Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1888-09-12

for the best interests of the country; and they
are dividing | am not here to question their
Irishman said to the OK when he stood on the
railroad and faced the locomotive. "Bedad" saws
your Judgment, greatly" Applause and
laughter.
PROTECTION AND INTELLIGENCE
Now one of the great solvent powers of Ameri-
can society, boys is intelligence. / want to give
you little bit of a picture, and want to show
you how fortunate your are to-day that you live
beneath a system that pays premium for intelli-
gence An eminent citizen of your town, Mr. Geo
Foster, said to me the other day, that when he
was in SaXony he noticed that person there
received in Il wooden mill, think he said cents
a day, for the same work that in America would
bring so cents And he said: This is an indica-
ton of the difference between the two coun-
tries" But 1 thought to myself there was a
deeper significance than all thai.
What was the reason? What is the
reason that the very same man in America can
secure so cents for the same work that he would
get only cents for in SaXony? | will tell YOU
the reason In Saxony he is cipher. He has no
political power In America he is citizen and II
freeman. Applause Forty-two cents difference
The nottingham in Europe is not considered a
political factor. He has nothing to do or say in
regard to the making of the laws, practi-
cally speaking. He is dreaded only because
he may become revolutionist. In America
the working man is respected because he may
become voter, and who knows but what some
time he may be governor. lCheers and great ap-
plause.l Who knows but some time he may be
president? Now, what makes the difference
boys? Simply this political power. The
moment that citizenship steps in, that very
moment it begins to have a shading effect upon
the whole functions of law.
I can only touch lightly with you upon some
of those distinctive points l did not wish to
make to you tonight so much of a political
speech as | did friendly, commonplace talk TO
YOU face to face, as boys. [Applause.] We are
told to-day that we are taxed to death. Taxed
to death Taxed to death And Judge Thur
man. whom profoundly respect as gentleman
and as jurist, in speech the other day, told us
that the taxes we were paying were curse.
Well If that be true, boys there is only one con
dition of life that is blessing, and that is the
life led by an American Indian. APP
pIlause Do you ivan want to swap? The breeeh
q type of that blessed untaLed existence.
Now, then, my friends, there is a great deal of
nonsense in this talk about taxation. Civiliza-
ton is not humbug. Civilization is not
curse. By no means. 1 don't care how high my
taxes are, If / get my moneys wort l. TAD-
plause. And when Judge Thurman talks to us
and endeayOrs to arouse prejudice instead of
principle, feel like saying to him, Judge, you
are not taking sufficient capital stock in our
concern" Are good roads a curse? Are good
streets a curse? Are good buildings a curse?
Is good government curse? Why, God bless you,
boys, you can't court girl and marry her in the
end withoutyou have got to pay for it. Laughter
the minister stands there and says $50 much of
tax" [Laughter] And the little household
that you hope to build some day, and hope to
heaven You will,-the little household that you
hope to build as a man and as citizen, and
heaven speed you to that day, that must be paid
for. Every single element of your life must
And yet we are told that all this idea of taxation
Is a curse. The sweetest thing on earth to me is
a baby, and yet l know the baby costs something.
daughter. have had to bear the expense,
with my good wife, of three stalwart boys like
you, and it would take good deal for Hoard to
stand up and say those boys are a curse. Zap
plause.l
THOROUGHLY AMERICAN.
believe in civilization, boys. believe in the
American civilization. believe in the Ameri-
can home believe in the American life. be-
heve in the American system of taxation. And
do not want it abated one jot or title, if by so
doing it will lower the dignity and respect, and
plause l tell you, my friends, that the policy
of free trade is to-day most to be feared, for the
reason that it means not alone the simple price
OF wages, but 1t means the reduction of citsZen-
ship. 1t means to-day the placing
of American citizens in competition
with class of labor that has no
rooted and grounded in that thought. l want
you to stand up and defend the idea of the Amer
lean system of taxation, and want you to in
sist always that American citizenship shall not
be put in competition with condition of affairs
that do not mean citizenship. [Applause1 l
believe you will. believe that when you cast
with the idea that you are casting it in behalf OF
American citizenship; and want to say to you
that | care not. SO much under what
and fully understand that principles lie
clearly and substantially at the very bottom OF
all your actions, and you study those principles
well and soundly. We often are mlsled by some
appeal to the very smallest elements of onr ma
ture. When hear this cry of taxation coming
up and when know that behind it are happy
homes, when know behind it is the elevation
OF American labor, when l know that behind
it is the development of American. indus
try, and out of these industries grow homes
a that is sc no6Ie and o elevating e to a American
see men that stand and haggle
and higgle over some little idea of
taxation, am reminded of the comparison that
I once heard friend make of certain man, of
whom he SAID that he would hold cent SO
closely to his eye that he could swear by all the
behind it. Laughter We must remember
that we must not be led away from the broadest
view OF this case. But my friends, in
what you do as citizens citizen growing growing
the duties of citizenship seek for inspiration.
Seek for inspiration always. What is a party,
best ever heard, coming from the lips of an old
negro down South. He was preaching, and he
says "What is the church? It's crowd. What
is the world, the flesh and the devil? That's
another crowd. What is good, and religion, and
reforming? Nothing more than swapping your
crowd. Changing your crowd"
THIS CROWD AND THAT.
Now, my friends, what Is party? Often we
hear it talked as though party was some great
is nothing but crowd. A party is a crowd of
men. And this crowd, boys, ,partakes of certain
principles and certain essences. 1t is the essence
of certain convictions. Now then, when I stop
to look for myself as to which crowd l would like
to belong to my mind runs back for twenty-five
years, twenty years. twenty-seven years
a boy like yourselves found myself
in one crowd. That crowd was sent to the front.
The crowd that stayed behind me and supported
me, that said to me- "Do the best you cam" that
voted me men, voted me food, voted me clothing,
voted me moral support and said, mo matter
what comes, we will stand behind you if you
will do the best you can'-that crowd has been
to me inspiration ever since. Loud
applause] Do you think I could turn my
back upon them? You might as quick ask me to
turn my back upon the mother that bore me,
that stood by me in sickness, that nursed me
when babe; that kindly cared for when a
child and young man. AS quickly ask me to
be ungratefnl to the hottest thoughts of my
nature, as to ask me to turn my back upon
class of men that stood by me in the hour of my
direst peril and necessity. Applause
On the other hand, this other crowd. What
were they doing? They met in Chicago and
voted me failure. They said every boy with
me failure. Now my friends, they did not
do by me as the other crowd did; and a con-
sequence my heart has gone out and I found
myself rresistibly looking upon the history of
this Republican crowd and l found it true to
the instincts of patriotism; 1 found it
true to the instincts of craftsmanship;
| found it defending by courage sublime, the
hottest elements of American history I found