Gov. Hendricks On The Situation

[hxtrruH from h Herent speech at XnoiaiiiipoliH.] I spoko during this campuign I askcd one question, and that question was not answered anywhere. Tliat question was tliis : Wliat single act (I askcd but for one act) of tlio RepublicaQ party, sineo tho close of the war, bas resulted to tbo benefit of tbe laboring and commercial classes of this country? No Republican leader in Indiana can point bis linger to a single act of tbe Republican party since they elected Grant, ton years ago, which bas addcd to tho prospcrity of the farmer, the mechanic, the laboring man, or tbe man of business, for the simple reason that the legislation which bas characterizcd the judgmpnt of that party bas been for classes, for rings, for parts of tbe people, and against tbe great body of people. And, my fellow-citizens, T a-sked one otbcr question, and I think that question going unauswered has contributed to this result. I said that tbo contract bëtween the public creditors and tiio people was plain nnd simple ; that the bonds should be paid in gold, or silvor, or paper money, aecording to tbe judgment and pleasure of the Govomment. That was the contract; Gov. Morton said that it" was the contract; tbc Judiciary Coniinittre of the Senate said it was tho contract. Bef ore I left tbe Senate I wis askcd to vote to (bange tbe contract - to chango it not for the popular benefit, but for tbe benefit of tbo nion whp held tbo bonds, I said, no chango, and nearly the last speech tliat I made in tho Senate, neftirly tho lust vote I gave in the Senate, was against any ebange of tbe contract. But the first act after Grant came in as President ; almost the first act that my Republican successor supported and voted for, was to change tlie contract, and to provide that the bonds should no longer be payable in the paper money of tbe country, but only in coin. and Graut signed that law. Now, I askod the question, "Why do you Republicans do that?" It was worth hundrods of millions of dollars to tbc public creditors. Wliat wás it worAh to you? How much was it worth tothe farmers of Indiana? How much to the laboring meii of Indiana? How much to the mechanics that work in onr shops and to tbo manufacturiug estnblishments ? Not one dollar, but lrandreds of thousands and millions of dollars to the bondholders. And now I ask the question again at tho. close of this contest. Why was that change made in the contract between the creditors and the people ? Ifc was not sougbt by you. No neighborhood in all the United States, from Maine to California; no man asked Congress to do it. It ■was against tbe popular judgment; it was against tho popular interest. And that was not tbc only breach of contract, but when four years more rolled by tbey said that silver could not be money any longer, and tben tbe pui-pose was that gold alone should be the lawful payment of our public securities. And I asked tbem why they did that. Who asked thein to do it? Not you; not tho people; no portion of tho people. It did not inure to your Vionofit. It was against your interest. It was hard upon business. It was crusbing upon enterprise, and yet it was done. Now, when any Republican shall dare to ask you to go witli bis party in the future, let him m.swor this question : "What did your party do for ten years that benefited the people? Why did you change the contract twg.ee, in 180Í) and again in 187Ü?" and, if thoy cannot answer the question, nu man ougbt to think of going with their party any longer. My fellow-citizons, when the èun shall stand high in mid-heavon on the 4th day of i March next, the Democratie party will I stop into control of the United States Senate. We will have the House of Keprosmtatives, and in two years more a man will be elected President who knows that tbere is a common people and a commoii country. And then, j after ten years more shall roll around, if I any Republican should ask of you or me, after our party bas been responsable for ten years, wliat it has done that lias brought blessings to the people, if I have to stand dumb and cannot answer tho question, then I shall JHfay God that my party shall be turneel out. But I am not. afraid of it. I know that the Democratie party sympnthizos with the common interesta of tho country. I know that tbey desire that property shall be secure, and that labor shall have remunerative employment, and the party that ia animated by that sentiment cannot fail to serve the country wcll. M'y l'ollow-oitizons, I am glad to moet you to-night. I am glad to take you by the band and fooi fchat between us thore, is a common sentiment in favor of sueh legislation and policy of government as shall bring blessings to us all - not to the few but to the whole country. Did you know that already the Democratie party in Congress had eaused a reduction of the public expenditures of $30,000,000 a yoar? And when the Sonate shall be under the control of Mr. McDonald and Mr. Toorhees, and men of that class ; when tho Sonate shall be in sympathy with the House of Representativos, and the President and the departnientx at Washington aro in sympathy with the two housos of Congress, then I beliove tbe reduction may be made of more than L50,000,000 be'low wiiat the Republicans expended. Now. niv l'ellow-eitizens, we do not stop here. The contest of 1876 has never stöpped for a moment. The people of the United States, by the largest vote that was ever given on earth, declared Mr. Tilden to be the President of the United States, and by fraud, by corruption, by porjury, another man, not elected, was placed in the Prosidential chair. That great crime against (ree govornmont must be rebüked so etábhatioaHy tbat no audacious villainy sball ever dare to repea.it it. So, my fellow-citizens, we have not stopped, and we are not goiug to stop. We will stand in solid lino unfil the great victorv is aobioved in 188(1. Tho 4,000,000 men who two years ago votod for Tilrlon and Hendricks stand in line to-day, and that great line of battle is ! not to be broken until the constitution is restored, until the people shall feel once more that the sympathies of the Governmeut are nvith thém, and not with the few. ___ . ,