Year: 1876

II anu III rs the part OF WISDOM not
g REVIVE them. But we must not fol
Y get that in that terrible contest tllcr
: was right side and wrong side


that either we who fought for til
: preservation of the Uuion were righ
r land they who fought for its dcstrnt
c ton were wrong or that they wer
: right and we were wrong and w
f should see to il that when we hav
: passed away those who will follow
J. us in the care and control of the gov
] crnment which at SO great cost W
have saved and bequeathed to then
j shall have from MS at least c0rrcc
! teaching on that point. We should 8,
, shape our course and conduct rs t,
, show them Enthusiastically that w,
, knew and recognized the distinction
between loyalty and treason, that W,
loved the one and hated the other
that ono brought honor and thc 9th
: Ter disgrace. We should make surt
so far as we can make sure, that theil
, reverence and love shall be given {,
LincOhl and Grant and Sherman ait
Thomas and Sheridan, and not t,
J. Davis and Lee and johnson and For,
3lrcst and Bca,irgard. TO do this W,
must show them that our love ant
! honor are given to the men who, il
council aud in action. labored for III,
! preservation Of the Union, and no


for those who plotted and fought fol


its destruction. ] have sometime,


feared that in our extreme desire


for peace and conciliation we hayt
failed to Keep this consideration prop.


erly i'm view


The political situation at the seat ol
national government is ut this time


interesting and peculiar. The politi-
cal party which administered the gov


crnmcrt during the rebellion and


succeeded in suppressing that re-


national Legislature. The other, the
popular branch, the House of Repre-


scntatives. is controlled by n party OF


which men who were actual and ac-


tive rebels compose a powerful mi


nority, if not controlling majority.


/ The centennial year of our national


existence will be made remarkable
tby a determined struggle for the con-


troll of our government i'm all its po-


litical branches by party composed
of those who few years since used


every effort to destroy ii and of those


who during the struggle for its pres


ervation opposed all effort to preserve
! ii. This condition OF things furnish


es food for grave reflection.


I The financial condition OF the coun-
! try is not SO favorable as we would


desire, but perhaps rs much as we can


reasonably, expect. We borrowed


during the civil war. and i'm consc-
quence Of it. nearly or quite three


thousand millions OF dollars, and
spent the money, as all nations must
in war times, lavislly. 4 million or


more Of men in both armies were
Withdrawn from productive pursuits


and were engaged in consuming and
destroying the products Of the labor
of those not in the field. The govern


ment bought our products with bonds
and paper money nj high prices. and


we had dnring the war, and for a
short time after its close. what many


OF rs called good times, but our then


good times were good only in the


sense that an individual would have
good times who should mortgage his
property heavily and spend the money
in extravagant living. The money


raised by us on our national mort
gage was spent rapidly and layishly.


We received for it. it is true, that boon
of priceless value. a restored Union !.
but did not secure ANYTHING of


marketable money value. In the lat
ter sense the money spent was lost.
7 l.AI
trayagancc in expenditure by the ma
tional government. by the state and


municipal governments. and by our
selves individually. When at last the
time came that the money was spent,


that our soldiers returned to their


homes and became producers instead


of consumers. that the government
was no longer the purchaser OF our


surplus products and we were obli.-


ed 10 commence the process of paying
instead of continuing the more easy
one of spcnding.-thet times began to


grow hard The first interest to feel


the pressure was that of agriculture,
the leading one of our state. Our
surplus products. increased bv the


labor of our returned soldiers, and no
longer needed for the support of our
armies. had To seek market abroad.
and their value then was measured by


the standard of the worlds currency
coin.


The consequence was n great and


rapid decline in the prices of all we


had to sell. The prices of all we had
to buy did not decrease in proportion.


The manufacturers and others under


took the hopeless task OF keeping the
prices oftheir. products and their labor


above a proper relation to the prices


OF our products. and for IA time sue
ceeded. The result to us was mt first
disastrous; but the evil worked out
its own cure. Our ability to buy was
limited by the amount we received
for our surplus products, and by the
prices we had to pay for the goods
we wished to purchase. We necessa-
rily bought less, and the manufacture
ers found themselves compelled to


carry large stocks of unsold goods.


Slowly but surely the laws of trade


asserted their power. The prices OF
what we wished to buy, in most cases,
I fell to a proper proportion to the
/ prices of what we had to sell, in some
/ eases below that proportion, and the
/. pressure upon us was lightened and
/, transferred to those not engaged i'm
agricultural pursuits. AS we were


the first to suffer 50 We have been the


first to get relief. We are doing rea-
sonably well,-our state is fairly pros


porous: God has blessed our Iahors


with fair returns: we buy at fair


prices what we need. and get fair


prices for what we sell. The process


Of adjusting the business of the coun-
try 10 the changed order Of things Is
/: going on gradually and steadily, and


ii that process shall not be disturbed


we may soon confidently expect re-
newed activity and prosperity
\ throughout the land. Some of our peo-


pie. remembering the era Of apparent
prosperity caused by war prices, are


disposed TO establish another such era
BY placing second mortgage on the
!! national farm in anew and abundant


issue of papcr-moncy. This would
| III my Judgment. be great misfor-
tune. 1t might, for a short time, pro.
duce feverish activity and tempo.


rary advance in prices, but this activi.
I ty would be unhealthy and disastrous


and as surely rs day and night follow


each other, so surely the inevitable


result must cnsue, and we would soon


be called upon to endure again the
troubles from which we are now SC


happily emerging. II seems to me


the course we should pursue is plain
Land clear. We owe heavy national


debt. That debt was incurred for a


most worthy object which has been
happily effected. As honest men we


must pay it. To that end we must


practice industry. thrift, and economy


for the reason that by these means


and these means only. can we prosper


We must insist upon strict and rigid


economy in administering the affairs


OF the national government, and OF
our state government. and we must


practice the same economy in our
private affairs. This Is the way. d


sure way. and the only way to certain


and permanent prosperity.


| Senators and Representatives Much
of your Legislative work will. under
/ the constitution, begin to have force
and effect with fhe rani,blic's nave