The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-09-20
BAILEY ON THE STUMP.
Texas Congressman Bitterly Attacks
 War Revenue Bill.

Danville, Va, Sept. 19.-Congressman J. w. Bailey of Texas spoke at Chat ham, the county seat, to-day in the in- terest of c. A. Swanson, democratic nominee for congress from the Fifth district. People for miles around were in the big crowd to hear the Texan. In his speech Mr. Bailey made it plain that democrats meant to make the present campaign ali aggressive one. Among other things he said: For months republican politicians and re- publican editors have talked and writ ten necessarily about the mistakes of the democratic minority in congress, but now that they are required to spec fly our mistakes in order to divert pub lie attention from their own they find 1t impossible to make good their repeat ed and reckless assertions. The only important vote which we believed at the time could ever become the subject of reasonable controversy was our vote against the war revenue bills; and events have completely vlndicated our course in respect to that measure. We opposed the passage of that bill be- cause we believed that 1t authorized an unecenssary sale of interest bearing bonds, and the condition of the treas ury proves conclusively that we were right. When congress convenes in De- cember next it will find that the sur plus in the treasury, above the one hun dred million dollar gold reserve will exceed the amount received from the sale of bonds, thus demonstrating that there was no necessity for the govern ment to sell it's bonds.
 Our republican friends cannot ex- cuse themselves by saying that they could not foresee the early termination of the war, because every man who was reasonably well informed about the conditions 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, it was certain that it would require the expenditure of at least a dollar and twenty five cents on the part of Spain to meet the expenditure of every dollar on the part of the United States. It was certain, therefore. that if the war cost us $200, 1000 1t would cost Spain s250, 900, ,000 and where could she raise that sum? Torn with civil strife; her throne claimed by a pretender; her people impoverished, 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 thirty cents on the dollar in the markets of the world, and had she attempted to borrow $250, ,000, 900, she would have been compelled to issue $500 900 dollars worth of bonds Before she could have sold one-half of that amount her credit would have fall en 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 it, the end of the war was in sight before it was begun. The repub- lican leaders in congress knew this as well as we did, or if they did not know it they are not wise enough to be en- trusted with the administration of this government. But with the knowledge that war must soon end and knowing that with all their wastefulness and extravagances 1t would probably not cost over $2l 9,000,000 they proceeded to enact a law which imposes $150 900, 900 in annual taxes upon the people and authorizes the contraction of $500,00 900 debt. Upon that monstrous propo- sition almost every democrat in con- gross voted mo- and our only regret to-day Is that there was a single one of us who felt called upon by his sense of duty to support il"