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ttwjr on the than the ot aay millions "subjugated and conquered make yearly ptirrlmagea of lovsand gratitude to hit last resting place. Now, concerning the historical rela­ tione of this Democratic party to the :*reat principles ot the declaration of independence, & goou deal mis lit be said. The great solicitude the Dem­ ocrats now feel lest some black people 10,000 miles away over in the Pacific ocean may not have the full benefit of ,*11 the principles of the declaration of independence, would be truly touching, perhaps, if we could forget their rela­ tions to another colored race nearer %)me. They tell us the Filipinos must not be governed "without their consent." But, happily, the democratic party have written their record upon the subject of human fights, in glaring deeds, and It is a record which cheap campaign talk cannot wipe out. First, let me tell you that the man who wrote the declaration of independence was himself a slaveholder when he wrote it; -and, although he lived 50 years from the time the immortal document was written, he died still a slaveholder. The author of the declaration of independence certainly did not, in his practice, apply its princi­ ples to people of color, and 1 propose to ! show you that none of his party follow­ ers have ever done so since. It took the declaration of independence a full century and a quarter to "strike in" on the dem- » ocratic party, and Aguinaldo and his Tagal guerillas are now honored with tneir first application of its principles to a colored race. I am not saying Its principles should not be applied, as far as practicable, to all * men everywhere; I am simply showing - up the hypocrisy of democratic statesmen. When the declaration of independence 4 was written every American colony held ; colored men in slavery, and from 1820 to 1865 it was the sole business of this demo­ cratic party to perpetuate and defend this Institution of human slavery, and all the time they were doing this they were pre­ tending great devotion to the principles of the declaration of independence. They in fact used up all their brains and states­ manship in the congenial pursuit of forti­ fying and spreading slavery, and have had none left to devote to anything else since that great effort failed. A Dangerous Undertaking* If at the time the declaration of inde­ pendence was written, or at any time with­ in 80 years after that time, any man had assembled a dozen black men in any dem- odraic state, and read the declaration of in­ dependence to them, and told them Its principles applied to them and that they were entitled to "life, liberty and the pur­ suit of happiness," and should have a voice in the government under which they lived, a mob of furious democrats would have immediately gathered, and they would .have taken that man out and murdered him and tanned his hide for drum-heads. I am telling you the literal truth. That is not all. In those good old days a democratic justice of the supreme court made a decision to the effect that a col­ ored man was entitled to none of the rights of citizenship under the constitution of the United States, and that he substantially had no rights which any white man was bound to respect. That passed for good "law in the old democratic days; and I be­ lieve if I were a democrat about the last thing I would do would be to talk about the •constitution and the Declaration of Inde­ pendence. These democrats now tell us "the constitution follows the flag." Maybe It does. But it couldn't stay at home with the flag in the days when they controlled -this government. But there is still more: Away back in M68, when Abraham Lincoln was debating With Stephen A. Douglas, the democratic Champion of that time, the question Whether human slavery should be kept out of the territories, one of the chief points of controversy was whether the Declara­ tion of Independence had any application to anybody except white people. Lincoln insisted that it applied to "all men," and Douglas denounced him for saying so, from every stump hi Illinois, as being in favor of 'nigger equality," and all the democrats applauded his cruel words. The idea that Jefferson's great declaration included any­ body except white people was almost a punishable crime among the democrats of 1860, and the situation has not improved much, as I shall show before I am done. . Note another thing: When Abraham Lincoln at length proclaimed freedom to the black man in order to save from utter • destruction this constitution and the Dec­ laration of Independence, the miserable old democratic party with one voice denounced the great act as usurpation and despotism. w ,, FT11" lhe constitutional amendment abolishing «davery at length came up for a* the close of the war, in the first plaCF no solitary democrat in congress voted in favor of submitting that amend­ ment to the states; and, in the second place. When the question of ratifying the amend­ ment came before the legislatures of the •Several states, not a single democrat in anv state legislature from Maine to California •oted for that great amendment! Not one! Tne coiored people of this country are free to-day, and are given "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" in spite of the vote and voice of every American democrat who was in a position to act upon the question. No wonder the delegates in the Kansas City •convention didn't recognize the Declara- cwu Ui iimtpendence when It was read to tnem, and declared the reader was "mak­ ing too long a speech." M®/® of the Story. ' • B u t t h e r e i s m o r e o f t h i s p l t l a i t e s t o r y . Remember, I am only, for the present, try­ ing to illustrate the historic relation of the democratic party to the principles, now so passionately asserted, that men of 5ol?«^fal(??ls with white ones, are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happi- ne&s, ana that "governments derive their just powers from the consent of the gov- «ned They have put the$e catch phrases , in their platform, and it is perfectly proper to confront them with their Infamous ,record. will remember that when the re- "8J1blican party, a few years ago intro­ duced into a congress a bill tp make ef­ fective the constitutional right of the colored men of the south to vote at na­ tional elections, every democrat in con- gtrcss and out, north and south, de­ nounced that proposed law as an un­ speakable outrage. They called it the Infamous force bill," and even threat- ened revolution if the white democrats of the south should be abridged in their high privilege of driving voters from the polls with shotguns. This was I suppose, done to illustrate their great devotion to the principle of the "con­ sent of the governed." ".To-day we see the colored voters totally disfranchised by democratic violence and ?