I Mmm lift! ■iBf lU^^. ■m m mm. '^■*'^-'*>-''^--^'' LIBP^nY OF CONGRESS. ^r^ v:fD - UNITE!) STATES OF AMERICA. / ^fj. M!^SSSS(S^SiMMiaSMKSM!M(liiifiini!S!siiSSa^ -3¥len'$-AuxiUary-inub "Edition. youny ■♦•♦-♦■•♦■»♦>■>•♦-♦-♦-♦■>-♦■♦»>-♦-'♦-♦-♦-< ►>>>♦♦♦-♦■♦♦•♦■>■♦• >--t- -♦•♦>>■♦■♦>♦-♦•-♦•-♦■-♦■♦■♦•■♦•-♦--♦•>>-♦•>>-♦•♦-♦•-♦•♦♦♦>■»-♦■♦-♦■-♦•-♦■-♦■♦ ■♦•♦-< ^, iFnatDF (^l|anblfr's Ipiast ppFFt|-^ ♦■♦-■f ■♦- ♦ -f ♦ ♦ -f ♦ ♦ •♦■^-♦-♦^ ■ >-♦-♦-♦-♦-♦-♦-♦■♦-♦-♦•■♦-♦-♦-♦-♦■■♦-♦•■♦••♦-♦-♦•■♦• ♦-f ■»•-♦-♦•■♦■■♦->-♦■ ■♦-♦••♦■•♦■■♦- -f -t^ 4- -f ♦•♦••♦-♦-♦-♦-■♦•■♦••♦■-♦• •♦ 'Delivered at Chieago, Oct. ji, iSjg,- rHHiirifJnLm'iiU^^TPiMiMnaiSTS^ jnpRiJiiaia Youno' Men's Auxiliary Clul), of Cliicago. LAST AND GREATEST SPEECH or ZACH. "CHANDLER Late U.-S. Senator from Michigan, DELIVERED AT McCoRMiCK Hall, Chicago, Oct. 31, 1879, The Evening Pkkviols to his Death, UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE YOUNG MEN'S AUXILIARY CLUB, OF CHICAGO. KEPORTEU VERBATIM BV WILLIAM H. STRONG, SHORT-HAND REPORTER FOR THE CHICAGO " INTER OCEAN. COMPILED BY CHARLES ARND, SECRETARY OF THE YOUNG MEN's AUXILIARY CLUB. ;Zj^^^ CHICAGO: FERGUS PRINTING COMPANY, 244-8 ILLINOIS STREET. 1879- r c GS G44 Enlered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1879, by Fergus Printing Company, In the office of the I^ibrarian of Congress, at Washington. RESOLUTIONS OF RESPECT AND SYMPATHY, Passed by the Young Men's Auxiliary Club of Chicago, on the evening after the death of Senator Chandler : Whereas, Providence has suddenly removed from this life the Hon. Zachariah Chandler; therefore, Resolved, By the Young Men's Auxiliary Club of Chicago, that we convey to the bereaved family our sincere and heartfelt sym- pathy, in this hour of their deep affliction. Resolved, That we mourn the loss of another of those remarka- ble men who were earnest and successful in ridding our Country of the blighting curse of slavery. And, trusting that his influence may remain with us, w^e pledge the oppressed in our land, who have lost so great a friend, counselor, and leader, that we will do our utmost to carry forward the principles which he so fearlessly advocated. Resolved, That we shall ever recognize the great privilege we enjoyed in listening to the last eloquent appeal of this distin- guished champion of equal rights and National sovereignty. Resolved, That our Secretary is hereby instructed to have this address published for general distribution. Resolved, That we, as a Club, escort the remains of Senator Chandler to the train which is to bear them to his late home; and that we do hereby appoint Messrs. Collyer, Cragin, Larned, and Rogers to accompany the same to Detroit. 6 INTRODUCTORY. This pamphlet is published in consequence of the foregoing resolutions, and is most respectfully dedicated to the friends and relatives of the late Senator Chandler, as a further token of our high esteem of his character and distinguished services to his Country. The address, as herein presented, is taken from the short-hand notes of Wm. H. Strong, short-hand reporter for the Chicago J7ite7- Ocean; and it is an accurate, verbatim report of the speech, in every particular — the very best which could be obtained. The Ifiter Ocean had intended to publish it in full, but, through lack of space, could only allow an abstract of it to appear in their paper. Charles Arnd. Secretary, Young Men^s Auxiliarv Chib. Chicago, December ist. iSyi^. SENATOR CHANDLER'S LAST AND GREATEST SPEECH INTRODUCTORY. Gloomy was the political outlook in the City of Chicago. Cha- grined at the mistakes of the last Spring's convention, mortified with defeat only too recent, with the municipal government under Democratic control, and the election at hand, seemingly of no National importance, the Republicans were anything but confi- dent. Deep-seated apathy had fallen upon their ranks, and indif- ference seemed to characterize their every action. With defeat thus staring them in the face, the problem presented was one difii- cult of solution. But one thing was to be done. A great political speech must be made, and the speaker be— Senator Zach. Chandler. He certainly could arouse the slumbering element to a realization of its peril. He, grown gray in the service of his Country, would present the National issues in words which would command the attention of the whole Nation. Fortune favored us. Through the eftbrts of our President, Samuel Collyer, and the active exertions of Mr. Jesse Spalding, of this City, a very intimate friend of the Senator's, he was per- suaded to deliver an address under the auspices of our Club. It was the evening of October 31, 1879. Little had been done to advertise; but, long before the hour of eight, McCormick's Hall had been jammed full, till there did not seem to be listening place for another living soul. Over 3000 people were present, in pleasant expectation, and they were not disappointed. As Sena- 8 IN TRODK r(JR\'. tor Chandi.ek appeared, accompanied by an escort of 200 of the Union Veteran Club and the strains of martial music, he was greeted with prolonged cheering. On motion of Mr. Jesse Spalding, Samuel Collyer, our Presi- dent, was publicly elected Chairman of the meeting, and he then introduced the Senator with a short, appropriate speech. It was an occasion never to be forgotten. Notwithstanding the fatigue of long weeks of campaigning, the form of the old Sena- tor rose to its full height ; and there was an expression of deter- mination about his mouth, and a glitter in his eye, which were not to be mistaken. He was terribly in earnest. Whether it was due to inspiration, received from so vast an audience, or to consciousness of the near approach of death, or to intensified indignation at Confederate ingratitude, certain it is that it was the greatest effort of his life. It was as grand a speech as was ever delivered in the City of Chicago. For two whole hours he poured shot and shell into the Rebel ranks, as in the days of old, and presented the living issues of the day in lan- guage so plain, so convincing, that even the most obdurate was persuaded. Never was orator so impressively eloquent. Round after round of applause attested to the enthusiasm of those present. Cheer after cheer greeted his salient points, as it were, in continued ova- tion. At one time the excitement became so great, that, notwith- standing several minutes of continuous applauding, the immense audience rose to its feet, and shouted, and cheered, till the very ])uilding trembled. Knormous was the sacrifice, but wonderful the result. That magnificent speech, uttered in the heart of our Nation, sped with the wings of lightning throughout our land, and aroused thousands of voters from the state of lethargy into which they had fallen. Here the effect was like magic. The political sentiment was com- pletely revolutionized: and our County was changed from 5000 Democratic last Spring, to 10,000 Rei)ublican majority. LAST AND GREATEST SPEECH. 