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A riveting handwritten speech signed by Grover Cleveland as Mayor of Buffalo, one of the most famous speeches ever delivered by a U.S. mayor. Informally titled by historians as the ''Plain Speech Veto'', Cleveland -- recently elected as the ''Reform Mayor'', here takes the Buffalo City Council to task for improperly awarding a street cleaning contract to a politically well-connected bidder, rather than the lowest bidder. True to its name, Cleveland minces no words in this speech, calling the awarding of the contract a ''bare-faced, impudent, and shameless scheme'', and criticizing the Councilmen for their ''low, cheap cunning'' defense of the contract, and their ''flimsy'' excuses in justifying it. Written entirely in Cleveland's hand, the speech appears to be the actual draft used at the time, with punctuation and two words (''if exposed'') near the end differing from the published record. Datelined ''Mayors Office / Buffalo June 26, 1882 / To The Honorable The Common Council:'', speech reads in full,
''I return without my approval, the resolution of your Honorable Body, passed at its last meeting, awarding the contracts for cleaning the paved streets and alleys of the city, for the ensuing five years, to George Talbot, at his bid of four hundred and twenty two thousand and five hundred dollars.
The bid thus accepted by your Honorable Body, is more than one hundred thousand dollars higher than that of another perfectly responsible party, for the same work; and a worse or more suspicious feature in this transaction is, that the bid now accepted, is fifty thousand dollars more than that made by Mr. Talbot himself, within a very few weeks, openly and publicly to your Honorable Body, for performing precisely the same services.
This latter circumstance, is to my mind, the manifestation on the part of the contractor, of a reliance upon the forbearance and generosity of your Honorable Body, which would be more creditable, if it were less expensive to the taxpayers.
I am not aware that any excuse is offered for the acceptance of this proposal, thus increased, except the very flimsy one, that the lower bidders cannot afford to do the work for the sums they name.
This extreme tenderness and consideration for those who desire to contract with the city, and this touching and paternal solicitude, lest they should be improvidently led into a bad bargain, is I am sure, an exception to general business rules, and seems to have no place in this selfish, sordid world, except as found in the administration of municipal affairs.
The Charter of your City, requires that the Mayor when he disapproves any resolution of your Honorable Body, shall return the same with his objections.
This is a time for plain speech; and my objection to the action of your Honorable Body now under consideration, shall be plainly stated. I withhold my assent from the same, because I regard it as the culmination of a most barefaced, impudent and shameless scheme, to betray the interest of the People, and to worse than squander the public money.
I will not be misunderstood in this matter. There are those whose votes were given for this resolution, whom I cannot and will not suspect of a willful neglect of the interests they are sworn to protect; but it has been fully demonstrated that there are influences, both in and about your Honorable Body, which it behooves every honest man, to watch and avoid with the greatest care.
When cool judgement rules the hour, the People will, I hope and believe, have no reason to complain of the action of your Honorable Body. But clumsy appeals to prejudice or passion, insinuations, with a kind of low, cheap cunning, as to the motives and purposes of others, and the mock heroism of brazen effrontery, which openly declares that a wholesome public sentiment is to be set as naught, sometimes deceives, and leads honest men to aid in the consummation of schemes, which if exposed, they would look upon with abhorrence.
If the scandal in connection with this street cleaning contract, which has so roused our citizens, shall cause them to select and watch with more care, those to whom they intrust [sic] their interests, and if it serves to make all of us who are charged with official duties, more careful in their performance, it will not be an unmitigated evil.
We are fast gaining positions in the grades of public stewardship. There is no middle ground. Those who are not for the People, either in or out of your Honorable Body, are against them, and should be treated accordingly. / Grover Cleveland / Mayor''.
Speech runs four pages on four separate sheets, each measuring 8.5'' x 14''. Folds, some light soiling, and file holes at top. Overall very good condition. A powerful speech documenting both the entrenched corruption of 19th century city politics, and the political courage of a future U.S. President.
Grover Cleveland Autograph Speech Signed of His Famous Anti-Corruption Speech as Mayor of Buffalo -- ''...a most bare-faced, impudent, and shameless scheme to betray the interests of the people...''
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