Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1888-03-24
SPLENDID SPEECH.
A Full House Hears Captain j. B.
johnson Talk EloQuently
upon Political Topics.

- OAeS~S~~~
The brass band played, Captain Han.
ma made one of his profoundly plaudi.
tory speeches Introductory of the speaker
and then, Tuesday evening, at $40, Cap.
tain johnson, of Topeka, began his
speech in Opera Hall. He spoke fol
about an hour and forty minutes. hold
ing the audience spell-bound at one
period, and at another making them roar
with applause. The speech was loaded
for Democracy, and that party has no
ammunition on hand or in prospect
which can repel such shots as he made.
Without attempting to follow the
speaker in the order in which he handled
his various topics, these points occur to
us now:
The wisdom of the action of the Re-
publican party is reflected by the fact
that from 1860 to 1884, despite the won
derful destruction of property and life
caused by the great rebellion, the aggre-
gate value of all property in the United
States increased in value from fourteen
billion to forty-three billion dollars; and
that fourteen billion dollars represented
the combined savings of the people from
the earliest settlement of this country
until the first of the two dates just
named.
When the war of the rebellion was
opened the Democratic party left the
national treasury so empty that the Re-
publican postmaster general could not
even find postage stamp to lick.
The Republican party invented the
greenbacks. The Democratic parry pro-
claimed them unconstitutional. By per-
severing in this course, the Democratic
party succeeded for a time in making
dollar in gold worth more than two dol
lars in greenbacks. It is consoling now
to press to our hearts the greenback,
and hear it say, II know that my re-
deemer iveth r.
tits claimed by Democrats that they
furnished more men for the union army
than were furnised by the Republicans.
This is not true. Whenever a man en-
listed and donned the blue, he turned
his back upon the Democratic party.
We hear people talk of "war Democrats"
Who ever heard of person being called
a "war Republican," have any amount
of respect for the Democrat who, in the
land of his childhood and home idols,
took up arms in behalf of secession; for
the northern Democrat who sought to
stay the success of the union arms, I
have none whatever.
The laws which reflect the civilization
of our country are of Republican origin.
Democrats, in the discussion of politics,
desire to ignore the late war and con-
periods.
Republicans do not intend either to
ignore or forget them. Democrats have
no model this side of Jackson or Jeffer-
son to whom they refer with pride. Re-
publicans delight in recalling such names
as those of Lincoln, Grant, Sherman,
Logan and long list of other
pure men, whose lives went to
weld our present advanced state of civil
zation.
There seems to me to be something un-
American in the principles of the Demo-
cratic party. 1t has been, and is, free
trade organization, with the facts all
against the correctness of such doctrine.
The true policy for Americans is to pre-
vent the importation of all articles which
can be found or produced at home. This
policy has worked to perfection. To
prove this, it is only necessary to look
back over our states to ante 6cllum, free
;rade times. There was no remunerative
market for what was produced. Farm
aborers worked for six dollars month.
The wildcat money was so unstable and
worthless that the crossing of a state line
With it was likely to render it valueless.
Yet this was the best Democrats could |
10 in the way of inventing good paper
money, and averting financial calamities.
Since then they have ridden back wards
n the car, seeing things after they have
passed them. In this way they have alb
orbed, after time, the Republican idea
u finances and many other matters.
The speaker admonished his hearers
lot to insist on the Republican party
aking up the Prohibition question as
lational measure until the congress is so
INSTRUCTED as to be willing to abolish
ram drinking within the District of
Columbia. He would have the states
leal with this question until sufficient
lumber of them had wheeled into line to
insure the adoption of a prohibitory
to the national constitution.
will then ho DrOnor hocauco oafo N