The President. I shall now have the pleasure of introducing to the audience Col. Charles W. Wilder. [Applause.]
SPEECH OF COL. CHARLES W. WILDER.
This large gathering of our citizens in Faneuil Hall is for some purpose: it is significant that the people want something. I do not understand that it is in any sense to re-affirm their conviction that their best interests will be served by adding to our public property a park or parks. That question has been fully discussed and decided by the people themselves for themselves: they settled that by their, with remarkable unanimity, voting to accept the act of the legislature, giving power to the city government to purchase or take land for that purpose. All classes seem to agree upon the necessity. The entire medical faculty with one voice say we want it for sanitary reasons, and have joined in the general petitions. Our capitalists and merchants have spoken for themselves unmistakably by their petitions to the city government, bearing more than seven thousand names, and representing, I am informed, more than two hundred millions of taxable property. An able Commission, after a year of careful study, and diligent devotion to their duty, have made their report. The people have examined, discussed, criticised, and finally approved and accepted it, and now come here in Faneuil Hall to speak direct to City Hall for its adoption. Mr. President, our professional men, our merchants and capitalists, have spoken for themselves by their petitions and voices here to-night. It remains only for me to speak for the more numerous class of our fellow-citizens who pay but two dollars poll-tax. Yet they are as good citizens, have and feel as deep interest in the growth, prosperity, and progress of our city, as their more fortunate neighbors; and in the name and behalf of the mechanics, the laborers, the great mass of men that build our cities, and whose labor contributes so much to our growth and prosperity, and whose employment is the one thing more than any other needed to-day to inaugurate the beginning of our old-time prosperity, I appeal to our city government to complete the work so opportunely and well begun. It is immediate action we ask for.
There being no difference of opinion as to the necessity and utility of parks, and their ultimate payment for their full cost, the only open question is the time to begin. We say that time is now,—now, while thousands of unwillingly idle hands are waiting for work, and money is cheap; cheap, because labor is unemployed. We say to you, gentlemen of the city government, respectfully but earnestly, Act upon this matter now.
Don't wait till your summer vacation; don't wait till next month; don't let any personal matter intervene to prevent the performance of this public duty the people now ask at your hands. The present truly great debt of our city, the bulk of which has been created in improvements, made enormously more costly by the failure of city governments in past times to comprehend the wants of a growing metropolis, admonishes you to act now, and secure the advantages the present favorable combination of circumstances offers. We confer on you the power to spend our money for the public good; and we ask you to act now, because we clearly see that delay means largely increased cost for what we must have in the near future.
The President. The Act under which this Commission was appointed, and has discharged its duty, was supported, I think, by nearly every member of the Boston delegation; and I may be allowed a single moment to add a tribute of respect to that delegation. Boston has been well represented, with one exception, perhaps, during the last two years, in the State legislature; and I am very happy to know that you are now to be addressed by a member of that delegation, who, as I said, supported this Act when it was passed; who did not always vote with me on every occasion, but who never voted against his conscience, never supported any thing dishonest, or unjust, or unfair; and who will stand up, I have no doubt, to-night, and speak well his mind, as he did on every fit occasion in the State House, for what he deems just and right, and for the good of the people: Mr. Joseph F. Paul, whom I am very happy to introduce to you. [Applause.]
SPEECH OF MR. JOSEPH F. PAUL.
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen,—I hardly know what reply to make to the remarks of the gentleman who has just taken his seat. In fact, I think I had better let them go, and allow you to judge for yourselves after I have said what I propose to say. I may say, in the first place, that this is my first appearance upon this stand as a speaker; and, when called upon to speak after such gentlemen as you have listened to to-night, I trust you will make all due allowance for any mistakes that I may make. But I claim the right as a citizen of Boston, as a tax-payer of Boston, to express my opinion upon this subject, as upon all others in which I take an interest. The necessity of parks has been made apparent to every gentleman here by those who are better qualified than I am to do so. I believe that there is no man here who does not believe that we are to have parks. I have not heard from such; and I do not believe that there is such a man, unless it is one who does not expect to enjoy them himself, and is unwilling that posterity should.
Taking it for granted that that question is settled, the only question which seems to be before the people is, whether this is the proper time; and I propose to address myself to the consideration of that question. I propose to speak of it as of a private enterprise, and as an individual business-man. It has been explained to you in regard to the condition of the labor-market, and I think that I may say fairly and squarely that labor of the character to be used about parks has not been so cheap for twenty years. Money is cheap; labor is required; parks are wanted; and it is better to keep the men at work, and retain them in the city, than to sustain them and their families at the public cost. It is not like sending out of the country to import something for which we must pay our money. All the money is to be paid to our own citizens; and, unless some show of enterprise is made, we shall lose business-men from this city. They will not stay here, and do nothing, unless the city government makes some show of enterprise. I have had some experience myself in the city government, having been a member of it, whether that is an honor or not; though I hold that the honor or dishonor of any society depends upon one's own conduct. There is always some doubt about making a move in the city government; and, in a matter like the park question, such a meeting as this will be a great encouragement to action. The public feeling on this question is so great, that the parks must be established. The project has been fought no harder than the Water Board was; and where would the city of Boston be, if the friends of that enterprise had not succeeded? Act here to-night, and then let the city government do its part. Objections may be made by some gentlemen, made conscientiously; but, five years from now, these gentlemen will not remember that they raised any objection.
This meeting is called for the purpose of giving the city government to understand that the business-men, the working-men, of the city, mean what they say, when they say that they want public parks; and there is no question that an impulse will be given to the action of the city government by this meeting. We are the city of Boston; and the members of the city government act for us.