The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1877-10-04
A1aHhfal.
REMARKS OF
HON. R. M. BISHOP,
The Democratic Candidate for
Governor, in Cincinnati
September 18th.
PLAIN, CONCISE, PRACTICAL
REMARKS OF A BU-
SINESS MAN.

r, M. Bishop, the venerable candidate
for Governor on the Democratic ticket
AS he approached the front of the plat
form and looked down on the sea of up
turned faces, he was greeted with hearty
applause. He adjusted his glasses, drew
a roll of manuscript from his pocket
and in a clear, full voice read the fol
lowing speech, which was listened tt
with the closest and most respectful at
tention, and was loudly aPplauded at thu
close:
FRIENDS AND FELLow-CITIz Ms; s;--At
most of you know me personally, YOU
know that am not in the habit of max
ing public speeches But, in view of the
important position for which am asking
your sufrages, feel that 1 ought to say
few words to you, and especially so as
YOU are my friends and neighbors.
For more than thirty years l have liv
ed among you. During that time l have
tried by industry and fair dealing to mer
it your respect and confidence. My time
has been mainly occupied with busines:
matters. have given little or no atten
ton to the graces Of rhetoric or the
charms of oratory. Therefore do not
come beforeyou with excellency ofspeech
but to say few plain words to the peo'
ple who know me best, and for whom /
entertain feeling that l can poorly ex-
press in words.
claim no special merit, because am
not professional speaker. Some may
regard this as a reason why l am not fit
ted for the Gubernatorial chair. With
such | will have no controversy. l un-
derstand too well the habits of our Amer
ican life to expect any other conclusion
Candidates for almost every office within
the gift of the people have been in the
habit of discussing their claims before the
public. Hence it would be too much to
expect of you not to prefer brilliant ora
tor instead of practical business man
for your standard bearer in contest like
this And yet it may be that we have
reached a time in our political affairs
when the people prefer less talk and more
work-fewer words and greater deeds.
And, should l spend the time which is
usually occupied by gubernatorial candi-
dates in stumping the State in thorough
and conscientious preparation for the re-
sponsible duties of the Office, it may be
that. if elected, l will be all the better
qualified to serve you than if l should
prove myself in this canvass to be agreat
stump speaker. While have not been
in the habit of making public speeches,
it has been my habit to hear or read most
of the important speeches made by our
ablest men, and l do not think l ever
heard or read a more remarkable speech
than that made by my worthy opponent
on the evening Of his nomination at Cleve-
land. That this speech was bid for
the voters of what is denominated the
Workingmen, can scarcely admit of
doubt, and that he clearly over-reached
himself is Just as evident to every candid
person who will carefully examine what
he said
Now, l claim to have as much sympathy
for the workingmen as my opponent or
any one else. | believe in the divine
mission of labor, and delight to honor the
noble sons of toll who have done SO much
and are still doing 80 much to build the
of prosperity for this great
country. For, after all, honest labor is
the basis of our individual and national
prosperity. But while feel this way,
and would honestly do everything in my
power to help every laboring man to the
fullest enjoyment of all the privileges and
benefits that he can rightfully claim, l
can not and WW not do this at the expense
of law and ordor, or in the name of an
unmanly crusade against capital. That
the respective claims Of capital and labor
may be better adjusted than they are at
present is, l think, quite possible. But
that this can be done by breaking down
one or the other, do not for one mo-
ment believe. Capital and labor are
mutually dependent on each other. What
is the interest of one is the interest Of the
other also. If the capitalist cannot pro-
Ceed without labor, neither can the labor
er be renumerated without capital. That
one may have comestimes temporary
over the other is quite proba-
BILE, but this is just as likely to be one as
the other.
1t seems to me that the time has come
when this whole subject should receive
the most thoughtful consideration OF our
Wisest statesmen. And whatever can be
done ought to be done as early as practi-
cal, to meet not only the present emer-
genCy, but any that may likely arise in
the immediate future. We ought not to
have in this country recurrence of the |
scenes through which we have recently |
passed. Doubtless many sincere work
ingmen believed they had good reason
for their course in seeking redsess for
their wrongs. But there ought to be a
way provided in which redress can be
had without destruction of the material
of the country for such de-
3truction, in the long run, only adds to the
of the WOrkingman.
To meet this emergency the Republi-
,an platform suggests very doubtful ex-
Dedient. That much may be accomplish
ID by arbitration in such matters, no one
| think, will dispute. But this arbitra-
ion can not be of the nature of that pro-
1ided by the Republican platform. We
lave already had sufficient experience to
Indicate the result when the settlement
# these matters comes into the hands of
'ur Government officials. Once estab-
ish bureau for the practical manage
nent of our railroads, and it will not be
ong before the corruption of the past
,ears in reference to Congressional job
lery on railroad matters will be more
han quadrupled, while the workingman
will be the sufferer in every instance.
For if these decisions are to be influence
ID by bribery, thing which our past
history painfully suggests, then capital
will have all the advantage, and labor
lng men will have no means ofredress at
III. That something might be accom-
plished by Committee Of Arbitration,
mutually agreed upon by the parties in
contest, | think is not only probable, but
quite certain. But, while this is less OBJ.
!ectionable than the plan proposed by