9 Few men are capable of such an efifort; and, mournfully be it said, it cost Senator Chandler his life. The next morning he was found dead in his bed, at the Grand Pacific Hotel. Mr. Samuel Collyer, Chairman of the mass-meeting, intro- duced Senator Chandler, as follows: Ladies and Gentlemen: I have the honor to introduce a gentleman who speaks to a Chicago audience for the first time. He was a merchant in business in the Cit)^ of Detroit before I was born. To-day he represents our sister State of Michigan in the Senate of the United States. He is known as the most stal- wart of the Stalwarts [great applause] ; and I trust that you will give him that respectful attention which his distinguished services to his Country deserve. [Applause.] THE SPEECH. Mr. Chairman and P'ellow- Citizens: It has become the custom of late to restrict the lines of citizenship. In the Senate of the United States, and in the halls of Congress, you will hear citizenship described as confined to States; and it is denied that there is such a thing as National citizenship. I to-night address you, my fellow-citizens of Chicago, in a broad sense, as fellow- citizens of the United States of America, regardless of State lines. [Applause.] A great crime has been committed, my fel- low-citizens, — a crime against this Nation, a crime against Repub- lican institutions throughout the world, a crime against civil lib- erty, — and the criminal is yet unpunished. That is to say, he is not punished according to his deserts [applause] ; and I shall to- night devote myself chiefly to the history of that crime, and shall endeavor to hold up the criminal to your execration. [Applause.] But first, it is proper for me to allude to certain matters of Na- tional importance, which are at this present moment living issues. Twelve years ago, an idea w^as started in the neighboring State of Ohio, called the "Ohio Idee," which spread, and bore fruit, in different States. That idea was to pay something with nothing. [Voice — that's the idea now ! Another voice — shut up ! Laugh- ter.] From this "Ohio idee" sprung a brood of other ideas; for example, the greenback idea, an unlimited issue of irredeemable currency; and a party was inaugurated in different States, called the Greenback Party. It took root in Michigan last year, had a 10 SENATOR ZACH. CHANDLERS vigorous growth, put forth Hmbs, blossomed hberally, bore no fruit, and died. [Laughter and cheers.] Therefore, I shall pay no attention to the Greenback Party. [Applause.] It is not a living issue. [Laughter.] But the "Ohio idee" is still a living issue; and, even during the last session of Congress, an attempt was made, and persistently made, to repeal the Resumption Act, that had been in existence for years. The resumption of specie payments was virtually accomplished when, in 1874-5, that Resumption Act became a law. For, at that time, we made that act so strong, that there was no power on earth that could defeat the resump- tion of specie payments after it had once been inaugurated. [Ap- plause.] We authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to use any bond, ever issued by the Government, and. in any amount that was necessary, to carry forward to success specie payments, so soon as the time arrived for the resumption. We carefully guarded that law. True, we are under an obligation to the man who has executed the law; but, the resumption of specie pay- ments was as much a fixed fact, when that law was signed, as it is to-day [applause]; and all the powers of earth combined could not break that resumption when it had once been inaugurated. No combination of capital, and no combination of nations, could break it ; for they butted against the credit of the United States of America. [Loud applause.] But this "Ohio idee,"' as I said, w^as to pay off your bonds with greenbacks. Well, my fellow-citizens, we have paid off $160,- 000,000 of your bonds in greenbacks within the last sixty or ninety days, and what more do you w^ant? Ah! But the Ohio idea was something different from that. It was, as I said before, to pay something with nothing; and, up to the final adjournment of the last regular session of Congress, the attempt was still made to issue irredeemable paper, and force it on the creditors of the Nation. Now, if this paper which they proposed to issue, in paying off the bonds of your Government, were properly and truthfully described, it w^ould read thus: "The Government of the United States for value received" — for it was for value received ; no greenback \vas ever issued except for value re- ceived; no bond of the Government was ever issued except for value received — "for value received, the Government of the United States promises to pay nothing to nobody, never."' [Ap- plause and laughter.] That was the paper with which it was pro- posed by these men, entertaining, and now entertaining, the Ohio idea, to redeem the bonds of your Government. Now, you have heard, I presume, here in Chicago, the denun- LAST AND GREATEST SPEECH. II ciation of the holders of your Government bonds. "The Bloated Bondholder" was a term of reproach. On the floor of Con- gress, and in the streets of Chicago, and all over these United States, "The Bloated Bondholder" was a term of reproach. Did it ever occur to you to enquire who are the bloated bondholders? Why, my friends, every single man who has one dollar in a sav- ings-bank is a bloated bondholder ; for there is not a savings-bank in the land, which ought to be intrusted with a dollar, whose funds are not invested in the bonds of your Government. [Ap- plause.] There is not a widow, or orphan, who has a trust fund, to support the widow in her widowhood, and the orphan in its orphanage, in a trust company, who is not a bloated bondholder; for there is not a trust company in the land, that is to be trusted, that has not a large proportion of its funds in the bonds of your Government. Every man who has his life insured, or his house insured, or his barn, or his lumber, or any insurance, is a bloated bondholder; for there is not an insurance company, Hfe, fire, marine, or any other class of insurance, that ought to be trusted, that has not its funds invested in the bonds of your Government. You may go to the books of the Treasury to-morrow, and inquire, and you will find ninety-nine men who hold $ioo, or less, of the bonds of your Government, directly, or indirectly, where you find one man who holds $10,000, or more. And these men, enter- taining the Ohio idea, would ruin the ninety-nine poor men for the possible chance of injuring the one -hundredth rich man. And yet, you may destroy the bonds of the rich man, and you do him no harm, for he has but a small amount of his vast wealth in the bonds of your Government, while the poor man, owning $100, or under, as his Httle all, is utterly ruined. [Applause.] You would not find a man, woman, or child, in America who would touch that kind of paper if proffered him. You say you would stop the interest on your bonded debt. Very well. The holder of your bond would say, "You do not propose to pay any interest. 1 hold a bond for value received, with a given amount of interest, payable on a given day. Now, I will hold your bond until you men, entertaining the Ohio idea, are buried in your political graves; and then I will appeal to an honest People, and an honest Government, to pay an honest debt." [Applause.] "But," say these men, "pay off your foreign bonds." I see before me men who remember the days of General Jackson; and they likewise remember, that, in the time of General Jackson, the Government of France owed to the citizens of the United 12 SENATOR ZACH. CHANDLERS States $5,000,000, which France did not refuse to pay, but neg- lected to pay. It ran along from decade to decade unpaid. Cieneral Jackson sent for the French Minister, and said: "Unless that $5,000,000, due to the citizens of the United States, is paid, I will declare war against France." [Applause.] General Jack- son was remonstrated with. It would disturb the commercial relations, not only of this Country, but the World. Said he, "Unless France pays that $5,000,000, by the Eternal, I will declare war against France." [Applause.] Every man, woman, and child, and the King of France, knew that he would do it; and the $5,000,000 was paid to the United States. It is not $5,000,000 that your Government owes to the citizens of the World, but it