£n state where their Votes might affect the re&uit «ratic ingenuity has beenWed to de- Tlse state constitutions and election laws Which will have the effect in practice to annul the fifteenth amendment to the constitution. North Carolina has Just •dopted a new patent process for des­ poiling the black man of his constitu fknal right to vote, but that Sate woffd he shocked, I daresay, at the prospect ,Of "imperialism" for the colored Deonl* Of the Philippines. "Pitchfork" Tiflman who read the platform to the Kansas City convention amid thunderous ™? iplause, has boasted from the seat in the TJnited States senate which he diseracps •that the black men of South Carolina are »ot allowed to vote, and will be mur­ dered if they Insist upon exercisine th!» Tleh,. Of course Tllftuu, T, mSeTf wo" ?t|ed about the rights of the Filioinos Because President McKinley appointed * colored man postmaster at a small of • flee in South Carolina, some of these •democrats who are so wrought UD about -constitutional liberty over in the eastern hemisphere, proceeded, without provoca­ tion. to torture and murder that col­ ored man and his helpless family with * degree of fiendish cruelty which would •Save disgraced Geronimo and his Apaches their palmiest days. But those South Jarolina barbarians will all vote that . Jthe constitution follows the fiae" at <;#ie coming November election. K Now, in the light of all these facts vou #111 better appreciate I hope, how tte •democratic heart is absolutely bleeding *t the prospect that some Tagal rebels Over in the Philippine islands may he de­ prived of the benefits of some of the 'principles of the Declaration of Inde pendence. Would it not be awful to out­ rage the philanthropic sentiments of the ^democratic party by extending Amer­ ican rule over some colored people in tie eastern hemisDhere "without their msent?" Such effrontery and hypoc-sy were perhaps never before oxhibit-l before the eyes of an intelligent peo­ ple, even by the democratic party, and is putting the Case very strongly. Hbw, fell „ ̂ question is really a stripped of e fought i war with and, yon wHi remember, the" demo­ te wereaccustomed to boast that thf 3& *§! collar and forced him into the conflict. They know by experience the danger Sf opposing a popular war, and hastened to get into the band wagon. One of tfee results of that war was the selaure of the Philippine islands by the land and naval forces of the United States, accom­ panied by the complete destruction of all Spain's fleets, and of all her means and instrumentalities for ever again holding or governing those Islands. The power of Spain, either for good or evil, in the Philippines, was obliterated, and the United States was left in charge with her fleet and with her army of occuoatlon. Such was the situation. And just at this point the democratic stump orator begins to falsify the record by saying that Soain had already lost her sover­ eignty over the islands before the Amer­ icans took possession, and that the In­ habitants already had an organized gov­ ernment exercising sovereign powers. In this fairy tale there is not one word of truth. Spain lost her sovereignty over the Philippines to the United States In the hazard of war, and in no other way. True, there had some time before been a rebellion, but it. had ceased before the American occupation, and its head and leader, Aguinaldo, had accepted a Span­ ish bribe as the price of his virtue and devotion to his countrymen. A condition of his bribe was that he should quit the islands, and this he had done, and was living in a Chinese boarding house over at Hong-Kong, China. The battle of Manila was fought on May 1, 1898- Later on Aguinaldo took passage at Hong- Kong, China, on the United States cruiser McCulloch, and landed at Cavite May 18. Aguinaldo went ashore and assem­ bled a little group of Tagal rebels, took out of his Docket a constitution which he had written at his cheap boarding house over in Hong-Kong, and called him­ self president of a purely Imaginary Phil­ ippine republic. His government, if it deserves the name, had not the semblance of legal or rightful authority behind it. "Consent of the governed" was never thought of. Agulnaldo's authority was never established by any convention or election having power to bind the peo­ ple of the Philippine islands, whole tribes of whom have perhaps never unto this day so much as heard the name of Emillo Aguinaldo. His attitude was un­ friendly to United States authority from the day he landed. He was and is as pure a usurper as any democrat who has ever assumed to represent a disfran­ chised republican constituency in Mis­ sissippi or South Carolina, and stronger than this the case could never be put. We were thus holding Manila and some other Philippine ports, when Spain cried enough and asked for peace. A treaty was then negotiated, wherein it was pro­ vided that Soain should cede to us the Philippine islands, and for doing so should receive $20,000,000. That treaty was pend­ ing before the senate for ratification, when the rabble command of this man Aguinaldo. lying in the mud about the city of Manila, having doubtless been told by some American democrat that a little bloodshed would probably shock the American people and defeat the rati­ fication of the treaty, deliberately opened fire upon the American lines. I know Aguinaldo and some of his allies of the democratic party have said that it was the bad Americans who began the war, and I alfeo know the evidence shows that when they say this they lie. Aguinaldo's Tagals had been trying for weeks to bring on hostilities before the clash came, and Gen. Otis, by express orders of the president, was doing everything in his power, short of cowardly surrender, to prevent bloodshed. /.v' > Shot Back, of Course*. v;-.