The morning call., 1894-09-15


OF the Government for The use OF the whole
people 10 be gwen out 10 private own
ership solely for I'll actual use and
occupation OF the citizens acquiring them,
were layishlv bestowed under the Republican
regime upon the favored individuals and cor
DOrations, TO its practical exhaustion. In this
way the ownership OF The solid area Of The entire
country was lodged IN small class OF citizen
and allen monopOlists, making all the indus
tries and all OF the rest of The people of the
country tributary TO that class. Franchises
accompanied by princely subsidies, were
granted TO other favored individuals giving
them control OF the great avenues Of inland
transportation, and making the railroad high
ways Of the country the private property OF
another class made powerful by It's conces-
sions. The great natural mineral deposits of
the country. stored up by the bounty of nature
for the use OF mankind iu The land Of this cOun.
try having passed under the control OF private
monOpolists, were made source of still greater
enrichment 10 their owners by a syst 10 of
tariff taxation, which placed the consumers OF
all such minerals absolutely at the mercy of
these monOpoists.
During that thirty-two years these favored
classes had grown in power and fortune of the
privileged classes OF the Old World became
Insignificant by comparison, and In land
whose natural resources are sufficient in the
present state OF the arts OF wealth production,
10 support a thousand millions of people,
pauper classes had arisen. driven 10 beggary
and degradation by the same processes which
had made the fortunes OF the few colossal.
During that lhilty-IwO years the wealth-pro.
ducing power OF labor had been multiplied by
inventions and Improvements In methods OF
wealth production tenfold on the average 10 all
departments of industry. In spite of all this
the condition OF the average labOrer had not
been improved materially, while the condition
OF the poorer classes had been made actually
hardrr. All the advantages of invention. all
The advantages OF advances made in material
progress. were absorbed by the few who con
tlolled the Industries Of the many aud the
people were denied share In that natural ad-
vance. Monopoly was entrenched, and labor
was at lis mercy. Tie triumphant election OF
a Democratic President and Democratic Con-
gress In 1892 was mighty protest against
these enslaving conditions. and IL was hoped
that the triumph would result In the immediate
overthrow of these monopoly powers. UnfOr-
iunaiey, the Democratic party was confronted
by conditions which made immediate and
complete relief impOssible; the treasury of
The country was bankrupt; au industrial de-
preston was upon The country, paralyZing It's
Industries and drying up The sources of public
revenue. Preliminary work Of immediate ne
cessity was required for such temporary relief
as could he given TO the people. aud 10 main
tain the financial honor OF the nation by max
ing provision for the payment OF its debts and
accruing expenses. Unfortunately, too, The
industrial and commercial interests of every
country adjust themselves TO existing cOndi-
lions, whether they be good or vicious, Just or
unius and III Sc interests Of the people
naturally reaching and influencing the peoples
representatives, inspired by The natural fear of
change, whether 1t be for good or evil, inter-
posed new and powerful barriers to the imme-
di ate realization Of the hopes of the people.
These conditions gave rise 10 long and bitter
contest, i'll which few sO-called conservative
Democrats, acting with the Republican OBJ
structlOnists OF the Senate, limited the meas
ure OF relief and delayed its It alization until
The 2Sth day OF August, 1894 On that day the
Mckinley ia riff law ceased TO be operative ana
the new Democratic measure went into eff CT.
Republican responsibility, so far as tariff egis-
laton was concerned ceased upon that day,
and ID Democratic responsibility began.
The chief reliance of the Republican party In
This campaign is upon the hope that they can
make the majority Of the people believe that
the industrial depression through which we are
passing was caused by Democratic ascendency
That hope Is based upon what l believe TO be
too low an estimate OF the Intelligence of The
American people. This is the tenth industrial
depression through which the civilized world
has passed during he present century, aud we
have tOlerably complete aud authentic his
tory of the last seven industrial depressiOns.
These depIessiOns have become terrible
scouTges OF modern cIvIIZa ion and they have
come upon US with almost the regularity of
changes IN the moons phases, every ten years
so regular has been their recurrence through
out The century that political economists have
denominated them the decennlal depr essions
We had three such depresslons prior TO 1897
OF which the records, so far as collected are
very incomplete; but Hon. Carroll Wright, the
National Commissioner OF Labor Statistics. a
X publican in politics. but an honorable and
impartial man, collected and published the
history Of the six industrial depressions imme-
diately preceding the present one; tina, history
is contained in his report entitled Industrial
Depressions," published in 1886 Ii shows that
the first OF these deDreSsious reached lis clI-
max in 1887, the second about the year 1S47,
the third in 1857, the fourth In 1866, :he fifth
in 1877 and the sixth in 1884 All OF these
depresslOns were exactly like the pres
ent depression in all of their phenom-
ena, and like the present depression they
extended with equal virulence TO Grea Britain,
including her colonies, 10 France, TO Germany,
TO Belgium and TO the United States. Neither
high tariffs nor low tariffs have prevented their
coming, nor mitigated their intensity. The
tarIff Of 1889, til second and third came under
the "Walker tariff" while the depression OF
1866, 1867, 1884 aud the present depression
came during the Republican protective era,
under the highest protective tariff which this
country has ever known. No political econon-
st will attempt TO claim that any merely local
or temporary cause such as the tariff agitation
in The United States, could have produced this
depression; 10 reasonable man will for mo-
meDt contend that the depression can be al
tributed 10 any cause which has arisen since
the other depressiOns occurred, nor 10 any
cause which does not extend to all OF the other
countries affected by tile depression; no man
will make such claim unless he be either
ignorant Of the facts Of history or willing to
impose upon what he believes 10 be The ignor-
ance OF those whom he addresses concerning
that history and its philosophy. The fact is
that The present depression commenced before
The election OF 1892, and was manifested at that
time In the conflicts b-Iween capital and labor
raging throughout this country I'm UNI, 1892.
at Homestead Ceur d'Alene. Buffalo Knox
vile, and the whole iron region from PiItsburg
down through the Southern States. indeed
on of the difficulties encountered by The Re.
publican party in the campaign of 1892 was the
depression OF course the specially privileged
mODOpoies that are interested in fuoing the
people in order that they may continue TO rob
them behind the shelter of an unjust protective
system will not hesitate to take advantage of
such ignorance OF economic history as still
exists among the people, and to play upon their