Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-03-27
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record upon the silver question, rudely dis
turbed the confidence of everybody inter-
| ested in having our money standard main
tanned or owning American securities. A
| run was started upon the treasury; the
gold reserve, left defeaseless, was trenched
upon for the first time since it's creation;
our stocks and bonds came back to us
| across the ocean by shiploads; and in a mo-
ment We were in the midst of a financial
panic which, compared with the panic Of
1873. was as the hurricane to the summer 8
breeze. The sale of few bonds would
have averted the first danger, but when the
great dixie for the preservation Of a sound
| currency was once broken, tens CT millions
OF bonds were almost uselesSly thrown in
the breach.
Two Propositions.
1.-The words that shall speak to you to-
day will be spoken chiefly to illustrate two
propositions: First, under existing condi-
lions, the interests of this country demand
| rational application upon broad national
lines, and without caprice or favor, of the
policy of protection; second, those same In
terests require firm and unfaltering ad-
| herence to the financial standard of the
great commercial nations of the world. Es-
| tablish these two principles, and our coun-
try will no longer occupy the humiliating
attitude where the buffoon statesma nsilip
| of the last three years has placed her, but
she will again tread those great highways
that lead to national prosperity and glory.
And first as to the policy of protection.
When the republican party came into power
in 1851 1t found treasury that was empty
and public credit barely equal to borrow
| ing money at 10 per cent. This condition
was by no means temporary, or due to the
threatened rebellion. Throughout almost
the whole Of President Buchanan's admins
insufficient to meet it's expenditures and
| there was steady deficit. Mr. Lin
com found neither money nor credit, neither
fleets nor armies, nor even munitions of
var. with which to prosecute the greatest
civil struggle of history. To aid in sustain
ing this enormous burden the republican
party 1T once imposed high tariff upon
| imported goods.
10 the great amounts raised by taxation
during the war there must he added in order
to estimate the immediate money cost of the
struggle the debt which in 1866 amounted to
$2.SiD,tsD,OtU ~
The total net expenditures, including the
enormous interest charge for the fiscal year
ending June 30. 1866. amounted to 1919, 00O,-
WV, an amount many millions in excess of
our present expenditures. To support this
great weight, we had population scarcely
half as large as our population today and
ohe-thlrd OF that number had either Just
emerged from slavery, or had lost all they
mad in war. We had a per capita tax nearly
three times as great as in these degenerate
tarl!f reform days. when are derided as
bankrupt IN every market of Europe.
\ Surplus.
And yet, during that year. our revenues
yielded the entire amount of our expend;-
lures. and there was left a small surplus, to
he applied to the payment of our debts, and
in every subsequent year, until it was de-
creed that protection must be oyerthrown.
We paid off portion of the PRINCIPAL of orr
deht and in the aggregate, including pre-
Inians. we devoted 81. 9'OO0O,0UO to that pur-
pose. In addition to that sum we raised by
from 1866 to 1893. S, $50 600 600 or the gigan-
TIC total of $1,000. 100000, of which the
greater portion was collected at the custom
house.
den might have crushed out the energies of
the greatest nation that ever existed On
the other hand, under the wise policy of
leIElng taxes in way to stimulate the de-
velopment of the country, the strength of
THIS nation grew in proportion to the weight
of the burden. While we were raising
these vast sums by taxation we were en-
Joying prosperity not only never before
equaled, but never approached by any other
nation in the world. Assuming that this
country was as rich at the end of the civil
war as at the beginning, although nearly
one-half or the men of the country were
withdrawn from production and engaged
IN the destruction of life and property and
alt aough 4.WD,000 human beings were val
increased in wealth from s16.O0o. dOO. 600 in
1868 to s'i',0O0.O 100000 in 1890, or more than
400 PEI cent
Wonderful Growth.
'Nor can these eloquent figures more
than feebly express cur wonderful growth.
The human intellect experienced a new
awakening. A spur was applied to inven-
ton, and the methods of production We're
revolutionized. The drudgery of labor was
TO large degree taken from human Shout
ders and imposed upon machines. Prices
greatly decreased, wages increased, and
there was consequent diffusion of the
comforts and luxuries of life. Nowhere
was the growth more wonderful than in
those instrumentalities for the diffusion of
education. There was hardly consider
able town in the country which did not
have it's high school, with course of in
s'ruction equal to the college of our earlier
days. and all over this land on the Attain
tic coast in the valley of the Mississippi
and yond the Sierras. high institutions of
learning were established and magnificen:ly
endowed Our older institutions were al
most re-established. 1 venture to say that
the great university across the Charles
gained more in apparatus, in libraries, in
buildings and in general equipment from
1St:, to 1893 than it had acquired in all the
previous two and one-quarter centuries of
it's existence.
Democratic Promises.
TT was promised by our democratic
friends that if the incubus OF protection
should be removed, the energies of this
country. which mad accomplished such mir
acies when in bonds, would, untaxed and
unfettcred, overleap our own markets and
conquer the trade of the world Well the
experiment has been tiled, after a dishon-
est fashion, it is true, and we know the re-
suit. The experiment certain
ly did not work well. The moment an add
ministration came into power pledged to
free trade our prosperity ceased as if by
magic. and the only thing that saved our
industries from complete collapse was the
partial reputation by the democratic party
of their promises. They lacked the evil
courage to complete the destruction their
threats had begun. They passed a law
which the President dared not veto and
which he could not sign. 1t was just pro-
tectve enough to violate their solemn
pledges, and free trade enough to show the
narrow sectional view which they took of
the interests Of the country. and to give US
a chance to witness the results of their
theory. Perfidy and dishonor' are not
generally counted among the virtues, but
they shone in comparison with the so-called
principles of the democratic party, and
their application in this instance was a
signal tenefit.
ITO. sum up the whole matter, it is
CROUCH for uS aS Americans to Epoy, 4bot