Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1894-10-05


copy. Mr. Edfnunds said:
do not care by what name men call
| themselves, whether Democrats, Repub-
licans, ProhibitiOnists, Populists, and
even Mugwumps [laughter], but l will
take them if only they believe in the sol
id basis upon which human liberty and
human happiness most depend.
The basis of justice, of truth, of fair
play between man and man. That is
what | understood Republicanism to be
in 1861. 1t was what 1 understand it to
| have been ever since.
Now, what has it done? 1t got through
the war with almost every Democratic
vote in Congress against it. 1t came to
be phrase in respect to the Democracy
as party that they were very much in
favor of war, but very much opposed to
any means of carrying it into effect. We
succeeded. We had to issue great deal
of paper money. We had no gold in the
the treasury, or even silver, and the dis
count on paper money was enormous,
and the question was what to do about
it. The great body of the Republican
party saw that the curse Of the laboring
man was that, day by day, he earned his
money in this deprecated currency
whose evils at last fall upon those least
able to bear them.
So the question for the Republican
party, knowing this, was at the earliest
possible moment to bring about resump-
ton, so that the paper dollar of the poor
man and the farmer might everywhere,
in every market in the world, buy the
things he wanted at the solid foundation
price. Well, in the 70's we passed the
resumption act, and provided that at the
| end of two or three years all the United
States notes should be redeemed in coin
that is, in gold. How did we accom-
plish that? Not by the vote of a single
Democrat. With possibly one or two ex-
ceptions in the House of Congress, the
Democrats resisted to the uttermost, and
resumption was carried through by the
solid vote of the Republican party.
Even our western Republican brethren
who believed it was impossible to resume
| when there was such vast amount of
paper money out, came and stood by as
man by man and shoulder to shoulder, a
solid front. Everything resumed its nor
part of the country was the rule.
But they ask us why we talk about the
past and say that it can never come back.
They say, "Why tell us of what you have
done for the country and what we have
done?" There is every force in that,
but it is what every man who comes out
of State prison says. Great laughter.
And it is what we are told now in this
recent, most successful year of the Dem
| ocratic party in carrying out its true
principles
President Cleveland-and all honor to
him, for he is president of the United
States and if his party would let him
alone he would be quite decent man
[laughterl, he says: "Here is this de-
testable bill. perfidious and all that.
But the worst thing for the Democratic
party is to say anything about it. l will
not even sign it myself. 1 will not veto
it, detestable as it is, but 1 will say no.
thing about it and tell the people of the
United States that now we are taking
step toward the grand end for which the
Democratic party was formed-free trade
laughter with every country except
our own" More laughter
Mr.. Edmunds paid his respects to the
wild money theories of the West and the
disorders of that section. He believed
nine-tenths of those responsible for these
were foreigners who do not know what
free government really is. He then
said:
Now we come to the time when the
on what is called the Democratic party.
We had undertaken before Mr.. Cleve-
lands first election, in Mr.. Arthur's time
to provide for the building of the Mica
raguan canal, which would make Boston
ard San Francisco near neighbors by
water, and which, as everybody knows,
would immensely strengthen the ties of
this vast Republic of ours and would
make the United States, for the example
of the world. the mistress of the trade of
Asia. President Arthur negotiated a
treaty with Nicaragua by which that
canal was to be built, as was demon
strated to be perfectly feasible, Nicara-
qua furnishing the SOIL the water and
the place, and the United States furnish
ing the money and managing the canal.
[Great laughter and applause. Well,
the Senate agreed upon the treaty, and
before Mr.. Cleveland was elected in No
vember it was certain on acanyass of the
Senate that it would pass. AS soon as
Mr.. Cleveland was elected there was a
backwater set in. and the result was that
when we were able TO get vote the
treaty was lost.
We considered the matter in the hope
that those gentlemen who had been for
it before Mr.. Cleveland came in would
come to their senses and carry it. Mr..
Cleveland had not been in the Office two
weeks before he withdrew that treaty,
as the constitution gave him a right to,
and smothered it, That was the Demo
cratic contribution to the Nicaragua
canal. Laughter.
Mr.. Harrison came in and we began,
and had gotten things in very hopeful
condition before he went out of Office.
He would have signed it, for he was very
much in favor of it. Then came the fall
elections, when Democratic House of
more than two to one was elected, and,
as we all know, still survives. Then cold
water began to be poured on this Nicara
qua bill, and it was strangled to death.
Number two for the Democratic tidal
wave, etc. laughter.
So. have right to say that the Dem
ocratic party has done one thing for the
people of the United States-it has been
standing in the way of the obvious pro-
motion of its widest and best National
interest. Applause.
Then We come to the readjustment of
the tariff. We passed what is called the
Mckinley bill. Applause We adjust
ed that bill on the principles of protec-
ton as fairly equal as possible. That
was orr reciprocity. T. was not the rec
iprocity OF competition. 1t was the rec
ipTOcity of exchange of things we had
and could manufacture to great advan-
fau md fharr ,n,,lI n,,fo