is more than fifty times five million; and it is scat- tered all over Ciod's earth. You say, you would stop the interest on these bonds. How long do you think it would be before a British fleet would be sail- ing up our coast, followed by a French fleet, and a Russian fleet, and an Austrian fleet, and a Spanish fleet, and an Italian fleet, all demanding payment of the bonds held by their respective Na- tions? The British Admiral would step ashore, and say: "I have a little account against you of $5,000,000, and I am author- ized to collect it." Up steps Tom Ewing, and says: "Your ac- count is correct, sir. [Laughter and applause.] The Government of the United States owes that amount to your citizens, and here is your money." [Great laughter, the Senator brandishing a hand- ful of blank paper, as representing the "Ohio idee."] The admi- ral from Britain, and the other foreign gentlemen, say: "What, pray, is that?" "Why, money!" says Tom. "Don't you- see? Why, it IS a first mortgage on all the property of all the citizens of all the United States. [Laughter and applause.] Don't you see the stamp of the Government?'' The foreign gentlemen say: "Where is it payable?" "Nowhere," says Tom. [Laughter and applause.] "To whom is it payable?" "Nobody." [Laughter. "When is it payable?" "Never." [Laughter and great applause. The foreign gentlemen say: "We don't know any such money; our orders are to collect these hundreds of millions of dollars in the coin of the World; and, unless they are paid in the coin of the World, our orders are to blockade every port of the United States — and here are all the navies of the earth to "lo it, — and to burn down every city that our guns will reach." Ah! Tom Ewing, you will find that honesty is the best policy with nations, as with individuals. [Applause.] "Perhaps you are right about this bond business,'' it is urged, LAST AND GREATEST SPEECH. 1 3 "it is an open question; but the National Banks I Down with the National Panks ! Abolish the National Banks I" What do you want to abolish the National Banks for? That is another living issue to-day, and advocated by the Democratic Party — a proposition which 1 wish to hold up to your execration. "Down with the National Banks!" What do you want to "down with the National Banks" for? I was in the Senate of the United States when that national banking law^ was passed: 1 was a mem- ber of that body, and voted upon every proposition made in it upon that bill. I had a little experience in State Banks myself [Laughter.] Michigan had, at one time, a very large State Bank circulation [applause and laughter]; and we called that money, in these days, "wild-cat" money [laughter]; and it was very wild. [Great laughter,] Chicago had a little experience in those days, too. It was necessary for any man liable to receive a five dollar note to take a counterfeit detector with him always, and for three purposes: To ascertain, first, if there ever was such and such a bank in existence; second, to ascertain whether its bill was a coun- terfeit; and third, to ascertain whether the bank had failed yet [laughter]; and, as a rule, it had failed. [Great laughter and applause.] Now, we had two objects in vievviin getting up that national banking law. First, we wanted to furnish an absolutely safe cir- culating medium, so that no loss could ensue to the bondholder. Second, we wanted to furnish a market for our bonds, which had become somewhat of a drug. Now, we might just as well have put in State bonds, as security for those bank notes, — it would have been just as legal, just as right; but we did not know which one or how many of those Rebel States would repudiate their bonds, and therefore we did not put any in. [Applause and laughter.] We might just as well have put in railroad bonus; but we did not know how many railroads would default in their inter- est. We might just as well have put in real estate; but we had no assurance that the neighbors of the banker would appraise the real estate at its actual cash-selling value [laughter]; and there- fore we put in the bonds of your Government at 90 cents on the dollar; and to-day, for every single 90 cents of national bank notes afloat, there are 100 cents of the bonds of your Gov- ernment, deposited with the Treasurer of the United States for the redemption of the 90 cents. [Applause.] You don't know, and you don't care, whether the bank is located in Oregon, in Texas, in South Carolina, Mississippi, New York, or Illinois; because you know that there are 100 cents — worth to-day 102^ 14 SENATOR ZACH. CHAXDLER S — in the bonds of your (Government, deposited with the Treas- urer of the United States for the benefit of every 90 cents of national bank notes you hold. You don't know, and you don't care, whether the bank, whose note you have in your pocket, failed yesterday, last week, or last year, or never failed; and you never find it out, if it did fail; for the bank bonds are sold, and your bank notes are redeemed the day after, or the week after, or the year after your bank has failed, precisely the same as though it had never failed [applause]; so, in any event, you are perfectly secure. [Applause.] Yet some say, "Call in your bonds I abolish the National Banks 1" Very well; suppose it done; suppose you pass a law to-morrow- repealing the charters of all your National Banks, and calling in every note of every National Bank. Suppose that every National Bank in America, obeying such new legislation, takes 90 cents — the exact amount of the circulation which it has, either in silver, or gold, or greenbacks — to the Treasury, leaves it there to redeem its money, takes the bonds and distributes them among the stock- holders of that bank. What is the result? What would it be? Why, the day after you should thus call in every national bank note that you had out, you would pay the self-same amount of interest on your bonds that you paid the day before, not one far- thing more or less. You don't gain one cent; but you lose $r6,- 500,000 of taxes, paid this year, and last year, and every year, upon the stock of National Banks, to National, State, and muni- cipal government. You gain nothing, I say, and you lose that amount. You distress the whole community of these United States, by compelling the banks to call in $850,000,000, now loaned for carrying on the commerce and the industries of the Nation. Now, my friends, you had better devote yourselves to something that you understand, and let National Banks alone, in my judgment. [Loud applause.] But they say — the Democrats— ^that there is one thing that they know they are right upon, and that is the free coinage of sil- ver: Every man who owns 85 cents worth of silver shall go to the Treasury of the United States, or the mints of the United S rates, and take a certificate of deposit for 100 cents, which shall pass as money. This is the Warner Bill, and the Democratic Party is committed to it. The very last day of the last session, by a majority vote of one, in the Senate of the United States, we laid that bill substantially on the table ; every Rei)ublican vot- ing aye, and every Democrat, excepting four or five, voting no. [Apjjlause.] Now, to-day. the laboring-man can take gold, or LAST AND GREATEST SPEECH. 