Show YALE KENT CLUB J S Peerys Speech Delivered in the Recent Debate At a recent meeting of the Yale Kent club the subject was Resolved That the Democratic party is responsible for the recent financial depression in the United States Affirmative Smith 95 Hall 96 Negative Peery 95 Fitzpatrick 96 J S PEERYS SPEECH Mr President and gentlemen of the Kent club The question for debate maintains that the Democratic party is entirely the cause of the financial depression I doubt whether the most partisan Republican Re-publican politician would make this broad claim We maintain that the hard times are the result of a combination combina-tion of causes first periodicity of panics second immense extension of the credit system third extravagance of the people fourth conspiracy of speculators fifth Baring Bros failure sixth Republican misrule If the affirmative af-firmative speakers will turn back to their lesson in Walkers Political Economy Econo-my page 177 they will remember that the writers on finance have set every ten years for the coming of a panic You are all familiar with the panic of 1873 one of the most terrible in the history of our country also that of 1883 when there were 9184 failures and as you know the panic came again in 1S93Mr Mr Walker quotes approvingly from Professor Marshall who in lucid terms gives the history of a panic He tells of the beginning of rising credit being a series of good harvests The demand for goods increases Producers and employers pay good prices for labor New companies start up credit is jubilant jubi-lant Prices wages and profits go on rising A large amount of business is being carried on with borrowed money Old firms are borrowing in order to extend their business new firms are I borrowing in Older to start their business I busi-ness and speculators are borrowing in order to buy and hold goods Trade is in a dangerous condition The lenders I are the first to read the signs ot the times They begin to contract their I loans and the demand for more loans raises the rate of interest very high Distress increases speculators begin to sell to pay their debts all rush in to sell Prices fall A large speculator cannot borrow money and fails Failure Fail-ure breeds failure The commercial storm comes Lord Overstone coni < L tb u sisely described the state of trade In the following words Revolves apparently ap-parently in an established cycle First we find it in a State of quiescence next improvement growing confidence prosperity excitement overtrading convulsion pressure stagnation stag-nation distress ending again in quiescence quie-scence Do not these economic truths make an accurate picture of what this country coun-try has experienced during the las few years Fresh in the minds of you all are the prosperous scenes of 88 and 89 Its It-s eme to be an era of money making Nearly all were determined to obtain wealth in a day The spirit of speculation specu-lation was rife Individuals went in debt cities and states went in debt with reckless courage People became extravagant their wants increased New pianos silk dresses fine houses the neighbors must be excelled Then there was a turn Bankers began to refuse loans land purchases began to cease The debts had to be paid and the crisis of 93 came In the recent light of these well known facts is it right to say that simply because the Democratic party wa so unfortunate as to come into power t that unfavorable unfavor-able time when the storm broke that it is responsible for the financial depression de-pression Many sound business men believe that the immediate cause of the panic was the daring combination of certain speculators who formed a conspiracy to boom the shares of certain cer-tain industrial corporations to false heights The public were ignorant of the real value of these shares and the failure of corporations caused a consequent con-sequent loss of confidence throughout the country Also another marked cause was the condition of affairs throughout the world The financial and other troubles troub-les that started in the Argentine Republic Re-public Australia England and India became worldwide in their injurious consequences Baring Bros failure was felt everywhere and was the immediate im-mediate cause of calling in extensive English securities in America However important these points are I cannot dwell on them but shall proceed pro-ceed to charge the Republican party with its system of plutocratic legislation legisla-tion as shown in the demonetization of silver and its pernicious policy enriching en-riching the few with protection with its reckless and daring extravagance in manipulating the public funds as being the cause of our financial distress dis-tress It is fair to judge a party by its past record not by what it professes When Mr Cleveland vacated his office of-fice at the close of his first term he turned over to the Republicans a surplus sur-plus revenue of 105000000 When he I again took