Year: 1874

y


thin that no man in his sober sense,


need be deceived thereby.


| said just now, my friends, that


am not here tonight to maintain that


the Republican party has always


been right in all things. But l am


here to maintain that no other party


in this nation has cvcr been SO true


Of principle as has the Republican


party. ] am here to maintain that


no other party has ever done SO


much to elevate man in the scale of


humanity rs has the Republican par.


ty. / am here to maintain tha. no
other party has ever been so true to
its pledges and promises to the pco-
pie AS has the Republican party; that
no party is SO worthy the continued
confidence Of the people as is the
Republican party.


l ask you, my friends, to notice
this one great fact-worth u portfo-
Ito Of complaints-a volume OF rail
ing accusations. Let us 60 back for
a moment to 1850. Then follow
with me the history of parties and of
the nation from that time until now.
You will find that every grand meas
urc proposed by the Republican par
ty has been opposed by the Demo-
cratic party. The Republican party
denied the right of secession, and
determined to crush out the rebellion.
The opposition declared it unconsti-
tutional to "cocrcc" a State, and i'm
possible to suppress the Southern
rebellion. The Republican party
urged the emancipation of the slaves
as war measure. The opposition
insisted that the emancipation of the
Southern slaves would unite the
Southern masters against the gov
ernmc1t, and render either reconcile
alton or subjugation impossible. SO
with each of the constitutional
amendments, when proposed; the
Republican party urged their adop-
ton, the Democratic party asserted
that their adoption would prove the
ruin Of the country. So ~ ~. y. ~
Ku- klux act, the Civil Rights bill,
and every measure proposed in the
interests Of humanity and justice.
Every proposed act, every forward
step, met with fierce opposition, and
with the prediction that disaster to
the nation would be the inevitable
result. But keeping grand princi-
pie constantly in view, the Republi-
can party marched onward to sue
cess and triumph. And l call you
to witness that nowhere in this broad
land can a party be found that to-day
dare take issue with the Republican
party in regard to any Of the grand
measures that it ever advocated.


These complaints arc no new thing.
l do not say the Republican party
has done no wrong; all parties have
done wrong, as all parties will, so
long rs human nature remains what
it is. There is no organization,
church or otherwise, SO good but
that bad men will creep i'll. There
will be rascals in connection with all
parties and all organizations, till the
race OF rascals is eXtcrminatcd from
the face Of the earth. But it scarce
ly mounts to the dignity of cheap
dcmagoguism to assert that all the
wrong is to be found in one party,
and all the virtue in another. l am
not here to make any such claim rs
that. But l am here to say that the
Republican party has done well.
You arc here rs honest voters, anX-
ious to do your duty, and to do it i'll
tcllisently. Let me therefore refer
you to Il few matters wherein the
Republican party has done well.


refer you, in the first place, to the
financial policy of the Republican
party. The rebellion broke out i'll
1861. The government was without
an army or i navy; without arms or
ammunition; without money i'll the
treasury. An army had to be mus
tered in, forts constructed, vessels
built, and all the machinery and
paruphcrnalia Of war collected and
put into immediate operation. The
Republican party was new in power;
untr.cd in policy; inexperienced in
administration. Never had such du-
ties and responsibilities rested upon
any party in our land as then rested
on the Republican party. But it
proved itself equal to the emergency.
An army was gathered together;
arms and ammunition were obtained;
vessels were built; forts were con-
structcd; money was raised; and at
ter four years of war the nation was
saved. But the expenditure had
been necessarily enormous, and now
an immense debt was upon us.
Then, it will be remembered, many
of our enemies, both north and
south, and indeed not y few Of our
friends, predicted that financial ruin
and bankruptcy would be our lot.
But, thanks to the Republican party,
and to the integrity and patriotism
of All ever faithful people, our nation
safely wcathercd the storm; our secu-
rites appreciated every day; SO also
did our grcenbacks. But, we were
told, this condition of things could
not continue; our apparent prosper
ity was delusive, and the sure pre-
lude of financial disaster. But for
ten years this condition of things has
continued, and the nation has stead
lily increased in wealth and prosper
ity as never before in its history. 1t
was predicted by some that panics
would come upon Ills, and that i'll
such contingency these millions OF
money that we had issued and sent
out through the land would prove as
worthless rs rags. Well, last autumn
there came panic. Some of you,
the older persons of my audience,
well remember the panics Of 1887
and 1857. You will remember that
then every man, almost instinctively,
sought his wallet, or his bank vault,
and brought out every dollar he
possessed; he hunted up his credit
ors and paid his debts with an eager
promptness almost amusing to one
not personally interested; he hasten
cd to loan his money, on long or
short time, with or without interest;
he bought everything he wanted, Or
could forescc he was ever going to
want; anything to get rid of his
mnnnv And vet that currencv de-