Year: 1859

J. HI. Bakers Speech at Concert Hall...


The 18th Resolution and Democratic


Plunder.


The Republican meeting at Concert Hall,
on Thursday night, was really grand affair.
Our candidate for Secretary of State, James
Il. Baker, who has been made the mark of
special abuse and SANDER by some of the un-
principled sheets that disgrace the State, was
there in all his glory.


In his former speech in St. Paul he had not
time to get down to the 18th resolution of the
Democratic platform, and he therefore felt it
his duty on this occasion to devote his time
to thorough analysis ofthat resolution. This
was done in an argument, and by an array of
facts so clear and convincing, that no man, no
matter what may have been his partizan or
political predictions, could fail to see that
this resolution is but another card which the
estate plunderers" are playing to fill their own
pockets and further engulph in financial and
moral ruin our great but most unfortunate
State. ......


This resolution was fairly met and frankly
dealt with; and as he gave its history and
exposed its purpose, every man who heard
him must have been convinced. Mr.. Baker
said that the Railroad men have now got two
millions and a half of bonds, costing them in
money actually paid about six hundred thou
sand dollars, and their purpose now is to try
and get these bonds made good on order that
they may make--not our Railroads,
nineteen hundred thousand dollars. Their
next purpose was to prevent the State from
sueing out the mortgages now held in the
lands and Railroads in order that these same
harpies should get all that in addition. These
bonds were to be made good by taxation, and
the plain Saxon Of "We pledge the Demo-
cratic party to provide for meeting promptly
the principal and interest on these bonds"
meant taxation and nothing else, as there
was no way under the Constitution by which
this provision could be made, ezcept By tara-
tion. He was friend of the homer of the
State, and would stand by it now and always,
and therefore he would not drive our people
to reputation by asking them to pay this
enormous tax. He then proceeded to show
that if this tax was put on it would make our
taxes more than all the money in the State
and all the produce Of our soil. He then
took up the appropriation bills of thelast Leg
islature, and said if this book could but be
read by the tax payers and people of the
State, they would need no other orator
Three hundred and thirty thousand dollars
were appropriated by the last Legislature for
State expenses alone. Why, for the single
item of stationery there had been expended
$l2 2OOO-enough, he thought, to keep Sibley,
Van Etten, Rice, and the whole pack of Min
nesota. breech-clout politicians writing love
letters, for all the balance of their days, to all
the squaws in the country


Why the Pioneer and Democrat of this city
alone has received from the Treasury of the
State nearly eighty thousand dollars in sin
gle year, enough, said Mr.. B., under q
proper administration of our affairs, to have
paid our whole State expenses-nearly $780,
900. This, said Mr.. Baker, is most infamous.
Mr.. B. then analysed the character of Earle
S. Goodrich, the editor of that newspaper
He said he (Goodrich) had given him the
right, and made it his special duty, to hold
him up to the kissing scorn of the people of the
State, as the principal among this band ofpub-
lie plunderers-the assassin of private char
acter, and a man who had made himself alto
gether and utterly infamous. The audience
at this direct and awful charge made on poor
Goodrich burst into such shout of wild ap-
plause, as had this man been there, would have
sent shivering from the Hall.


Altogether the speech of Mr.. Baker was a
splendid effort, and established his reputation
as one Of the most convincing and able ora
tors of the West.


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