Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1886-10-06
FACTS FOR VOTERS.
Address by the Republican State Cen
trail Committee.


er important election is approaching, the
Republican State Central Committee desires
to call your attention to theissues involved.
Never in the history Of our state-never,
perhaps, in the history of any state-has
there been a political campaign, the results
of which may more vitality affect the inter-
ests and welfare of all our people.
In one Of it's aspects our campaign is Of
national significance. The eyes of the whole
order-loving citizens of every state will re-
gard the result of our contest as affecting,
either favorably or unfavorably, the high
est interests of society in every COM
munity. This is q government of
law; all rights spring from it and
Ali good citizens viii agree that it is absolutely
essential to every interest of society even to the
existence of society itself. that law and order be
sorted to for the redress of grievances either real
or imag mary, be r1gidlv repressed
THE ISSUE PRESENTED.
In this contest the Republican ticket, headed
by Gov. Rusk. stands conspicuously as the repre-
sentative OF law and order as against violence and
disorder. This issue has not been created by the
Republican party; it is one we did not seek, nor
desire to see presented, but which we are not
afraidG meet. The election of Gov Rusk means
emphatically the triumph of law over vio-
lence. His defeat means the triumph of
violence over law, and would crafty riot
ers and encourage lawlessness everywhere.
We do not assert that Democratic governor,
had there been one would not have enforced the
law against its viOlatOrs or that should Demo-
cratic governor be elected he would not do his
duty in maintaining the peace and dignity of the
state. But Rusk was governor. Upon him de-
volved great responsibility in great emer-
gency n did his duty painful as it was and
therefore his reelection or defeat has q signif-
canoe that the election or defeat OF no other man
could have. The election of any other man, how
ever competent and worthy, must involve Gov.
Rusks defeat and his defeat would be every
where construed by anarchists and rioters to
mean public rebuke to him, and popular en-
dorsement of them. In other words, it means
aid comfort and encouragement to law-break-
ers, and brings gloom and encouragement to
the law-abiding and peace-loving people of the
whole country Therefore, whatever your former
party affiliations may have been--whatever your
present views upon other issues may be-.as citi-
zens having the honor of law and of your state at
heart, you cannot this year afford to trife with
this great question, so vital to every interest of
the people.
Here we might properly, and perhaps success
fully, rest our case and end this appeal But we
are constrained to make special reference and q
special appeal to two distinct and organized polit
ical forces in the state-the Labor and Prohibit
ton parties-or rather 10 individual voters in
cliDed to sympathize with and support these
third and fourth party organizations.
THE LABOR QUESTION.
There is a most persistent effort being made by
professional agitators who sponge living off
laboring men through their organizations, to
convince them that the Republican party is not
their friend, but is hostile TO their interests.
The changes have been rung on this so long and
so diligently, it has been SO long allowed to go
unanswered, that it is little wonder thousands of
honest and sincere wOrkingmen have come TO be-
lieve it. Indeed it is a greater wonder that more
of them have not been deluded by it, so artfully
and persistently has it been pressed upon them.
Now, we must emphatically deny the whole
charge and everything included in it. 1t is just
as absurd and just as false as it would have been
to have gone to the negroes of the South before
the war and told them that the Republican party
was their enemy and In some way responsible
for their being in slavery. 1t is part-indeed al
most the whole-of the history of the Republican
party, that it was organized to contend for and
has always commended for Justice and es-
pecally for the rights and blessings of free
labor. 1t is impossible that the same party that
contended nobly for the rights of the slaves of
another race. should not feel the deepest sympathy
with the wrongs and sutferings and the deepset
anxiety for the welfare and advancement of the
poor and struggling of its own race. On the face
of it, this charge is absurdly false and we do not
doubt that in the discussions of the campaign il
will be met and disproved at every point.
THE DEFENDER OF LABOR
The Republican party is in the highest, largest
and truest sense, the friend, promoter and de-
fender OF labor.
What do laboring men want? Steady work and
good wages. How can they get steady work and
good wages? BY maintaining such public
policy as will encourage every man who has few
dollars or many collars TO invest In some enter
prise that will employ labor and pay such profits
as will justify good wages. There is no
other possible way of bringing general and
permanent prosperity within the reach of the
masses of our labor1ng people. If it were
possible to let il be understood that there would
be no uncalled-for changes in the tariff laws for
the protection of our home industries, and no
violent labor disturbances for the next twenty
years. hundreds of millions of dollars would seek
new enterprises at once; all capitalists and
porations would use their means and credit to
prllp heir hncinncC 1Qhn
would be more universally employed aud better
paid than ever before in the worlds history.
TRUTHS TO PONDER OVER.
Labor can never help itself by seeking threat
ening to deprive capitalists either large small
Of any part of their possessions On the contrary,
it Injuries itself by all such attempts for it dis
courages enterprise, destroys the demand for Ia
bor and the decreased demand for labor reduces
the rate of wages. These facts SO Selfevident
that it seems unnecessary almost to even state
them Have labOring men forgotten that the
very same class of demagogues and agitatOrs
who are now appealing to them to organize
new parties, and telling them that their employ
ers are their enemies, during great financial
struggle over the resumption of specie payments
were making the same charges-telling labOrlng
men that the Republican party was their enemy,
that the hard times the result of its efforts to
bring about resumption by contra citing the cur
rency in the interest Of the rich and creditor
classes and that if it succeeded oney would be-
come scarcer and scarcer and times harder and
harder. But resumption, when 1t came, gave the
lie to all such fallacies; money at once flowed out
and sought Investment; business revived and
"hard times disappeared. Instead of the
dreaded contraction, money increased rapidly,
so that now we have more than two and a hall
times as much circulating currency as we had
January l, 1S79-over thousand million dollars
more Now were not these agitators wrong
then, and are they not liable to be wrong now
Was not the Republican party right then? Is it
not likely to be right now?
The patent fact is, the hard times from 1875 to
1879 were caused by the opposition to resumption
by the clamor against it, and the fear that this
foolish clamor would prevail Ifthere had been
no opposition, if the people had said with one
voice, 1--WE will get back to bed rock-the nation
must and will keep its pledges" we would have
had the boom in 1875, instead of waiting until
1879, and would have avoided all the loss and
suffering OF those distressing years. AS soon as II
was known positively that the Republican policy
would prevail, capital everywhere sought in
vestment and hard times took wings and flew
away.
AN OMNIBUS PORTENT.
There Is another and still more serious portent
of the labor agitation which may result in the
stagnation of business and the starvation Oflabor
Henry George has been nominated by the labor
party of the city of New York a candidate fol
mayor Mr.. Georges fame rests upon his ad
yocacy of what he calls 1.-The naturalization OF
the land"-and he gets his nomination solely as
the result OF his advocacy of that idea. In brief
he demands that all land shall be confiscated and
hereafter all land titles shall be vested in the
government, and the government shall establish
op6 oOlIact yearly rental. and This rental shall