- When the Tagals fired uDd#wiNf$£(i,a they shot back, of course; and then the American forces entered upon this awful career of conquest which now so grieves the democrats. The American sol­ diers showed a marked indisnosition to stand still and be killed. In that spirit of pluck and daring which characterized their fathers, they proceeded not only to return the fire, but to absolutely blot out of existence the Tagal army. I sup­ pose such men as Bryan and Stevenson would have our boys run away when they were fired upon. They would have had Dewey and Merrltt abandon the oc­ cupation before a vote was taken upon the treaty, because, forsooth, some hos­ tile natives had opened fire upon our lines. Thank God,- such a sentiment finds no response in'the hearts of true Americans. Whether or not it was good policy to acquire the Philippine islands, in the first place, by treaty, .and to assume the burden of reducing them to order, is a Question about which there might be two opinions; but that question was de­ cided, and decided irrevocably, when the treaty of peace was ratified. Certainly, if any American citizen was ever go­ ing to object to our assumption of sov­ ereignty over the Philippines, the time to do it was when the treaty was pre­ sented to the senate for ratification. He who did not speak out then is estopped now. To say we should ratify the treaty, and pay Spain $20,000,000 for the islands, and then let a Tagal usurper drive us A 1- volvlng so much stupidity, cowardice and disgrace, that nobody except a demo­ crat in great straights for a political is­ sue, would ever think of advocating it. Yet this is in substance what Bryan and his populistic aggregation are saying. Let us now see how much consistency there Is in Mr. Bryan's position. The country will not forget, when voting upon this question, that Col. Bryan assumed great responsibilities when tlie treaty of peace with Spain was pending in the senate. He hastily dropped the eagles from his shoulders down in Florida, flew to the city of Washington, and publicly advised his democratic friends and fol­ lowers in the senate to vote for the treaty. Without Bryan's timely aid the treaty was going to fail for lack of votes. To Bryan belongs the honor or the dishonor of having secured for us by treaty the sovereignty of the Phil­ ippine islands at a cost of $20,000,000. It was Bryan's word of advice at that crit­ ical time which made that treaty the law of the land. If he had said to his friends in the senate that the treaty must be defeated, it would have been done. Now, don't, I pray, forget thi« great and decisive fact. Congress the Sole Judge. It is true the late treaty with Spain which Mr. Bryan favored and procured to be ratified did not provide, as did pre­ vious treaties, that the territory ceded should be admitted to the union as states when in the judgment of congress the proper time for so doing should ar­ rive. But such a clause, if inserted, would not in any degree have enlarged the power of congress over the subject. Con­ gress is under the constitution the sole judge of the fitness of a territory for statehood. Treaties may impose a moral obligation upon congress, but . nothing more. Part of the territory acquired from France in 1803 was only admitted as states a few years ago. That territory was subjected to nearly 100 years of "Im­ perialism" notwithstanding the treaty stipulation, and yet the democratic party did not discover that the Declaration of Independence had been struck down. Part of the teritory acquired from Mexico, un­ der a treaty stipulating for the right of statehood has never been admitted by congress as states. Why does not Mr. Bryan wraD the flag about him, and. seizing the constitution in one hand and the Declaration of Independence in the other, rush out into Arizona and New Mexico and stop the "lmDerlalism" thai has been going on there for more than 50 years?" The democratic platform makes a dec­ laration of policy concerning the Phil­ ippine islands, which is either a coward­ ly dodge or else it was written and adopted by men who had no appreciation of the meaning of language. The state- is a true democratic dog-fall. It de­ vours Itself. The platform says: "The Filipinos cannot be citizens with­ out endangering our civilization. They cannot be subjects without imperiling our form of government, and as we are un­ willing to surrender our civilization or to convert the republic into an empire we favor an immediate declaration of the na­ tion's purpose to give the Filipinos first, a stable form of government, and' second, protection, etc." ' "Now, to "give the Filipinos a stable form of government" is precisely what the re­ publicans have been trying to do, and it is what the combined democratic party Is afraid we will do, and is trving with all its might to keep us from doing. The ad­ ministration has repeatedly declared its ts as* for- It. Upon t! pe of so far confusing th# mtndrof voters that their own crlmcs and blunders be forgotten, and that they may as*tf» be jrgottefc, itrusted with power. Militarism gear--www, Another campaign scarecrow erected by the democratic ghost dancen* is "militarr ism. A democratic politician likes to go out in some lonesome place of a dark night and agitate his diaphragm by yelling "mil­ itarism in a shrill key. He thinks that will scare the German Voters so they Will forget the democratic scheme for confiscating e. A country of 80,000,000 ts 100,000 volunteers--one soldier for every 800 of the population--in fedita by statute. A coun inhabitants enlis1 time of serious troubtaeand fighting, with no legal provision for ptajLting any man in the ranks except by his consent, and in this the democratic politicians discover a scheme for the destruction of the constitu­ tional government! Are these men really alarmed, or are they trying to frighten voters for political effect? Everybody knows this cry is sheer dem­ ocratic humbug--the claque of irrespon­ sible demagogues who mean no word of what they say. If you find an honest democrat who really thinks we are in danger of militarism, tell him that away back in 1810 the regular army of the United States was, in time of peace, larger in proportion to the population off the country, , than the regular and vol­ unteer army is in the year 1900. Those were the trood old democratic days of James Madison, and the constitution is still alive and well, and the Declaration of Independence, though somewhat dis­ figured by a century of democratic as­ saults, is still able to be around and do duty to Mr. Bryan's campaign. I own I have dwelt too