1 5 silver, or paper, as he chooses, for his day's labor. — I am in favor of the dual standard; I am in favor of a silver dollar with one hundred cents in it; I am in favor of an honest do.lar wherever you can find it [applause]; and I stand by an honest dollar. — To- day, the laboring-man can take gold, or silver, or paper, and they are all equal to each other, being interchangeable into each other. A paper dollar costs nothing; a silver dollar costs the Govern- ment 85 cents — a fraction more than that now, just as it has cost a fraction less — but all three are of equal value. But, the very moment you commence issuing such certificates of deposit freely to every one having bullion, you banish gold from your circulat- ing medium, and make it an article of traffic, and nothing else; and you have but a single standard, and that a depreciated stand- ard. There is paid out in the United States $4,000,000 every day for labor alone. Now, by compelling the substitution of the silver dollar alone, you swindle the laboring-man out of $600,000 a-day. The laboring-man who receives a dollar a day gets but 85 cents. The man who receives ten dollars a week gets $8.50, and no more. The farmer w4io sells a horse, or the man who sells a load of lumber, or a load of wheat, or anything else, amounting to $100, receives but $85, and no more, instead of $100. Y(^u have but one single standard, and that the silver standard, which, in the banishment of gold, is worth precisely the metal that is in it, and no more. Now, who is benefited by this substitution? Not a man on God's earth, my friends, except the bullion owner, and the bullion speculator. Now, I do not charge these men with corruption; I do not charge these men with being bribed to pass that law, because I have no proof of it; but I do say, and I say it boldly, that the bullion-owners and the bullion-speculators could aff"ord to pay $10,000,000 in bullion for the privilege of swindling the labor- ing men of the country out of 15 per cent, of all their earnings. [Applause.] They say, ''That may all be true; we don't know how it is; we have not been bribed" — and I never knew a man in my life that would own up that he was bribed. [Laughter.] I don't say that they are, but, I do say, that they are engaged in a mighty mean business. [Laughter.] But, my friends, there is another question which is of vital interest to every man, woman, and child in America — every one — and that is, this question of the enormous Rebel claims presented against your Government. I hold in my hands a list of the claims now before the two houses of Congress, and being pressed, claims for cotton, claims for the destruction of property, for quar- l6 SENATOR ZACH. CHANDLER'S termasters' stores, for every conceivable injury that war can inflict- Even my old friend Logan [turning to that Senator] has gotten up more claims than you can shake a stick at in a week, for the fence rails that his boys burnt up. [Applause.] I have claims now before me, right here, amounting to more than two thousand millions of dollars, against this Government — more than $2,000,- ooo,coo, I repeat, and the only thing to-day — the Senate and the House both being under the control of those Southern Rebels — the only protection, the only barrier between the Treasury of the United States and those Rebel claims, is the Presidential veto — and thank God for the veto. [Loud applause and cheers.] But those claims are not all. There are claims innumerable, which they dare not yet present. You may go through the South; and, in every State in the South, somewhere hidden away, you will find a claim for every slave that was liberated. On the files of the Senate and the House you will find demands for untold millions of dollars, to improve streams that do not exist — where you would have to pump the water to get up a stream at all [laughter]; demands for untold millions for the levees of the Mississippi — for I tell you that all the governments of the earth could not erect and maintain those levees, 1 700 miles long, through a hostile population; for, whenever they wanted an expenditure of $100,000, or $r, 000,000, all they would have to do would be to cut a crevasse, and one man with a hoe could do it in a night. We have already given them 32,000,000 acres — all the land that could be benefited by these levees we have donated to the Southern States — and now they propose to bankrupt the Public Treasury, by compeUing it to build the levees, to make the lands which we gave them valuable. But, perhaps, you may say I am overstating this idea of South- ern claims; and, for fear that you would say so, and think so, I will read you a petition to Congress which is now circulating through the South, and which has already been largely circulated through the South, and has obtained thousands, and tens of thousands, and hundreds of thousands of signatures: "We, the Peojile of the United States, most respectfully petition your honorable bodies to enact a law by which all citizens of every section of the United States may be paid for all their property destroyed by the govern- ments and armies on both sides during the late war between the States, in bonds bearing 3 per cent, interest per annum, maturing within the next one hundred years." Every soldier that served in the Northern army has been paid; every dollar's worth of prop- erty, furnished to the Northern army has been paid for; every LAST AND GREATEST SPEECH. 1/ widow, and orphan, and wounded soldier, entitled to a pension has been pensioned. This means that you shall do for the South precisely what you have done for your own soldiers. But I have not yet reached the meat in this cocoanut. [Laughter.] "And we also petition that all soldiers, or their legal representatives, of both armies and every section, be paid, in bonds or public land, for their lost time [great laughter], lost limbs, and lost lives, while engaged in the late unfortunate civil contest." [Laughter.] That all soldiers be paid for their lost time while fighting to overthrow your Government ! For their lost limbs, and for their lost lives, while fighting to overthrow your Government. Ah! my fellow- citizens, they are in sober, serious, downright earnest. They have captured both houses of Congress; and, as 1 said awhile ago, the only obstacle to the payment of these infamous claims is the Pres- idential veto; and there is not a man before me who has not a personal, direct interest, in seeing to it that the Rebels do not capture the balance of the Government. [Loud applause.] These Rebel States are solid. They are solid for repudiating your debt. They are solid for paying those Rebel claims. They have repudiated their individual debts through the bankruptcy law; they have repudiated their State debts, by scafing, and then refusing to pay interest on their scales; they have repudiated their municipal debt, by repealing the charters of their cities, and towns, and villages. Do you think they are more anxious to pay the debt, contracted for their subjugation, than they are to pay their own honest debt? I tell you — no. They mean repudiation; and they don't mean that your debt shall be any more valuable than their own. And when you trust them, you will be making a mistake; and T don't beheve you will ever do it again. [Great applause and cheers.] But, my fellow-citizens, we have a matter under consideration to-night, more important than all the financial questions that can be presented to you; and that is, "Are we, or are we not, a Nation?" We had supposed, for generations, that we were a Nation. Our fathers met in convention to frame a Constitution, and they found some difficulty in agreeing upon the details of that Constitution; and, for a ti'jie, it was a matter of supreme doubt whether any agreement could be reached. Acrimonious debate took place in that convention; but finally, a spirit of com- promise prevailed, and the Constitution was adopted by the con- vention, and submitted to the People of these United States — not to the States, but to the People of the United States — and the People of the United States adopted the Constitution