Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1890-05-03
HON. a. ID. GARDEN.
A Most Sensible and Forcible Criticism of
the Situation.
Very respectfully,

10 the Editor Of the Register.
DEAR SIR-In reply to yours of the
18th, desiring my ideas on the best
methods of organization and the best
methods of strengthening and perpetu-
ating Democratic principles, would say
this: From my observation and knowl-
edge of past campaigns / know that i'm or
ganiZation and through it the diffusion
of the knowledge Of the issues of the day
among the voters is To the benefit of the
Democratic party. We as a party 1.-THE
party of the people, have nothing TO
fear, but all to gain, by fair and hon
orablc discussion of the great questions
of the day. We as party have moth
ing to hide; there should be no decep-
ton, but free and open expose of all
the corruption and weaknesses of the
Republican party. with its deceptive in
fluenceS, its demagOgical measures, its
phariSaical goodness, its mOnarchical
views that this government should be
administered for the benefit of few
Lords of the Manor to lord it over us.
the people; saying TO us they will pro-
vide us a market for our productions,
they will give us constant employment
at remunerative wages. All this should
be exposed. They claim to be conduct
ing affairs i'm the interest of the people.
The results do not show it to be true.
1t is practical results we want: good
times and plenty of money. not theories.
The Republican party, through its
system of finance, does not give us
these. Why? Simply because they
hold the wealth ia their hands, and it is
to their interest to keep money scarce,
so as to hold their grip on the Threats of
the people. Rapidly. under the admin
istration of the Republican party, the
wealth of the country is getting into
the hands of the few, while the bone
and sinew, the producing classes. the
agricultural interests, are suffering i'm
every shape and form; and let me say
right here that when you weaken the
producing classes, the consuming class
cS, and especially when you are having
to depend on them for a home market,
you weaken the whole fabric of our
government. In the strong language OF
gifted writer on this subject, when
darkness settled over Egypt and she
lost her place among the nations of the
earth, three per cent. of her population
owned % per cent of her wealth; when
Babylon went down per cent. Of her
population owned all the wealth when
Persia bowed her head l per cent. OF
her population owned all the land. When
the sun of Rome set in black despair
eighteen hundred men owned and con-
trolled all the then known world" For
the past thirty years more particularly
since the close of the civil war the Unit
ed States has moved rapidly along the
path, followed by these old nations in
1850 our capitalists owned 3715 per
cent. of the nations wealth. In 1870.
only twenty years later, they owned SO
per cent, having almost doubled their
accumulationS. They have more than
kept up this ratio since 1870 and prob
ably now hold fully so per cent. of the
total wealth of the country. What pro-
portion of the population hold this large
per cent. it is not easy to determine. but
it does not probably exceed 10 per cent.
of .he 60, ZOO, 900 who inhabit this coun-
try and this per cent. so small in num-
berS, so OmnipOtent i'm wealth, is using
its immense power in every department
of business and OF government in the
development and prosecution of schemes
for making the rich richer and the poor
poorer.
All these things should be shown up in
their proper light and made known TO
the people through organization and
through the press. l think we should
organize right away, the sooner the
better. Wherever we were thoroughly
organized in past campaigns we were
successful. Our organization in Ohio
county saved the State in the last cleo
ton. We saved the Legislature and
thereby saved L. 5. Senator and a
Democratic Governor. / only cite this
to show the benefits of organization.
What made it possible for the Republ-
can party to be successful in the last
election? A want of organization in
these counties which we lost and should
have carried. Take Kanawha county;
it should be about a stand-off: we were
not organized, the Republicans were;
they carried il by 1900 majority. The
same can be said of Mercer, Mcdowell,
Wood, and I'm fact all the counties
where we lost; while in all counties
where we were organized we held our
own or made gains. What we want is
district organization. Let there be
person in every school
district TO canvass the district
and report TO the district organization
the politics Of every voter in it, and
what might be brought to bear on all
persons to get them to join the organ
ization. Let every district appoint one
person to act as central committee
man, through whom they can be in
communication with the executive COM