Evening star., 1898-09-20
BAILEY ON THE STUMP.
Representative From Texas Address
es VirEinians at Chatham.

ncpFcBent0t1Ve from Texas Address,
VirEinians at Chatham.
Representative ]. W. Bailey of Texas
spoke last night at Chatham. Va, in Rep
resentative c. A. Swansons district. Mr..
Bailey said:
For months republican politicians and
republican editors have talked and writ
ten necessarily about the mistakes OF the
democratic minority in Congress; but now
that they are required to specify our mis-
takes in order to divert public attention
from their own they find 1t impossible 20
make good their repeated and reckless as
sertions In order to escape the just and
universal Indignation which has oeen
aroused against them by the suferlng IN
flicted upon the volunteer army through
the incompetence or the dishonesty OF those
whom they have placed in power, they
have been searching the Congressional
Records and racking their brain to nnd
some damaging accusation which they can
sustain against US. But they have not
found it, and they will not find it. The
record of the democratic party through
out the last and trying session OF Con-
greSS Is absolutely above all CRITICISM L
do not say it with the purpose Of claim
ing any credit for myself: but as mat
ter of simple justice to my democratic as
sociates / declare that in all the history
of this government no minority party ever
passed through a war session of Congress
of the present Congress.
The only important vote which we be-
lieved at the time we cast it could ever be-
come the subject of reasonable controversy
was our vote against the war revenue bill.
and events have completely vindicated our
course in respect to that measure. We op-
posed the passage of that bill because we
believed that it authorized an unnecessary
sale of interest-bearirg bonds. and the
condition of the treasury proves conclusive
ly that We were right. When Congress con-
venes in December next it will find that
the surplus in the treasury above the one
hundred million gold reserve will exceed
the amount received from the sale of
bonds thus demonstrating that there was
no necessity for the government to sell its
bonds.
''Our republican friends cannot excuse
themselves by saying that they could not
foresee the early termination of the war,
because every man who was reasonably
well informed about the condition of Spain
understood that it was impossible for her
to continue long and expensive struggle.
Owing to the greater distance between her
base Of supplies and the seat of war 1t was
certain that it would require the expendi-
ture of at least s1.25 on the part of Spain
to meet the expenditure of every dollar on
the part of the United States. 1t WAS GER
tain, therefore, that if the cost us
5000, 900 it would cost Spain $3.50 600. 900.
and where could she raise any such sum as
that? Torn with civil strife, her throne
claimed by pretender, her people impoV-
erished, she could not levy additional taxes
without precipitating bread riots within
her own borders, and her only means OF
carrying on the war was to borrow money.
This she could not hope to do, because her
bonds were already selling at 80 cents on
the dollar in the markets of the world:
and had she attempted to borrow $3.50 0OG.-
900 she would have been compelled to is
sue $S0OO0O,000 worth of bonds. Before she
could have sold one-half of that amount
her credit would have fallen still lower
and her bonds would not have commanded
20 cents on the dollar.
with an adversary unable to raise
money by taxation and powerless to borrow
1t, the end of the war was in sight before
1t was begun. The republican leaders in
Congress knew this as well as we did: or,
II they did not know it, they are not wise
enough to be intrusted with the admins
tration of this government. But with the
knowledge that the war must soon end
and Knowing that with all their wastcfui-
ness and extravaganza, it would proba bly
not cost over 5000, ,000, 900, they proceeded to
enact law which imposes $50, 600 600 in
annual taxes upon the people and author
lZeS the contraction of $500 600 600 debt
Cpon mat monstrous proposition almost
every democrat in Congress voted no. and
our only regret today is that there was a
single one of US who felt called upon by
MS sense of duty to support it"