the reins ot government after af-ter four years of Republican rule there were but 2300000 surplus revenue There is no higher evidence of national tional prosperity than an increase in the revenues and certainly a decrease in a nations revenues is an accurate mark of financial distress With total receipts 62000000 less and total expenditures 281000000 less the surplus during Mr Clevelands admin stration was 219000000 more than during Mr Harrisons During every year of Clevelands term > the revenues increased during every year except one of Harrisons the revenues dimin ished Compare the gold exports and imports im-ports of the respective terms Under the Democratic regime two years witnessed wit-nessed more exports than imports During every year of the Republican administration that followed the exports ex-ports of gold were in excess of the imports im-ports During the last three months of Mr Harrisons term the net exports were over 36000000 Think of this drain on the country of 12000000 a month before telling how prosperous we were under Republican rule On the other hand during the fiscal year ending June 30 189 the net exports of gold were but 4500000 The calamity crier does not remember that Mr Har risons administration was marked by falling revenues increasing expenditures expendi-tures and a 3ieavy flow of gold from he country He will no jliink of the I inheritance the Democrats received He will cry hard times and not for an Instant I I in-stant consider that Secretary Carlisle took charge after the surplus had been I burdened by increased expenditures of I more than 60000000 a year while the i revenues had fallen off 18000000 a I year and all this deplorable condition i of the treasury brought on by the very party that he so keenly desires to have 1 reinstated Any unprejudiced mind can i look back upon President Harrisons i administration and see the financial storm coming that reached its climax in the summer of 1893 The yea 1 > 10 saw 10900 failures with liabilities amounting to 190000000 The failures during the year after the McKinley law was passed were 2000 in excess of the previous year Take the year ll 2 First in the spring great floods did I extensive damage to the wheat and cotton crop the Homestead and Buffalo Buf-falo strikes and riots came in July and August then the scandalous failure of the Whisky trust which was followed by the collapse of the Reading railway within two months after the issuance of a favorable balance sheet and tile fraudulent declaration of dividends then the people were told of the adverse balance of trade I which instead of being in I our favor was 18700000 against us hen accounts of the bursting of the j Cordage company bubble went over i the wires and the last news of Harris ons administration was that Sfxrenjy I Foster had given the order fr the i preparation of plates upon wInch TO 1 print bonds that the treasury gold le serve could be protected The Democratic Demo-cratic party took the counliy stripped embarrassed and on the verge ofa financial crisis You might as well blame the physician for causing the disease which ihe is summoned to attend as to blame the Democratic party par-ty for causing the hard times InstoM3 of blame the Democrats deserve praise True to the principles of Tsfferson th > last Congress has reduced expenditure of the government more than J2SOOO 000 By dispensing with useless positions posi-tions in the departments it has reduced re-duced the salary list more than 1000 000 annually It ihas pur el the pension pen-sion list of many fraudulent claimants and there is a decrease in this tnirtHiu of fifteen millions in the annual uppro jriations The pension field xvas a fruitful place for the Republican bil londollar Congress Is it any Wonder that its increase of appropriations by the dependent pension bill of 50000000 a year brought forth the remark of one of Mr Harrisons commissioners God help the surplus ExGovernor Russell says The farm that has been wastedby the Jm proviclint tenant does not respond at once to the skill and work of careful husbandry Neither did th9 times at t once prosper under Democratic control But you all remember that the crisis came in July and August 1S9T when ill 1 the Republican laws were in full operation oper-ation Surely the people were not frightened frighten-ed by bhe party and policy of th ° 5r choice as shown by such an overwhelming over-whelming vote in the previous election I Now after the McKinley bill has been wiped out and flie new law is in actual existence there is a marked improvement im-provement in all branches of trade The careful and deliberate judgment of the American people will repudiate the attempt to appeal to pieiudice ando and-o bring home to a party strangers tits t-its doors and the Democratic party which substitutes economy for taxation taxa-tion which produces the greatest good to the greatest number will again receive the emphatic approval of the nation |