The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1904-10-01


son Lake on Friday evening last. After
being introduced by the chairman in
particularly bright and timely speech,
Senator Nelson spoke as follows:
In free governments such as ours me me
Rep viii &c ha yDocv aed OF
political parties. The many. unite IN
general creed to which all give adhes ION,
government, almost from the beginning,
has to some extent and IN some form
been a party government. For well-nigh
tesLthe 'ef Democ r@H s and p Republcan-
have contended for the control of the ad-
f9inistrat S93 Of our government: since nee
severai times h had the Control 81 Of the
house of representatives, two terms the
control Of the executive department., and
only once-Cleveland's last term-the con on
houses of congress- With these excep-
lions the administration of the country
ands al al t t Rep9Sd haS sr in 6hf
party has formulated and carried out the
political. industrial and financial policy Of
randed grow uno and "o9 was
only once-during C1evelands last admin
1stration-that the Democratic party was
this policy, and we all know, and it is
still fresh in our memories, how disaster
GUS and deplorable this proved to be.
Party of Obstruction.
1T is not difficult to pass Judgment on
the Republican party Its history, is an
deeds, planned and accomplished It is
not so easy to pass judgment on the Dem
ocratic party in recent years. 1t can point
20 no great deeds done and accomplished:
It's life has been one long, persistent
course Of obstruction, under one guise Or
another: The only chance it had for &C
ton it 1nglOriOuSly frittered away to the
shagrin and detriment of the country.
1t deserves credit for one thing; it has in
many instances aimed to camp on ground
occupied by the Republican party four
years before. or more. That is in. the
main it's attitude now, for aside from
some ,glttering generalities,. it presents
tscan people. The only tangible issue it
presents is It's. candidate. and his envi-
comment. All else is negative pregnant,
pregnant with exploded or obsolete finan-
~~cial and Industrial follies. The Republic
can party comes before you with it's past
YOU to scan it, and it comes before you
with its candidate and all that he stands
Cor and asks you to put your search nght
. on him, feeling confident that the : record
end all assure you now, as in the past,
that the welfare of the country is entirely
safe in Republican hands. and that it
would be utterly unsafe and fraught with
dangerous and destructive consequences
70 commit this government into the hands
OF the Democratic party.
with the grand history of our party but
to the younger generation it may be- both
Interesting and instructive to recall and
briefly review some of the great deeds
done and the great results accomplished
BY the Republican party since 1861, for
the welfare and great advantage OF our
country.
Financial Legislation and Adminis-
tration.
The close of the Civil war found. the
country burdened with large national
debt and considerable volume of depre-
cfated and irredeemable. paper currency
In August, 1865, the interest bearing ma
fional debt was S2,3S1, 100000, all running
at comparatively high rate of interest
This debt was refunded at lower rate
of interest, and then from year to year
reduced until the beginning of CleVelands
last administration when the aggregate
was only $5S5,OOO, OC0-a reduction of ST.
partly to maintain the gold standard and
partly to supply deficiency of revenue
arising from a Democratic change in the
creased, in times of peace. by $262, 600, O0o
SO that at the close of that administra-
ton it amounted to $s+7, 100000: The
Spanish war which AL our ap peGi pcTea 1s
Of the debt so that in 1899 it reached a
maximum of s1o46, 100000. Since that nat
on the Both of June last it amounted to
only 1895 900, 600. In passing and admin
fstering the several refunding acts Demo-
= cratic OppOSlLlO1l, W d. greater VI 1928 uo-
gree, in and out of congress, was always
Encountered by the Republican party: 1t
was a part of the Democratic gospel IN
those days that our bonded indebtedness
should be paid and redeemed not IN gold
ar even silver, but in irreGeemaEee paper
currency Nothing could have been more
destructive Of public credit. and so low
sred our financial standing throughout the
world as the adoption OF such policy.
Greenbacks.
The necessities Of the civil war com
reIIed our government to issue S431, 100000
Of irredeemable legal tender notes, COM
monty called greenbacks, which, owing to
their non-redeemable character became
Ereatly deprecated in value. The Demo-
cratic party in congress, and to a large
extent outside Of congress, opposed the
and illegal, but afterwards, in the seven
ties the greater portion of the DemO-
cratic party became so infatuated with
the greenbacks that they wanted unllm-
fted quantities of them issued, and they
were utterly opposed to their redemption
1873 was passed providing for the re-
sumption Of specie payment in 1872 every
nemocrat in congress opposed Its pas
sage. 49, = ~ ! /. ~, !; s1,,+
form demanded the repeal 81 -the laW,
nassed a repeating act. In 1926 the.
Remocratic party held the greenback to
"a unconstitutional because 1rredeemable;
n iS75-77 they held it to be a valid cur.
rency, and wanted more of it, and all or
- :. : eNt Free silver. Il 5 .=..
Tn the latter half of the seventies and
s xA,;rinp the eighties a great demand arose
sSor the free and unlimited coinage OF
I %. /. = &