Year: 1867

nothing and consumed everything. From
this branch of the subject Judge Thnr
man passed to discussion Of


THE REMEDY.


Now, what is to be the remedy Are
you in favor, Judge Thurman, of repu'
diationi lam not in favor of repudia'
tion. What say is, that if these men
who hold these Government securities
will do what is right, the American
people will do what is right, because
they are an honest people. In the first
place, say this, notwithstanding Mr
Ben. Wade's denunciation, of any man
who says that those who hold one-sev-
enth of the entire property of the coun'
try ought not in justice to be willing
to bear their fair share of the burdens
of the Government. | say that there
sheuld be equal and exact justice.


Ii is also necessary to cut down these
eXtravagant and enormous expenses OF
the Government. Draw five hundred
and siXty-one millions out of the pock-
cts of our people, lay tribute on all
they eat, drink or wear, and on all they
earn, and spend five hundred and twen-
ty millions of dollars year. and eX-
empt one-seventh of the property OF
the country from taxation, aud expect
them to remain quiet under it! You
might as well expect that the Mississip-
pi would turn and run up stream. 1t
cannot be, because no people could long
bear such a burden. Then you must
quit squandering the public money.


Now l cannot, at this late hour, go
into this matter fully. But let me give
you a specimen. Here were set of
shoddy contractors who got rich during
the war. Their wealth sprang up like
mushroom in night. Men who were
not worth ten dollars at the beginning
of the war soon had the finest carriages,
and clothing and bank accounts, and
residences in the country. These gen
tlemen did not like to give up their
grip upon the public treasury, and so
after peace was made with the rebels,
what did these fellows doi We had
hardly heard the word peace in the
country before these fellows set to work
to kick up an Indian war on the Western
border: and what has been the expense
of that Indian wari Why, the Secretary
of War reported that the expenses of the
war for 1865 and 1866 were thirty odd
millions of dollars, though the people
did not know there was war in 1865, and
know but very little about it in 1866.
And how many Indians did they kill 7
There was Reverend Colonel Chiving-
ton, who, in cold blood, massacred about
one hundred and seventy-four Indian
men, women aud children, living under
the guarantee, the solemn guarantee of
the United States, perfectly peaceable
and perfectly friendly. If you want to
find particularly base man, find one
that writes Reverend Colonel" before
his name and you have got him. But
how many hostile Indians did they kill
with these thirty millions of dollars
of the public money! Mr.. Window, in
the House of Representatives, made the
assertion, and challenged contradiction,
that every hostile Indian they had kill
ed cost this Government more than TWO
millions of dollars-more than two mil
lions of dollars to a scalp. Why, there
was Gen. Sully's expedition, the subsis-
tence of which cost the Government six
millions Of dollars, ard the General re-
ported that he had killed one Indian.
An express rider says he did no such
thing, thai he killed the Indian him
self but the people there say both lie,
and that the Indian is still living.
(Laughter,) That is the way your
money goes.


Again, there are more than 10000
people hanging on the Treasury Depart
ment.


Then look at the grants of land to
the Pacific Railroad Company. am
not opposed to railroads, certainly not
to railroads to the Pacific, made at the
proper time and with proper economy;
but what has the Government done for
themi First, it has issued bonds, which
everybody knows they will never re-
pay one dollar on to the Government.
No one expects them, and then, having
built the road, to make it perfectly GER
tain that the Government will never
get it's money back, it authorizes them
to put mortgage on the road. Then,
having giuen them the right of way,
having built the road for them, and al
lowed them to make first mortgage
that will prevent the Government from
ever getting its money back, it gives
them about thirteen thousand acres OF
land for every mile of road. That do
main, that ought to have furnished
homes to your children and children's
children, is given them; and when your
child goes with his one dollar and twen-
ty-five cents an acre to buy the land, he
is handed over to railroad official with
pen behind his ear, who informs him
that the price Is ten dollars per acre,
perhaps twenty dollars. That Is the
way your money goes, and it has been
remarked that the mere stealings of one
wear are equal to the entire eXpendi.
lures of Buchanan's administration
They ask you to trust them. They ask
YOU if those who saved the Government
cannot be trusted to carry it on. But
say, if you want your bonds paid turn
these rogues out of office, and put hon.
est men in their places. A voice
"Democrats."1 Yes, Democrats; they
are the kind of men. Put them in;
come back to the old days of Democrat.
ic honesty and Democratic simplicity
and plain, ostentatious government
that don't encroach either on the purses
or on the liberties of the people. Do
that for us, and then there is some hope


Here tho speaker referred to the con-
dition of the Government under Radi,
cal domination. He asked:


WHAT Is THE UNION OF TO-DAY
They told us that the South could not
be taken out of the Union; they ridicnl-
ed our fears for the perpetuity of the
Union; they said it was mere election.
eering clap-trap on the part of Demo
cratic speakers; that there was no truth
in il, for the South could not be kicked
out of the Union. Very well; they
erected their sectional parry; they got
into power in an evil day for this coun.
try, and they pretty soon found whether
or not the South could be kicked out OF
the Union. They pretty soon found
that it cost this country world of blood
and treasure to keep her in; but now
that this blood and this treasure have
been expended and the South lies pros
trate ut our feet, these men who insisted
that the South could not be kicked out
of the Union, have most effectually
succeeded in kicking her out. She is
kicked out this day. This is now q Tn.
ion where ten States are pinned down
nv the bavonet. n Union where the ne.