that l8 SENATOR ZACH. CHANDLERS was framed by tlie fathers ; and, for many long years, the whole People of the United States believed that they had a Govern- ment. The whiskey rebellion broke out in Pennsylvania, and was put down by the strong hand of the Government; and we believed that we had a Government. We continued in that belief until the days of General Jackson, when South Carolina threat- ened to raise the standard of revolt. Armed men trod the soil of South Carolina, and threatened that, unless the tariff was mod- ified to suit their views, they would overthrow the Government. This was under the leadership of John C. Calhoun, in carrying out his doctrine. Old General Jackson took his pipe out of his mouth, when told that South Carolina menaced the (Jovernment with armed resistance, and said, "Let South Carolina commit the first act of treason against this Government, and, by the Eternal, I will hang John C. Calhoun." [Applause.] Every man in. America, including Calhoun, knew that he would do it; and the first overt act of treason was not committed against the Govern- ment. For even the State of South Carolina, under the leader- ship of John C. Calhoun, had bowed to the power of this Gov- ernment. We remained under that impression until I first took my seat in the Senate, on the 4th day of March, 1857. Then treason again raised its head on the floors of Congress. Treason was threatened on the floors of the Senate and on the floors of the House; — and John Wentworth [turning toward him] was there to hear it — [Applause.] They said then, "Do this, or we will destroy your Government; fail to do that, and we will destroy your Ciovernment.'' One of them, in talking to brave old Ben Wade, one day, repeated this threat; and the old man straightened himself up, and said, "Don't delay it on my account." [Loud applause and laughter.] Careful preparations were made to carry out this treason. Jeff- erson Davis stepped out of the Cabinet of Franklin Pierce, as Secretary of War, into the Senate of the United States, and be- came Chairman of the Committee on Military Aftairs. Your arms were shipped to the Southern States, where they could be used to overthrow your Government. Your ammunition followed your arms; and, after that, through an innocent-looking clause in a general appropriation bill, which read thus, "That the Secretary of War may sell such arms as he deems it for the interest of the Government to dispose of," your arsenals, all over the United States, were opened, and your arms sold for a song, and shipped in the very boxes they lay in to the South, to be used in over- throwing your (k)vernment. Your navy was scattered wherever LAST AND GREATEST SPEECH. 19 the winds blew, and sufficient water was found to float your ships; where they could not be used to defend your Government. Your credit, which stood, in 1857, at 122 cents on the dollar for your six per cent bonds, was so utterly prostrated, debased, and degraded, that, in February, 1861, four years after, your bonds, principal and interest, payable in gold coin, were selling for 88 cents on the dollar, and no buyers for the whole amount. Care- ful preparations were made for the overthrow of your Govern- ment; and, when Abraham Lincoln [loud applause] took the oath of office, as President of these United States, you had no army, no navy, no money, no credit, no arms, no ammunition — no nothing to protect the National life. And yet, with all these discouragements staring us in the face, the Republican Party undertook to save your Government. [Tre- mendous applause.] We raised your credit, we created navies, raised armies, fought battles, and carried on the war to a success- ful issue; and finally, when the Rebels surrendered at Appomattox [applause], they surrendered to a Government. [Loud applause.] They admitted that they had submitted their heresy to the arbitra- ment of arms, and had been defeated; and they surrendered to the Government of the United States of America. [Applause.] They made no claims against this Government, for they had none. In the very Ordinance of Secession which they had signed, they pledg- ed their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to the over- throw of this Government; and, when they failed to overthrow this Government, they lost all that they had pledged. [Applause and laughter.] They asked, as a boon from the Government of the United States, that their miserable lives might be spared to them. [Applause.] We gave them their lives, told them to take their horses and go home, keep their parole of honor, obey the law, and raise crops. They had forfeited all of their property; every dollar was pledged by their sign-manual. We gave them back their prop- erty. We found them naked, and we clothed them. We found them without the rights of citizenship, having forfeited those rights, and we restored the rights of citizenship. W^e took them to our bosoms as brethren, believing that they had repented of their sins. We killed for them the fatted calf, and invited them to the feast; and they gravely informed us that they had always owned that animal, and were not thankfiil for the invitation. [Great applause and laughter.] By the laws of war, and by the laws of nations, they were bound to pay every dollar of the expense of that rebellion. Germany compelled France to pay a billion dollars in gold coin for a brief campaign. The revolting 20 ^KNATOK ZACH. CHANDLER S States, 1 say, were bound by the laws and precedents of war, and by the laws and usages of nations, to pay- — and with heavy inter- est — every last dollar of the debt, contracted for their subjugation. [Great applause.] But we forgave them that debt; and, to-day, you are being taxed heavily to pay the interest on the debt that they ought to have paid. [Applause and cheers, and a voice, "Good !''] vSuch magnanimity, as was exhibited by this Nation to those Rebels, w^as never witnessed on earth, since God made the earth [applause]; and, in my humble judgment, will never be wit- nessed again. [Applause.] Mistakes were undoubtedly made, errors were committed, and I take my full share for all the mis- takes and all the errors, for I was there, and voted upon every proposition; but, in my humble judgment, my fellow-citizens, the greatest mistake and the greatest error that we committed, was in not hanging enough of those Rebels to make treason forever odious. [Yells and cheers, which subsided only to break out again wdth increased vigor.] We expended $5,000,000,000, and more than 300,000 precious lives, to establish the fact that w^e were a Nation. [Applause.] Now, my fellow-citizens, somebody committed a crime ; either those men who rose in rebellion against this Government com- mitted the greatest crime, known to human law, or our brave sol- diers who fought to save this Government were murderers. One of these two propositions you must accept. Is there a man on the face of the earth who dares to get up and say that our brave soldiers, who bared their bosoms to the bullets of Rebels, w^ere anything but good ])atriots, deserving well of their Gountry? [Api)lause.] And now, after twenty )ears, — ^after an absence from the Senate of four years — after twenty years, I go back and take my old seat in the Senate [great applause]; and what do I find? I might close my eyes, and leave my ears open to the discus- sions tiiat are going on daily when that Senate is in session, and believe that 1 had taken a Rip Van Winkle sleep of twenty years. [Applause and laughter.] The self-same pretensions are rung in my ears from day to day. The men have changed — the measures not at all. Twenty years ago they said, " Do this, or we will shoot your Government to death; fail to do that, or we will shoot your Ciovernment to death." And now, after twenty years, I go l)ack, and find these paroled Rebels, who have never been released from their paroles of honor to obey the law, saying, •T)o this, obey our wills, or we will starve your (lovernment to death [loud applause]: fail to obey our will, and we will starve LAST AND GREATEST SPEECH. 