long on these democratic quibbles. They serve to em­ phasize the total incapacity of the demo­ cratic party for the duties of serious statesmanship. The democratic politician of 1900 is the guerrilla who shoots from ambush. He has nothing of value to pro­ pose, and If he had, we know by ex­ perience he would, if trusted, fail to perform his promise. When the grand army of progress and history is afoot, the democratic statesman is forever skulking on the flank. He peers out from behind stumps and trees, and makes faces at the commanding general. He always thinks the march should be reversed, and . that the most desirable fields of conquest lie in the rear. Occasionally he grows bold and fires a rotten egg or a dead cat into the moving procession, and then runs away to meet his associate bandits in some congenial swamp on the Fourth of July, where they all howl in concert about the Declaration of In­ dependence. Such is democratic states­ manship. Proud of Illinois. But. m) Si how the tided teht dlAte her been ly friends, while all of us re­ joice in the prosperous condition of the country at large, and in the new glories that have come to it through the valor of our matchless sea warriors and sol­ diers of Illinois, we are doubly proud of the rank our own state has attained among her sister states of this great re­ public in helping to bring about the new honors the nation has recently earned and is still achieving. What giant strides Illinois has made within the mem­ ory of many of you! There are yet cab- Ins standing in many parts of the state which were built by the pioneers, some of whom are yet living and are as ex­ ultant to-day as are you, over the won­ derful advance which Illinois has made within a lifetime, from almost a track­ less wilderness to a grand state teem­ ing with a population of nearly 5,000,000 of people, and foremost in agriculture, manufactures, mining, and the many in­ dustries whose development has made the United States first among the nations of the world. Yet lingering on the shores of time, contentedly spending the evening of their lives here, but looking for the dawn of the new day beyond, are some of those pioneers who built those cabins, which they keep standing as a pleasant memory of the early days when it was not an uncommon occur­ rence for the native Indians to stride over the doorslll and ask for entertain­ ment. Not a few of you who are as­ sembled here to-day, are the sons and daughters of those pioneers. You were born in those primitive cabins and have vivid knowledge of the great change, the amazing progress, that Illinois has made within your memory and experience. Hav­ ing knowledge of the state's present im­ portance and the commanding position it occupies in the galaxy of states that make up this "land of the free and home of the brave," it is not surprising that you rejoice when a time of plenty, peace and prosperity comes to you, such as is being enjoyed in Illinois to-day"by all oft its' peoDle. It is through good government, hon­ estly and wisely administered, that • the people of any state are enabled to reap most benefit from the natural advantages they possess. Nature has been generous with Illinois, and it is pertinent to ask nvtflAVi Vr'hic^ nAjjtfCul po ment has Illinois and her people thrived most and best. I approach this subject with some diffi­ dence, as in dealing with it I cannot elimi­ nate myself as a factor, occupying the posi­ tion of governor with which the people of Illinois honored me four years ago, but I refer to It without hesitancy or apology, having the knowledge within me that I have striven to be a faithful servant to the people who thus honored and trusted me, and the record of my stewardship will bear their closest scrutiny. The book is open for all to examine, whether he be friend or foe, republican, democrat, prohibition­ ist or populist. No legerdemain has been practiced in making up the record; It will show no juggling with figures, nor fictitious arithmetic. Where a dollar of revenue has been received the record will show it, and every cent of that dollar will be so clearly accounted for that none may be de­ ceived who investigate the record. To Whom Praise 1* Due. But, fellow-citizens of Illinois, let me say to you with candor and with much gratifi­ cation that the smallest part of the credit due for this unsullied record should be awarded to your humble servant. The praise is due to those in charge of the vari­ ous departments of the present state ad­ ministration, superiors and subordinates ch'cfr; and assistants, in the r.m; ----' state institutions, all of whom have vied with one another to keep the record clean To me It is a great personal pleasure in this public manner, to acknowledge the able and faithful support which the admin­ istration has received from these officials and employes, and to thartk them for mak­ ing it possible for me to unfold this record and defy our political opponents to detect in it any scandal, any speculation, any thimble-rigging with figures, or aught that would deceive anyone who investigates the record. Unhappily for the people of Illinois, there have been Instances where the administra­ tion of the state's afTairs was not kept un­ tarnished. but the knowledge is gratlfvln* to republicans that in not a single case has the escutcheon of a republican admin­ istration been blurred with robbery de­ falcation or dishonesty of any description You will remember, my friends how the first republican administration the state ever had, dating back 44 years ago, succeeded that of a democratic ad­ ministration smirched with scandal Bu* more distinctly you will recall how less than four years ago, another democratic administration, at the demand of the peo­ ple, relinquished control of the state government, leaving behind it as an in­ heritance to the present administration a jecord grimed over with debt, defalca­ tions and insidious roguery and rascal­ ity on every page. I took occasion dur­ ing the campaign of two years ago to expose some of the crookedness and the rottenness of this last democratic ad­ ministration. I then stated that "it was the most corrupt administration that this state has ever had since it was ad­ mitted to the union." I stand by that statement now, and repeat ItA Here are the figures as I gave them two years ago, and they have not gorwn less. The aggregate amount of money plun­ dered and stolen from the state of Illi­ nois by Gov. Altgcld's employes during his administration in the following seven institutions of the state, foots up $982 - 078.34, divided as follows: University of Illinois. 1649,662 29 West park board 818.000 00 Chester penitentiary.. 30,000 00 Industrial home for the blind... 5,000 00 G e n e v a h o m e f o r g i r l s * . 8 , 5 9 4 3 0 _ of the si .„.W«uit to iik you now, whether any onVof yon _ ..any one of .• si charges I then made dented or They have not been, and because truth is itrsSui^ from the record, and to-day, inside walls of the penitentiary and on dockets of the criminal courts of state, you will fitid confirmation of accusations 1 then made. itads Hot Properly Accounted For. Perhaps I ought to qualify the state* ment that there has been no scandal connected with appointees of the present administration, for it is true that funds belonging to the hospital for the incurable insane at Peoria, amounting to abottt $3,000, have not been properly accounted for by former trustees of that Institu­ tion whom I appointed to the positions they seem to have dishonored. The money may be recovered, but the men, if guilty, will be punished in any event, and the task of meting out to them suqh punishment as they deserve has not been left to my successor. It was my fixed determination, upon assuming the re­ sponsibilities of the office with which you honored me, to hold every official sub­ ject to my immediate supervision and control, to a strict accountabllty for all of his official acts, and, in each Instance where there has been intimation or sus­ picion of wrong doing, I have caused swift and searching investigation to be made and have promptly removed from office any suspected official who failed to immediately free himself of guilt or suspicion of guilt. When the irregularities were discovered at Peoria I sent for the trustees, advised them of the discoveries and confronted them with the evidence. The explanation D&the two guilty trustees was not satisfac­ tory and I promptly removed them from office and turned their case, with the evi­ dence, over to the state's attorney and grand jt^ry of Peoria county for investiga­ tion. On the hearing one of the trustees was indicted and is now awaiting trial. The other trutsee, although having con­ fessed his guilt, escaped indictment on a mere technicality, viz., because the money he wrongfully received and appropriated to his own use was not handed to him in Peoria county. This, my friends, Is the sum of all the wrongdoing that anyone can lay at the door of this administration or charge up against any of the officials under It, and it dwindles into almost nothingness when' compared with the wholesale rascality of the Altgeld administration. Indeed, there was so much of crime perpetrated by the officials of that adminisratlon that the subject is too un­ savory to be inflicted on this audience in extenso, and I will confine myself merely to some of the. most glaring frauds and thefts, and allusion to -those officials of the Altgeld regime whose wholesale thiev­ ery has finally landed them either in the penitentiary or in jail, or has placed them on the rogues' list with indictments pending against them. Charles W, Spaulding. First of all, I may mention -Chaft^ :W. Spaulding; president 0>f the defunct Globe savings bank of Chicago, who now wears a convict's garb and is Incarcerated in the penitentiary at Joliet. 1 am forced to sym­ pathize to some degree with Spaulding, for it seems that he was led Into temptation and had not strength of character sufficient to withstand it. He was president of the Glove savings bank, a tottering financial institution with which Gov. Jonn P. Alt­ geld was associated as a stockholder and vice president. The records of the board of trustees of the- University of Illinois show that Spaulding was made treasurer of that institution and custodian of its large en­ dowment fund by the board when it was composed of nine democrats and three re-' publicans, and that the worthless bond he gave was accepted "on thejadvlCe and di­ rection of Gov. Altgeld." ^Tnree days after this bond was accepted- Spaulding drew $178,850 from the state treasury on Warrants approved by Gov. Altgeld in violation of the provisions of the law governing the case, and subsequently drew other large amounts, all of which werftnsed in a vain effort to bolster up the Sfllolvent- Globe savings bank. After the nPlsent adminis­ tration assumed control or the state's af­ fairs, demand was made on Spaulding for the money belonging to the university, $549,062.29. He failed to pay it. Part of this money was afterwards recovered by suit, gone, no one knows where, unless it be Spaulding, and, perhaps, unn but the remainder has gone, no one ding, and, pi his former businesi associate. Spaulding is paying the penalty for the commission of the crime in the Joliet penitentiary. Wheth­ er he alone was morally responsible for it, or only shared in committing it, is a hidden mystery. Another of Altgeld's great defrauders was his treasurer of the weslt park board of Chicago, E. S. Dreyer, who failed to turn over to his successor $318,000 park funds. Judgment for that amount and accrued in­ terest has been obtained against the Na­ tional bank of Illinois, the defaulting treas­ urer has been tried and convicted of the theft, and is now in jaii awaiting trans­ mission to the penitentiary. Of the funds belonging to the Chester penitentiary, $30,000 was stolen during the Alts-eld administration. Judgments have been secured against both wardens implicated, one of whlcl^ judgments has .been collected. In the grain inspector's office at Chi­ cago another large theft was committed. As compared with a grand total of about $1,000,000 known to have been stolen from the state by this band of plunderers, the Chief Grain Inspector, Dwight Andrews' steal of upwards of $10,000 appears di­ minutive; but the saltiest bit of rascal­ ity practiced by any act of officials dur­ ing that reign of plunder was that of this same Andrews and those who coached him in it and shared with him in a division of the spoils. On this Alt­ geld grain inspectors' pay-roll was a whole phalanx of political heelers and ward "bummers," who performed no service whatever, and who were not known and never were seen about the department except on pay-day, when the only requirement made of them was to keep "mum" and draw