The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-09-20
A DEMOCRATIC KEYNOTE
"YOUNG MR." BAILEY SPEAKS FOR
HIS PARTY IN CONGRESS.
Charges Republicans with Extrava-
-POstmasters Not Muxzled.

DANVILLE. Va, Sept. 19.-Congressman
Bailey spoke at Chatham, the county seat,
to-day, in the interest of G. A. Swanson
Democratic nominee for Congress from the
Fifth district. People for miles around
were in the big crowd to hear the Texan
Mr.. Bailey made it plain that the Demo-
Gratis mean to make the present campaign
an aggressive one. Among other things of
similar import he said:
For months Republican politicians and
Republican editors have talked and written
necessarily about the mistakes of the Dem
ocratic minority in Congress, but now that
they are required to specify our mistakes
in order to divert public attention from
their own, they find it impossible TO make
good their repeated and reckless assertions:
In order to escape the just and universal
Indignation which has been aroused against
them by the suffering inflicted on the vol
unteer 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 find 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
throughout the last and trying, session or
Congress is absolutely above all criticism
| do not say it with the purpose OF claim
ing any credit for myself; but as a matter
of simple justice to my Democratic asso-
ciates 1 declare that in all the history of
this government no minority party ever
passed through a war session of Congress
of the present Congress-
1.-THE only important vote which we be-
ieved at the time we cast II could ever pev
was our vote against the war revenue Dill,
and events have completely vindicated our
course in respect to that measure we OPP
posed the passage of that bill because we
believed that it authorized an unnecessary
sale of Understanding bonds, and the con-
that we were right. When Congress con-
venes in December next it will find that the
dred-million gold reserve, will exceed the
amount received from the sale of bonds,
thus demonstrating that there was no ne
cessty for the government 10 sell It's bonds
Our Republican friends cannot excuse
themselves by saying that they could not
because every man who was reasonably well
informed about the condition of Spain un-
derstood that it was impossible for her to
Owing to the greater distance between her
base of supplies and the seat of war it was
certain that it would require the expendi-
ture of at least ST. 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 war cost US $780,
where could she raise any such sum as
that? Torn with civil strife, her throne
erished. she could not levy additional taxes
without precipitating bread riots within her
own borders. and her only means of carry
ing 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 doi-
lar in the markets of the world, and had
she attempted to borrow $250,000OO0 she
would have been compelled to issue $780,
100000 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, ard powerless to borrow it, the
end of the war was in sight before it was
begun. The Republican leaders in Congress
knew this as well as we did; or, if they did
not know it, they are not wise enough to
be intrusted with the administration of this
government. But with the knowledge that
the must soon end. and knowing that,
with all their wastefulness and extrava-
gance, it would probably not cost over $780,
100000 they proceeded to enact law which
imposes $3.50 coo 900 in annual taxes upon the
people and authorizes the contraction of a
five d-million-dolar debt. Upon that
monstrous proposition almost every Demo-
crat in Congress voted no. and our only
regret to-day is that there was single
one of us who felt called on by his sense
of duty to support it,