21 your Government to death." Now, if I am to die, 1 would rather be shot to death with musketry than be starved to death. [Ap- plause; a voice, "Good!"] Now, these Rebels— for they are just as much Rebels now, as they were twenty years ago; there is not a particle of difference; I know them better than any other living, mortal man [applause and laughter] ; I have summered and wintered with them [laugh- ter] — these Rebels, to-day, have thirty six members on the iioor of the House of Representatives without one single constituent, and in violation of law. The thirty-six members represent 4,000,000 of people, lately slaves, who are as absolutely disfranchised, as if they lived in another sphere. Through shot-guns and whips, tissue- ballots and violence, they are as absolutely disfranchised, as if they lived, as I said, upon another sphere; and this in violation of law, for the law expressly says that where a race, or class, are disfranchised, they shall not be represented upon the floor of the House of Representatives. [Applause.] Yet there they are; and these thirty-six members, thus elected, constitute three times the whole of their majority upon that floor. This is not only a viola- tion of law, but an outrage upon all the loyal men of these United States. [Applause.] It ought not to be; it must not be [ap- plause] ; and it shall not be. [Very great applause, and a voice, '^ That's so !'"] Twelve members of the Senate — and that is more than their whole majority — occupy their seats upon that floor by fraud and violence; and I am saying no more to you people of Chicago than I have said to those Rebel G nerals there on the floor of Congress. [Great applause and whistling; a voice, "Bully for you!''] With majorities, thus obtained by fraud and violence, in both houses — both the Senate and the House — they dare to dictate terms to the loyal men of these United States. [Ap- plause.] With majorities, thus obtained, they dare to arraign the loyal men of these United States, and say they want honest elec- tions. [Laughter.] They are mortally afraid of bayonets at the polls. We offered them a law, forbidding any man to go within two miles of the polHng-places with arms of any description; and they promptly voted it down, for they wanted their ku-klux there. [Applause.] They were afraid, not of ku-klux at the polls, but of soldiers at the polls. Now, in all of the States north of Mason and Dixon's Line and east of the Rocky Mountains, there is less than one soldier to a county [laughter]; there is about two-thirds of a soldier to a county, and, of course, about two-thirds of a musket. [Applause.] Now, wouldn't this great County of Cook tremble, if it saw two -thirds of a soldier parading himself up 22 SENATOR ZACH. CHANDLER S and down in front of the City of Chicago. [Laughter and ap- plause.] But they are afraid to have inspectors. What are they afraid to have inspectors for? The law, creating those inspectors, is imperative that one must be a Republican, and the other a Democrat. They have no power, whatever, except to certify that the election has been honest and fair; and yet they are afraid of those inspectors; and then they are afraid of marshals at the polls. Now^ while the inspectors cannot arrest, the marshals, under the orders of the court, can arrest criminals ;. therefore, they said, "We will have no marshals." When we told them we could not have courts without marshals, they said, "We don't want mar- shals at all.'' And they don't. Marshals interfere with their moonshiners, the men who distill illicit whiskey in the mountains of North CaroHna and Georgia. And they don't want any courts, because the courts interfere with the ku-klux at the polls. It is a false assumption on their part. What they want is not free elec- tions, but free frauds at elections. [Applause.] They have got a solid South by fraud and violence. Give them permission to exercise the same fraud and violence in New York and Cincin- nati; and those two cities, with the solid South, will give them the Presidency of the United States ; and, once obtained by fraud and violence, by fraud and violence they would hold it for a generation. To-day, 8,000,000 in those Rebel States as absolutely control all the legislation in this Government — as absolutely, I say — as they control their slaves. Through caucus dictations there, I find precisely what I did twenty years ago, when a Democratic caucus, composed of 28 Southern Democrats and 16 Northern Demo- crats, decreed that Stephen A. Douglas should be degraded and displaced from the Committee on Territories; and there were just two Northern Democratic Senators who dared even to enter a protest against the outrage. To-day, there are 32 South- ern Democratic Senators to 12 Northern Senators, and out of the whole 12 there is not a man who dares to protest against any- thing. [Applause and laughter.] I say that, through this cau- cus dictation, those eight millions of Southern Rebels as absolutely control the legislation of this Nation— as absolutely, I say — as they controlled their slaves when slavery existed. [Applause.] Now, if every man here should hold up his right hand, and swear that a Rebel soldier was better than a Union soldier, I would not believe it [applause]; and I would hold up both of my hands, and swear that I did not believe it. [Laughter and cheers.] Yet, to-day, in South Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and several other Southern States, the vote of a Rebel soldier counts as much as LAST AND GREATEST SPEECH. 23 the votes of two of the brave soldiers of Illinois; for the former votes for a negro as well as himself, and so his vote weighs just double the weight of that of the brave soldier in Illinois. [Ap- plause.] This is an outrage upon freedom, an outrage upon the gallant and noble soldiers of Illinois and Michigan. [Applause.] I have shown you that, when the Republican Party assumed the reins of power, you had no money, no credit, no armies, no ammunition, no navy, no materials of war. When the Republi- can Party took the reins of power in its hands, there was no nation on the face of God's earth poor enough to do you rever- ence. You were the derision of the nations of the earth. You had but one ally and friend on earth, and that was little Switzer- land. Russia sent her fleet to winter here for her own protec- tion ; and there was not a nation on God's earth but hoped you might be overthrown. We fought that battle through ; we raised the National dignity; we raised the National army; we raised the National power; we raised the National strength, till now, to-day, after eighteen years of Republican rule, there is no nation on earth strong enough not to do you reverence. [Applause.] We took your National credit, when it was so low that your bond was sold at 88 cents on the dollar, bearing six per cent, interest — and with no market at that— and we lifted your credit up, up, up, till your 4 per cent, bonds are selling at a premium in every market of the earth to day. [Applause.] Your credit stands higher than the credit of any other nation on the face of God's earth. [Ap- plause.] We saved the National life, and we saved the National honor. Yet, notwithstanding all this, there are parties who say that the mission of the Republican Party is ended, and