their pay. By such proceedings as were available and could be instituted, since the present ad­ ministration assumed control of the grain inspection department, Andrews was made to disgorge several thousand dol­ing ~ T». -- -«.» . > v . obaio tuima. lie was indicted and tried, but the chief clerk of the office, who was likewise impli­ cated but had agreed to turn state's evi­ dence, was kidnaped by those whom his testimony would have convicted and land­ ed in prison, and was spirited away so that his testimony could not be used at the trial, and the jury failed to agree on a verdict, thus, ^for the time being, leav­ ing Andrews unconvicted. State Tax Levies. Now I want to say a word about state tax levies and the rate which from time to time has been used under °different administrations, and the methods adopt­ ed in determining the rate to meet these levies. In reality, to determine each year what the tax rate shall be, is sim­ ply a mathematical proposition, and all Illinois governors have so considered it and acted accordingly, until by a freak of Illinois politics, John P. Altgeld be­ came governor. Until then it had btten left to the bookkeepers, the accountants, to figure out what rate was necessary to raise the required amount of taxes. For 16 years prior to Altgeld's Incum­ bency the average tax rate had been 37 cents, but no two years the same. With the fortuitous circumstances that favored him. Fifer got the rate down to 31 cents, and there Altgeld declared it should re­ main for two years, and the other state officials were compelled to abide by his edict.- What was the result? As every republican administration before him had done, and as common sense suggests should be done, Flfer left a "working balance" in the treasury, which, with the beginning of the fiscal year, July 1, after Altgeld had been installed, amounted to $1,068,- 905.24. It was alteeldlan souhistry that this "working balance" should be wiped out. The wiplng-out process began promptly, was kept up assiduously, and successfully accomplished. Instead of that $1,0G8,905.24 which the Altgeld admin­ istration inherited from the Fifer ad­ ministration being handed down to the present administration, it was my un­ happy lot to receive as a legacy from Altgeld a deficit of $2,059,225.28, while the state had been subjected to a net loss of $3,128,130.53. j Meantime Mr. Altgeld continued to In- Iwidto-'lii te^instltut tea of Interest subsequently by the present * listed. I take it, of yoa " say that dttseoa. oon- repu- may ksv* becanss of methods that' stand to-day as the foul­ est blot upon the history of the state. And what did it avail either to Attseldl r the democratic party? Notwitbstand- all of the trickery and financial that was resorted to; the "kil . .Ulsitions on the state treasury using up the surplus which was in the treasury when the Altgeld administra- on began its career of despoliation and defalcation, durin* the final two years of this infamous administration, the tax levy, for revenue purposes, was double- increased from $3,000,000 to $6,000,000, and the tax rate raised from 31 cents to 52 Cents m 1MB and 55 cents in 1896. I want »° .say to you, my friends, and the rec- ord will sustain us, that if the Altgeld administration had left Intact the neces­ sary "working balance" In the treasury which the Fifer administration had be­ queathed to it, and had met its own ap­ propriations instead of handing down a mountain of deficit, debt and defalcation to the present administration to contend with and liquidate, its tax levies and its tax rates would have greatly exceeded any in the history of the state. Bats Was Only 37 Cents. It may be a revelation to you, that for 16 years prior to and up to the be­ ginning of the Altgeld administration, the average tax rate was only 37 cents, while with all of its boasted economy the Alt­ geld administration employed a tax rate that for the four years averaged greater than that of 1900. Again I ask you to turn to the record and you will find the average Altgeld tax rate to be 42^4 cents, while last year it was only 42 cents. Per­ haps I have dwelt longer than I should on thist subject. You are well advised why a high rate had to be resorted to during the first and second years of my administration. The Altgeld deficits, debts and defalcations had to be provided for. It was no fault of my administration that they were created or existed, but to keep the good name of Illinois unsullied they had to be oaid, blotted out, and the Jtate's record given a new, clean page. Besides this, the mobilization of troops during the war with Spain equalising the pay of the Illinois soldiers from date of enlistment until muster into the United States service, and the heavy expenses incurred during the unfortunate labor disturbances of '98 and '99, made it neces­ sary for large sums of money to be raised in excess of the requirements of the preceding 'administration. I will now leave this subject of tax rates with this further explanation, which the most of you doubtless well under­ stand, that the the size of th.e tax rate Is prooortloned to the aggregate amount of taxable property in the state as re­ turned by the assessors and the appro­ priations made by the legislature. If the assessment is large, the rate is rela­ tively small. To illustrate: If ten dollars of taxes is to be raised and the as­ sessment is $10,000, the rate you will read­ ily perceive, should be a ten cent rate, or ten cents on each one hundred of the assessment. For many years past, as you are aware, the tendencies have been toward lower assessments, and hence the tax rate has proportionately grown, but it does not follow at all that taxation is greater merely because the rate is higher. You all know that Illi­ nois has much more taxable property than It had 2f years asro, but it is a fact that in 1873 the assessment amounted to $1,35^411,317, while last year, even under our new revenue law, which showed an increase in the assessment of nearly $200,000,000 over that of 1898, the assess­ ment was only $953,099,468, or $402,301,849 less than it was in 1873. The assessment in 1873 was the largest ever made by the assessors of the state, it amounting to $1,356,401,317. It is not reasonable to suppose that there was more taxable property in Illinois that year than there was last year, but It was assessed at nearer its actual value. Now, if you will do a little