The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-09-30

A large and enthusiastic audience
greeted Senator Knute Nelson at Madi-
son Lake on Friday evening last After
being introduced by the chairman in a
particularly bright and timely speech,
Senator Nelson spoke as follows:
In free governments such as ours the
people necessarily find expression for
their will In the policy and purposes OF
political parties. The many unite IN
general creed to which all give adhesion,
and which all join in carrying out. Our
government, almost from the beginning,
has to some extent and in some, form
half a century two great political par
ties-the Democratic and Republican
have coptended for the control of the adj
ministration of our government Since
March, 1861, the Democratic party has
several times had the control of the
house of representatives, two terms the
control of the executive department, and
only once-Cleveland's last term-the con-
troll of the executive department and both
houses of congress. With these eXcep-
lions the administration of the country
during all this period has been in the
hands of the Republican party. That
party has formulated and carried out the
political. industrial and financial policy of
the country under which it has so ex-
banded, grown and prosrered IT was
only once-during Cleveland's last admin
istration-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 1t is
not so easy to pass judgment on the Dem
ocratic party in recent years. 1t can point
to no great deeds done and ACCOMPLISHED
Its life has been one long, persistent
course Of obstruction, under one guise or
another: The only chance it had for ac-
fion 1t ingloriously frittered away to the
-chagrin 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
main It's attitude now, for aside from
some glittering generalities it presents
no living and material issue to the Amer
lean people. The only tangible issue it
"ronment. All else is negative pregnant,
either In words or silence-a negative
pregnant with exploded or obsolete finan-
cial and industrial follies. The Republi-
can party comes before you with it's past
record and its present purposes and asks
you to scan 1t, and it comes before you
with its candidate and all that he stands
for and asks you to put your search light
on him, feeling confident that the record.
the purposes. and the candidate will each
and all assure you now, as in the past,
Sthat 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
ito commit this government into the hands
of the Democratic party.
The older ones among you are familiar
with the grand history of our party, but
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 Admins
tratiOn.
The close of the Civil war found the
country burdened with a large national
debt and a considerable volume of depre-
ciated and irredeemable paper currency.
In August 1865, the interest bearing ma
tional debt was $2,381 100000, all running
at a comparatively high rate of interest.
This debt was refunded at a lower rate
of interest and then from year to year
reduced until the beginning of Cleveland S
last administration when the aggregate
was only $685., 900, 000-a reduction of 81,
796, 900. During that administration.
partly to maintain the gold standard and
partly to supply deficiency of revenue
arising from Democratic change in the
tariff law, the national debt was in
creased, in times of peace. by 1862 900, 600,
that at the close of that administra-
ton it amounted to SS47 100000. The
Spanish war, which all our people re-
garded just war, brought an increase
of the debt, so that in 1899 it reached a
maximum of s1,046, 100000. Since that
time it has been gradually reduced, until
on the 30th of June last it amounted to
only $780,. 600, 0C0. In passing and admin
fStering the several refunding acts Demo
cratic opposition, to greater or less de-
gree in and out of congress, was always
encountered by the Republican party. II
was part of the Democratic gospel in
those days that our bonded Indebtedness
should be paid and redeemed not in gold
or even silver but in irredeemab2e paper
currency. Nothing could have been more
destructive of public credit: and so low
cred our financial standing throughout the
world as the adoption of such a policy
Greenbacks.
The necessities of the civil war COM
PEELED our government to issue $431, 0O0, 00C
of irredeemable legal tender notes, COM
monty called greenbacks, which, owing to
their nom edeemable character, became
greatly deprecated in value. The Demo-
cratic party in congress, and to large
extent outside of congress, opposed the
issue of these notes as unconstitutional
and Illegal but afterwards, in the seven
ties, the greater portion of the Demo
cratic party became 50 infatuated with
fled quantities of them issued, and they
were utterly opposed to their redemption
in specie. When the redemption act OF
sumption of specie payment in 1879 every
Democrat in congress opposed its pas
sage.
In 1876 the Democratic national plat
form demanded the repeal of the law
and the Democratic house in 1877 actually
passed a repeating act. In 1S62-65 the
Democratic party held the greenback TIC
he unconstitutional because irredeemable
In 1S75-77 they held it to be a valid cur
rency, and wanted more of it, and all OF
1T irredeemable.
Free Silver.
Tn the latter half of the seventies and
s4uring the eighties great demand arose
for the free and unlimited coinage OF