that it ought to die. If there was ever a political organization that existed on the face of God's earth, which, so far as the future state of rewards and punishments is concerned, is prepared to die, it is that old Repub- lican Party. [Laughter and applause, loud and prolonged.] But we aren't a-going to do it [great applause]; we have made other arrangements. [Laughter and applause.] The Republican Party is the only party that ever existed, so far as I have been able to ascertain— so far as any history or record can be found, either in Sacred or Profane History — it is the only party that has ever existed on earth which has not one single, sol- itary, unfulfilled pledge left— not one. [Applause.] I defy— and I will sit down here and wait for any enemy — the worst enemy that the Republican Party ever had— to name one single pledge that it ever gave to the People that created it, which is not to-day 24 SENATOR ZACH. CHANDLER S a fulfilled and an established fact. The Republican Party was created with one idea, and that was to preserve our vast Territories from the blighting curse of slavery. We gave that pledge at our birth, that we would save those Territories from the withering grasp of slavery; and we saved them. [Great applause, and a voice, "Yes, we did, Zach !"] It is our work; we did it. [Ap- plause.] But we did more than that. We not only saved your vast Territories from the threatened scourge, the woe and palsy of human slavery, but we swept the accursed thing from the Conti- nent of North America. [Great applause.] We pledged ourselves to save your National life; and we saved that National life. We pledged ourselves to save your National honor; and we saved that National honor. We pledged ourselves to give you a Home- stead Law; and we gave you a Homestead Law. We pledged our- selves to improve your rivers and harbors, and we improved your rivers and harbors. We pledged ourselves to build you a Pacific Railroad, and we built you a Pacific Railroad. We pledged our- selves to give you a College Land Bill, and we gave you a College Land Bill. And, not to weary you, the last pledge we gave, and the last pledge we fulfilled, was, that the very moment we were able, we would redeem the obligations of this great (Government in the coin of the world; and on the ist day of January, 1879, '^ve fulfilled the last pledge ever given. [Applause and shouts.] Notwithstanding all this, they say your mission is ended, and that you ought to die. Well, my fellow-citizens, if we should die to-day, or to-morrow, our children's children, to the twentieth generation, would boast that their ancestors belonged to that glorious old Republican Party that saved the Nation, and tore the accursed thing, slavery, from the escutcheon of this Govern- ment [great apj)lause]; and they would have the right to boast throuo;h all the generations. Senator Ben Hill, of Georgia, said, in my presence, that he was an ambassador from the Sovereign State of Georgia to the Senate of the United States. [Laughter]. Suppose Ben Hill should be caught in Africa, or India, or some of those Eastern nations, and should get into a little difficulty ; do you think he would raise the great flag of Georgia over his head [laughter] and say, "That will protect me?" [Applause and laughter.] My fellow-citizens, you may ta e the biggest ship that sails the ocean, i)ut on board of her the flags of all the States that were lately in arms against this Government; raise to her peak the stars and bars of the Rebellion; start her with all her bunt- ing to the breeze, sail her around the world, and— you would LAST AND GREATEST SPEECH. 2$ not get a salute of one pop-gun from any fort on earth. [Loud and long laughter and applause.] *But, take the smallest ship that sails the ocean, mark her "U. S. A."— United States of America— raise to her mast-head the stars and stripes, and sail her around the world, and there is not a fort, or a ship of war, ot any nation on God's footstool, that would not receive her with a national salute. [Shouts and cries of "Bravo!"] And yet the RepubUcan Party has done all this, ^ye took your Government when it was despised among the nations, and we have raised it to this high point of honor — and still they insist we ought to die. [Laughter.] What would you think of a manufac- turing house here in Chicago that failed about the year 1857, but^ which you citizens of Chicago should deem it very important to resurrect and reorganize, in order that it might resume business? So you would buy the property for fifty cents on the dollar, and reorganize it under your general laws, elect officers, look about for a competent man to manage it, and, finally, you find what you believe to be the very man for that business, and put him into possession. He finds that the machinery is not up with the progress of the age, and he goes and buys new machinery. He brings order out of confusion; he manages the business so that the stock of the concern rises to par, and way above it ; dividends are paid semi-annually, and they grow larger and larger; the stock rises to two hundred, and none for sale. After eighteen years of this grandly successful management, the manager comes in with his account current, and his check for the half-yearly dividends, and lays them before the president and directors. The president has had a litde conversation with these colleagues on the board, and says, "This statement is very satisfactory, but we have con- cluded that, after the ist day of July next, we shall not require your services any longer." "Why," says the manager, "what have I done?" "Nothing that is not praisew^orthy," is the reply. "We will give yoil a certificate that we think you have managed this establishment with great ability and signal success. We will certify that we think you have no equal in the City of Chicago, or the State of Illinois. Everything that you have done is praise- worthy, and we give you full credit for it. But, eighteen years ago, one of our employes was caught stealing, and sent to the penitentiary ; he has never served his term out, true ; but we pro- pose to call him back, and put him in your place. [Great cheering and laughter.] Wouldn't you say that the president and all of the directors should be put into a lunatic asylum on suspicion at once? [Applause and laughter.] 26 SENATOR ZACH. CHANDLER'S So I tell you, fellow-citizens, that the mission of the Republi- can party is not ended [applause]; furthermore, that it has but just begun [applause]; and, what is further still, that it never will end, 'til you and I can start from the Canadian Dominion, and travel to the Gulf of Mexico, make Black Republican speeches wherever we please [applause], vote Black Republican tickets wherever we gain a residence, and do it with exactly the same safety that a Rebel can travel through the North, stop wherever he has a mind to, and run for judge in any city he has a mind to. [This allusion to the local Democratic candidate for Superior Court Judge, who had served in the Rebel army, produced the wildest kind of enthusiastic excitement, which continued for sev- eral minutes, and culminated, as described in the introduction. After the applause and cheering had subsided, Senator Chandler continued.] Well, fellow-citizens, I hope after you have elected him judge, he wont bring in a bill for loss of time. [Laughter and applause.] You are going to hold an election next Tuesday, the influence of which will reach far beyond the borders of Chicago. The eyes of the whole Nation are upon you. By your verdict of next Tuesday, you are to send forth greeting to the People of the United States, saying, either, that you are in favor of honest men, honest