figuring, you will find that a tax rate of less than 29 cents an the hundred dollars, applied to the big assessment of 1873, would produce the $3,500,000 tax levy as made that year by the legislature. But suppose that the as­ sessment for 1873 had been only $953,099,- 468, as was the case in 1899, and the same rate had been applied. It would have produced only $1,763,988 taxes, in­ stead of $3,500,000. Thus you see, my friends, that this democratic bugaboo of a tax rate cuts but little "figure in de­ termining the extent of the taxes you are required to pay. As I have al­ ready pointed out, the tax rate is rela­ tively higher or lower in proportion to the assessment. In 1873 there was a high assessment and consequently a low tax rate. In later years the assessments have been low, and to produce the same amount of taxes higher rates have. been unavoidable. A Convenient Arrangement, During the Altgeld administration there was one omciai--the treasurer of one of the state institutions at Jacksonville--who also happened to be a private banker. It was a convenient arrangement by which the funds of that state institution and the two others located at Jacksonville, were deposited in the bank of which this official was the senior member. His bank got the benefit of those deposits, but that did not satisfy the cravings of the Jacksonville banker. Presently It was determined that the balances In his bank, standing to the credit of the state insti­ tutions at Jacksonville, were running too low and should be increased. But the full amount of the appropriations allotted by the legislature to those institutions could not be drawn from the state treas­ ury, as the treasury was out of funds and more money from the same source could not be obtained. In this dilemma all three of the state institutions were prevailed on to make loans of this bank, or, more craftily still, were induced to overdraw their accounts and give as se­ curity requisitions on the auditor and approved by Altgeld. Between Septem­ ber 26, 1895, and March 25, 1896, the asy­ lum for the blind borrowed $43,4CS.96 of Dunlap, Russell & Co., bankers of Jack­ sonville, paying $1,037.43 interest at the rate of six per cent. The bank, with great consideration, doubtless, for the trustees of the institution, did not de­ mand navment of the interest on this loan until after the election had been held in November, and then, when the bill for $1,037.43 was presented, it read: "For Interest on overdrafts." No inti­ mation of such loan having been made appear on the account books or reports of the trustees, and a table of the daily balances, drawn from the renorts of the treasurer of the institution shows that the interest of six per cent, on the bank's money actually used, should have been only $223.82, instead of $1,037.43, as demanded and paid to Dunlao, Russell & Co. At the deaf and dumb institution the same sort of chicanery was practiced, and the Institution's bank account at Dunlap, Russell & Co.'s bank, from Sep­ tember 11, 1895, to March 5, 1896, was swelled to the extent of $86,216.19, and an Interest account was permitted to run until after the November elections, when it reached the handsome proportions of $2,202.19, that amount being added to the bank's assets. Same Process Worked. . This was an experience which seems to have whetted Mr. Dunlap's appetite for acquiring wealth at the expense of the tax-payers of Illinois for the same pro­ cess was worked at the hospital for the Insane, where an Item of Interest, amount­ ing to $1,380.19, was created through the borrowing of $101,819.29 from Andrew Rus­ sell, Dunlap's partner, between Septem­ ber 30, 1895, nd March 31, 1896. Of this institution H. F. Dunlap was treasurer, which may account for the fact that Mr. Russell, In his individual capacity, was as courteous to the trustees or treas­ urer of the insane hospital as the Dun­ lap, Russell & Co.'s bank had been to the other Institutions, and did not pre­ sent his bill for interest until after the election in the fall. It was an experience, too, which seems to have inspired Mr. Dunlap with an ambition to become state treasurer. He secured from his party the nomination two years ago, but the voters of the state seem not to have been in sympathy with his aspira­ tions. and rolled up a majority against him of 48,000. Nothing daunted, Banker Dun­ lap still had longings to manipulate Illi­ nois' cash pile. Again he has been made he was treasurer of the insane under the Altgeid As'there are no possible means of 1 teg accurate figures shotting the r and disbursements (he v&riofcs Inst ""to It would i$ a cemi son of the per capita cost of iustalning inmates of those Inst!*--" * " democratic control wit and I will not tax your patience by ititutions while _ ritn their present - . your patience by tempting It. I am disposed to believe with efficient management and honest. plication of the appropriations, and j with generous and just treatment of thel aaatee of those institutions, the Alti officials could have sustained them at a per capita cost than they now can be : tained, for the reason that nearly all c modules necessary for their sustens are higher in price now than they were t ing the Altgeld administration. You f my friends, why prices are higher, and1 are as pleased as I am that it is so. are glad of the present prosperity and k, that good times always stimulate pri But while you are enjoying these g times I know you dc not want the unfc tunate wards of the state Inhumanly tr« ed. You do not want their rations down because prices have Increased. To Make a Good Showing. Such were the methods employed by th. democratic officials in order to make showing of a pretended low per capita cc in sustaining the inmates of the state stitutlons. Let their party have all benefit it can get from such practiced They never will be resorted to under th* present administration, if I «hn prevent it» What you should most, care for, fellow** Illinoisans, is that there shall be honest and just application of the funds appro­ priated for the maintenance of the stats institutions, and, with that done, it will bo unnecessary for any manipulation of ures to be indulged in to show that capita costs have gone up or down. C... more these institutions are in a health flourishing condition, a condition extn ly gratifying when comparison is ma with the condition in which they were by the late, apd it is to