Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-30

before the people of the United States in
1856, but surely they were as grave as any
that confront them now.
They include the resumption of specie
payments after the tremendous financial
Initiation of war time days and plenty OF
graft, at least as open. If not of such mag
nitude, as the graft of today.
Plenty of Problems
Nor was there any lack of problems
at the beginning of 1876, the hundredth
year Of American independence.
Throughout the year 1875 most dis
graceful internal revenue frauds by gov
eminent officials had been unearthed and
the country was still sore about them on
New Year day, 1876. 1 was forty then,
and in a position to know something about
them. Nothing worse in the way of land
frauds, except in the amount of money
involved, has been brought to light in the
year 1905.
Eighteen-seventy-si had one bright spot
in the way of the centennial exposition at
Philadelphia, but its presidential campaign
was a tremendously disturbing one. Hayes
against Tilden it was, and the former was
elected. though the charges of fraud We're
more serious than any that have since
been made, and in a brief space there was
fear that something akin to civil war, even,
might come again, but 1t didn't.
Ten years later, in 1885, Cleveland was
in the midst of his first presidential term.
Civil service reform was the great question
then. practically all the problems that had
been so disquieting, earlier. having been
settled and partially forgotten. Possibly
there We're fewer serious problems at the
beginning of 1886 than on any of the six
New Year days within my memory. but
assure you that as many people were quite
as certain in their minds that the country
was In very bad way then as today.
Labor troubles, entirely unknown when
I was twenty and even thirty, had been
invented meantime, and the disastrous
strikes of 1877 had been followed by many
others but I don't remember that any
great strike was on at the opening of 1886
The tariff fight of 1892 was still six years
in the future.
Lived Through Them All.
The next New Year day Of a year with
six for its last numeral was only ten years
ago, and l was sixty. I needn't remind
you that in 1896 the country was full Of
timid folks who saw nothing but disaster
in the coming presidential election, a few
thousand more than half believing that
democratic victory would spell blue ruin
while a few thousands less were equally
pessmistic about republican success
Money, should 1t be mono-netallic or bi-
metallio2 was the question:, as you all re-
member, but the trusts, the tariff and num-
berless other problems, some of them now
settled, apparently forever, as the money
question:, for instance, were also deemed
of such Importance that the wrong way Of
dealing with them, If adopted 1t was feared
would bring our national edifice into a sad
state Of disrepair, even If it did not bring
IT down about our ears altogether.
We'll we survived 1896 and the solution
of its problems as we shall survive 1906
and the problems which are now before U.s.
We shall continue to outride all the storms
that come, just so long as the great mass
Of the people are sound at heart, and that
49, ha artn P f1,a
American people has been shown album
dainty as 1 believe, by many things which
have taken place in the closing months of
1905.
I'VE have found 'grafters' in our public
service but We Furnishing them. We
have found a sad state of things in life
insurance, but are not hesitattng to
expose it and, | believe, we shall not hest
tate to punish it, We have many things
to do to make our nation all that it should
be, but one by one we are going to do them.
so here's to 1906! May it be, as I be-
lieve 1t will be, the most satisfactory year
in the history of the republic!