money, patriotism, and a National Government [applause], or that you are in favor of soft money, repudiation, and Rebel rule. [Applause.] It is a good symptom, Mr. Chairman, to see 600 young men like you in line prepared to carry the flag of the Republican party forward to victory. [Cheers.] It is a good symptom to see 600 young men, like my friend the chairman here, in the front ranks ready to fight the battles of their Country now, and vote as they shot during the war. [Applause.] And now I want every single man in this vast audience to consider himself a committee of one, to work from now until the polls close on Tuesday next. Go to the polls early, and stay late; and let every mother's son of you [laughter] decide that you will take one man besides yourself to the polls who would not otherwise go. [Applause.] Find a man who might stay away, and see to it that he and yourself vote the Republican ticket; and, if you cannot find just such a man, tr}' to convert some sinner from the error of his way. [Great laugh- ter.] You have got too much at stake to risk it at this election. The times are too good; iron brings too much; lumber is too high; your business in every branch is too prosperous; your manufactories are making too much money for you to afford to LAST AND GREATEST SPEECH. 2/ turn this great (lovernment over to the hands of repudiating Rebels — you cannot do it. [Applause.] Shut up your stores [a voice, "That 's it, good!"]; shut up your manufactories, and go to work for your Country; and spend two days; and then on the night of the election, Mr. Chairman, send me a despatch, if you please, that Chicago has gon^ overwhelmingly Republican. [Ap- plause long continued.] And thus closed the most wonderful speech of Senator Chand- ler's life. BRIEF SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF SENATOR ZACHARIAH CHANDLER. The late Hon. Zachariah Chandler was born at Bedford, N. H., December lo, 1813, and was about sixty-six years old at the time of his death. He was descended from a highly respectable and distinguished family, but he himself received only a common school education. He removed to Detroit in 1833, and engaged in the dry goods business, in which he amassed a large fortune. His natural ability, great determination, and undoubted honesty caused him to command the respect of all with whom he came in contact: and it was not long before he became exceedingly prominent in Michigan poUtics. In 185 1, he was elected Mayor of Detroit; in 1852, he was the Whig candidate for Governor of Michigan; and, in 1857, he was selected to represent the Republican Party in the Senate of the United States. The time was well chosen. Never had our Country been more in need of a stalwart character. And, from that very day, slavery was doomed. In company with old Senator Ben Wade, he imme- diately took the initiative, and never loosened his grasp till the day of his death. In the subsequent conduct of the war, he rendered his Country inestimable services, and was ever recognized as a counselor and leader, and an adviser of the Administration. In 1863, and again in 1869, he was re-elected to the Senate, and thus served the long period of eighteen years uninterruptedly. In 1875, through a coalition of Democrats and disafifected Republicans, he lost his seat, by a majority of only one vote; 30 SKETCH OF SENATOR CHANDLER. but was soon after appointed Secretary of the Interior by Presi- dent Grant. Here his executive abiHty had full scope, and he subjected his department to the most practical and effective administrative reform yet seen in Washington. He it was who, on the night of the memorable election of 1876, while Chairman of the National Republican Committee, alone of his party, was confident of success, and telegraphed, prophetically, "Hayes has 185 votes, and is elected." Senator Chandler was re-elected to the Senate in 1878; and, until the day of his death, his movements were characterized with the same ability and business dispatch^ and he was the foremost of the Republican leaders in endeavoring to check Southern aggres- sion. Fearless in his utterances, he was ever a formidable adversary. But even his enemies concede that he was scrupulously honest, thoroughly sincere, and ever loyal to what he deemed to be the best interests of his party and his Country. His death was as unexpected as his loss is irreparable. With every indication of health on the evening previous, no one dreamed that he was so near his end. His death is supposed to have been caused through open-air exposure while campaigning in Wisconsin, and over-exertion during his last speech. Every mark of respect was here paid to the deceased; and all united in mourning the loss of so distinguished and deserving a statesman. On the morning of November 2d, his remains were accompanied by a large procession, including our Club, from the Grand Pacific Hotel to the depot, and were then further escorted to Detroit, where his funeral obsequies were solemnized, on the 5th of November, 1879. THE YOUNG MEN'S AUXILIARY CLUB. Officers for 1879-80. PRESIDENT, SAMUEL COLLYER. VICE-PRESIDENTS, C. B. CURTIS, J5th Ward. F. C. DELANG, 17th Ward. H. T. ROGERS, j6th Ward. O. SAMPSON, i8th Ward. TREASURER, WALTER C. EARNED. SECRETARY, CHARLES ARND. The Young Men's Auxiliary Club was organized in the month of September, 1878, and its establishment and subsequent pros- perity were largely due to the exertions of Mr. Edward F. Cragin. of this City, who was elected its first President. The object, membership requirements and organization of our Club are embodied in our Constitution, which reads as follows: This Club shall be known as the Young Men's Auxiliary Club of North-Chicago. Its object is: — 1. To interest young men in the government of our City and County, especially those who have heretofore not been interested. 2. To acquaint them with the wrongs and abuses that have been, and are, perpetrated by City and County Officials, and explain how the young men can assist in correcting these evils. 3. To keep them well posted regarding the different candi- dates. 32 THE YOUNG MEN'S AUXILIARY CLUB. Any young man of good character, between the ages of 21 and 35, can become a member, except those holding office, or clerk- ships, under the City or County governments, and those who are known as professional politicians. A member's name will be dropped from the roll by a two-thirds' vote, at any regular meeting. The work of the Club will be, as far as possible, with the Republican Party. The officers shall hold office one year, or until their successors are elected, and shall consist of a President, a Vice-President from each North-Side Ward, a general Secretary, and a Treasurer. For each twenty-five members there shall also be elected an Assistant -Secretary, whose duty it will be to keep the 24 mem- bers, assigned to him, posted in matters of interest and import- ance, pertaining to the Club. These Secretaries, with the above-mentioned officers, shall con- stitute an Executive Committee, who shall have general charge of the affairs of the Club. This Constitution can be changed at any regular meeting ot the Club by a two-thirds' vote of the members present. Since the adoption of the above Constitution, our Club has begun to take a more active participation in State and National politics. One of our present aims is to organize great Republican mass meetings, and introduce to the public the ablest speakers of our land. In local politics, our Club deals unsparingly with cor- ruption, and endeavors, to the utmost degree, to force the nomi- nation of good men. TJ5jTl5ipTI5pii5!n!SipT15mknk^ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS