reid also had his say.
He suggested to Democrats the neces-
sity of hurrying up tariff reform, but
the party, we imagine, will prefer to
do the work thoroughly and for life
time, rather than too hastily and in
effectually.
DIR. Depew's turn came next. He
said he had expected to be here to-
night attending the obsequies of
distinguished friend and had prepared
an eulogium which would be satisfac-
tory to the spirit of the deceased, but
instead he found himself listener at
a Democratic ratification meeting
Il am the corpse, laid he He illus
trated his position by the story of a
clergyman who was called upon to Of
ficiate at the funeral of q spiritualist.
He delivered the best eulogy he could
upon the dead spiritualist, whereupon
the widow arose and said she had a
message from the deceased. She
transmitted the message and roundly
his sermons generally. An apology
was made by a friend of the deceased,
to which the preacher answered: II
will forgive him, for this is the first
time L have been sassed by the
corpse" That was Mr.. Depew's posi-
ton.
Two years ago, he said, he delivered
a speech at the Astor House upon the
typical American. That speech was
used at the Chicago convention sue
cessfully.
1t had also been used, he regretted
to say, very successfully ever since.
He could add nothing to what was al
legged to have been said by him on
that occasion, because greater orator
than he had spoken-the American
people had pronounced Mr. Cleveland
to be their choice in figures of speech
figures that were disastrous to the
Republican party.