be hoped, last democratic administration the will ever have inflicted upon it When the democrats took charge 1893, these institutions had qn hand total cash balance in ordinary exp funds, of $135,745.21, and an outstan indebtedness of $58,575.19, showing a plus of $77,170.02. When they returned them to their repu an successor in 1897, the same institut had a cash balance of $56,341, and outstanding indebtedness of $231, showing all of them with a d amounting in the aggregate to $175,0! During the Dresent administration total debt of? $231,370.30 has been red to $56,224.35, and all of the institut now have a surplus in their ordinary pense funds over liabilities amoun in the aggregate to $161,412.03. The legislature at its last session . somewhat extensive appropriations, in the main they were needful, and, j believe, wise ones. In a few instanc deemed them excessive, or rather, expedient, under existing circumstan and exercised the discretion imposed b the constitution in the chief executive vetoing some of them, or parts of the aggregating something over a quarter a million dollars. But, as I have ready stated, I considered most of t to be necessary and reasonable. It be a part of the democratic plan of < paign to attack these appropriations _ wall dolefully over the wasteful extra gance of a republican legislature. T is to be expected, for nothing seems be so comforting to our democra friends as misery. They are happi when wringing their hands and lament* * , ing over something that somebody els* has done which they had not opportu* nity of doing. But they will fail to any impression on the sensible people Illinois when they attempt to snow tl the apporpriations of the forty-first eral Assembly were unwarrantably or* needlessly extravagant If8.- ' Money for Monuments. Something like $200,000 was apporpi ated for monuments. It Is true that moni*/«; uments can be dispensed with, but, • friends, the monuments which a nat or a state build are badges of enlit enment. They reflect the purest and sentiments with which mankind is bued. The last legislature appropriat $65,000 for erecting monuments on loh'a battlefield, in memory of the nois soldiers who gave up their li\ there, and $5,000 for defraying the penses of dedicating similar monument on the battlefield of Chickamauga, whe the Illinois troons won imperishs fame. Will our democratic friends to say that these appropriations unjustifiable and wasteful? Dare they you that the $100,0000 for rebuilding decayed monument which had erected over the tomb of Abraham coin was an,extravagance? Will you ] mlt them to tell you that the legl ture was prodigal with the taxes you contributed when it voted $9,000 for % . monument to the memory of that peer­ less woman, a produce of Illinois. Frani: ces E. Willard? And you, republicans^' have you any complaint to make of tho legislature because it voted $2,000 towar#-. building a monument at Alton In com* memoration of Elijah P. Lovejoy? Now, fellow-citizens, one word in re* lation to our state ticket, and I am done# The republican party has been fortu* nate in the selection of a state tickets this year. Your candidate for governor^ while a young man, is by no means in* experienced in business and public afy: fairs. Jn the city of Jacksonville an<f county of Morgan, where he Is besj known, he is the most popular. He Is gentleman of ability and splendid char­ acter, a son of the second republican gov!* ernor of Illinois, known in his day--front 1861 to 1865--as the great war governor of the country. No republican in Illinois eaijr give an intelligent reason for votin*"-A against Judge Yates. Gov. Northcott, Secretary Rose and Au« ditor McCullough ha^» served the peo* ,' pie faithfully and wen, and merit a re***. election. Mr. Williamson, your candidate fo#k^ treasurer, has served the people of his county for many years, in a public ca«i . pacity, and enjoys the confidence and refc^j," spect of that people to a high degree. , Mr. Hamlin, your candidate for attor* ; ney general, a man in the very prime of. life, is one of the best lawyers in ouf ' state, and. you will find before the cam«t: paign closes, one of the best compaigitt spoctlccrs. . Taken In its entirety, it is a splendl^ ticket, and ought, and I believe wllL . carry Illinois by 100,000 majority. Now, one word about Mr. Lorimer, your candidate for congress. It is urged thaft ; # "91 because when a child, a small boy, he sold " ~ ~ newspapers on the streets of Chicago, anqfc . ' afterwards drove a street car and per# formed other "undignified labor" to sup­ port. his aged, widowed mother and hi# . brothers and sisters, that he Is unfit t<|fcV;v'& represent the Second district In congressK*v ^ I will admit that from the standpoint of - his critics Mr. Lorlmer's education was rlously neglected. He never had time to " ^ learn to loaf or swear or drink or gambled !t. and is not contaminated with such influf "• ences. Mr. Lorimer Is able and clean iiK mind and habit and speech. I have knowifc ; him intimately and well for many years|: ' and know him to be an honest man whi dares to tell the truth. His word is as goo<|r? . ;?'• as any man's bond, hard sometimes to ob* tain, but when given is never broken. Sucl| v, v is his well known record. Mr. Lorimer quite domestic in his habits. When hi#"."-^?' day's work Is done he is never found on th#; #4 street corners or in saloons loafing. He 1# ^ always found at his home, where he spendi_ „ his evenings with his good wife and chll*^--*? dren. Mr. Lorimer has served your district i *' three terms in congress, and in that short}. time he has taken his place high among th» leaders there. The interests of every bust* ness man and every laboring man living In the Second congressional district de?; mand Mr. Lorlmer's return to congress in - November, and I hope and believe that thA business men and laboring men of his dis­ trict will see to it that he is elected Fellow-citizens, I feel that the common sense and sagacity so often displayed by American voters under like circumstances is a guaranty against democratic success in 1900. Let us close up our ranks and kee» our faces to the front, and we shall soon be out of sight and hearing of th* little noisy men who would, if they could, obstruct oui* march and delay our progress. Lord Salisbury has issued a mani­ festo calling for a parliamentary ma­ jority to teach t&e Boers that resist­ ance is useless.