Rensselaer Republican, Volume 17, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 October 1884 — THE VOICE OF TRADE. [ARTICLE]

THE VOICE OF TRADE.

Thirty Thousand New York Business Men Indorse the Republican Candidates. A J Procession Never Before Equaled in the History of the City. Able Addresses ou Live Issues by Secretary Gresham, George S. Boutwell, and Other Eminent Men. (New York telegram ] It has never been the good fortune of any Presidential aspirant to receive such a hearty and enthusiastic indorsement of his candidacy by the business men of this city as was given Janies G. Blaine to-day. The meeting which was held in Wall street this afternoon under the auspices of the various exchange clubs was an. immense success and was ample evidence that the representative business men and merchants of the metropolis are enthusiastically in favor of the election of Mr. Blaine to the Chief Magistracy of the country. Those people who were surprised at the size of the gathering in Wall street on, the occasion of the Democratic demonstration a few days ago, were utterly bewildered this afternoon when confronted by a solid mass of people thronging WaU street from Broadway ...to Williams street and on Broad street from the Sub-Treasury steps to the Custom House. No comparison between the two meetings could be made, for, while there were admittedly not over 5,000 people at the Democratic demonstration, fully 12,000 thronged the -streets: name. I this afternoon. *==== It was the original intention to have all the speakers address tfie meeting from the SubTreasury steps, from the corner of Wall and Nassau streets, but early this morning it was evident that the crowd was too large, and it was decided to have three speaking stands, one from the Sub-Treasury steps, another from the Custom House steps, and another from a platform erected at the corner of William and Wall streets. The list of speakers included Secretary Gresham, Senators Hale of Maine and Hawley of Connecticut, Stewart L. Woodford, George S. Boutwell, Chairman S. Rogers, Alexander Sullivan, and State Senator Dennis P. McCarthy. The list of Vice Presidents included the names of 150 leading merchants and bankers of this city, while the Secretaries were about the same number of representatives of similar interests. AH day long in commercial circles the usual talk ot business interests gave way to discussion about the afternoon’s demonstration. In innumerable trading houses along the line of march flags and bunting were profusely displayed, and immense portraits of Blaine and Logan were hung from the window’s. According to" the programme the first organization to prepare tor the demonstration was the Dry Goods Association, which assembled on Worth street, between Church and Broadway, at 2 o’clock, and then headed by the Seventh Regiment Band marched 2,500 strong dowm Broadway. At Reade street the West Side Merchants’ Association fell in line with 300 men, and at Chambers street 300 hardware merchants joined. Two'other organizations were added to the line before Bowling Green was reached —the jewelers, 700 strong, and the Stock Exchange Blaine and Logun Legion. The latter body took the head of the procession with its 1,000 men, and elicited rounds of applause from the populace-darkened sidewalks. In fact from Worth street down the crowds were dense, and increased in size until at the-Produce Exchange Building nothing but a mass of black could be seen where t lie s treets- usually are.I At the Produce Exchange Building the organI ization from that exchange took its place in I the parade. Grand Marshal Sabin leading 1,200 i men. The delegations from the Petroleum ExI change 500 strong, the Lower Wall Street-Mor-. ■ chants’Club 250 strong, and the Cotton and • Metal Exchanges, counting 200 men, also fell ■ into the procession on Beaver street. i The route was down Broadway to Beaver, i through Deaver to Broad, and up Broad to the i Sub-Treasury. As the procession was seen ad- : vancing up Broad street by the assembled ' multitude they broke into tumultuous applause. The men in line answered by shouting: I ”0 -o—o -h—i—o.” ! "J—J—J—G—B—l—a—i—n—e.” ! At 3:30, the time for the meeting, the neats I around the three speaking stands were simply , one mass of people, and the windows in the : palatial banking houses were radiant with the I wives and daughters of their owners. Standing on the steps of the Sub-Treasury one could easily imagine- that all New York was out en masse to i a tit v the action of the_bfißiness community in indorsing Mr. Blaine’s candidacy, for the people were* packed together like sardines, i and their enthusiasm s emed to know no I bounds as the various clubs marched by with banners flying and cries of "Blaine, Blaine, James G. Blaine,” filling the air. They all marched by the stands before the speaking began and then scattered to take their -places anioim tite intmetrsw throng and listen to the speakers. Secretary Gresham was the orator of the occasion. He spoke from the SubTreasury steps, as follows: Mr. Gresham confined himself entirely to a discussion of the finances of the country’ and a refutation of the assertion of Mr. Hendricks, that the balance Ot money in the Treasury should be paid out immediately for the public debt. “Honest, industrious, debt-paying persons,” he said, “do not favor a currency of fluctuating and uncertain value. They wish that the United States notes and the national bank notes should be kept up to a coin standard. It is w,otthv of comment that many who are now clamorous against keeping this reserve for the redemption of the United States notes earnestly opposed the issuing of them as unauthorized by the Constitution, and that, too, when the life of the nation was in imminent peril. Bearing in mind the various claims upon the funds in the Treasury, what becomes of the charge made by the Democratic candidate tpr Vice President and others of imposing taxation and the unnecessary holding of $450,000,009 or $500,000,000? The real reserve is less than one-third of the apparent balance on hand. I have,too much respect tor the intelligence of Gov, Hendricks to believe he does not know that this apparent balance is not available for paying off the Government debt or for general purposes. The leaders of the Democratic party, with some exceptions, protested against the issue of United States notes; and when in the opinion of Congress the necessities of the war required them to be issued and clothed with the legal-tender quality the utter collapse of the public credit was predicted. Instead of these predictions being verified, the greenbacks, through the wise and conservative management of Republican administrations, are at a par with gold. Those who are familiar wit h the action of the Democratic leaders during and after the war on questions affecting the public credit are not surprised to see them now at work by speech and vote to get nd of the reserve without which wo might be obliged to suspend payments The achievements of Republican administrations in the management of our finances and the reduction ot the public debt are perhaps without parallel in the history of the w orld. No one at home or abroad doubts that our war debts will be fuUy and honestly paitl if the Republican party is continued in power. I Cheers. J The issue credit has been so firmly established and the debts so largely reducted that we can now safely reduce taxation within the demands of the law creating the sinking fund.” Senator Hale, Stewart L. Woodford, and Sherman S. Rogers, of Buffalo, addressed that portion of the multitude gathered around the Court House steps, wnile the other speakers were divided between the platforms at Wall and William streets.