News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1894-06-28
THE STATE CONVENTION.
CHAIRMAN' POWERS SPEECH.

CHAIRMAN POWERS SPEECH.
The speech of George NJ. Powers,
chairman of the Republican State
convention held at Montpelier last
week, was one of the best speeches OF
the convention. 1t was closely list
ened to by the large audience and
frequently applauded. We give it
herewith in full
Mr.. Chairman and Gentlemen of the
Convention - The two years which
have elapsed since we last met in
State convention have been eventful
ones in the political history of the ma
ton. Defeat, decisive but not dis
heartening, has overtaken us in ana
tional contest; an eXultant Democra-
cy has supplanted us in place and
power, and assumed full control CT
the executive and legislative depart
ments of our government. The plain
declarations of their platform, the
confident assurances and apparent
sincerity of their leaders, the COM
pleteness of their victory, the unpar-
alelled opportunity of the times and
the temper of our people, combined
to make the return of Democratic
rule rich with the promise of increased
prosperity. We should congratulate
ourselves that we have lived to wit
ness the return OF the good old DEM
ocratic times" and the full flush of
Democratic prosperity. The theory
was captivating; the condition con-
fronts us. Capital, always timid in
changing conditions, has fled from
the marts of commercial affairs and
sought safety in strong boxes and
deposit vaults; and labor, always
FESTIVE even in prosperity, has taken
an enforced vacation until that IN
certain time when new employment
may be obtained. The buz of indus
try has been silenced by the sage of
Buzzard's Bay. The army of the in
dustrious has been succeeded by the
army of the industrials. The pinch
of the times was quickly felt, and DR..
Cleveland, whose facile pen writes
ready prescriptions for every i'll which
the political flesh is heir to, directed
his Congress to repeal the purchasing
clause of the Sherman act, and as
surefthe anxious watchers that con-
tidence and activity would speedily
return. But the fever did not abate !;
the patient did not recover; business
did not improve; dropping industries
did not revive in response to the rem
edy. There was an error in the dag
nosis; the symptoms-the torpidity
and general debility-were unmistak-
able; the causes only had been mis-
judged. Cleveland's disciples there
upon applied the principles of the
faith cure, and attempted to convince
the manufacturer. the mechanic and
the farmer, that their troubles were
imaginary and that they arose from
mental rather than physical disturb
ances. Their success was no bett 3r
than his. The patient knew he was
sick, because he felt sick. The manu-
facturer, running his mill at con-
slant loss, the mechanic, out of en-
ployment and unable to find it, the
farmer with butter and wool at Is
cents a pound, refuse to be convinced
that their condition has improved by
the restoration OF Democratic rule
Their troubles arose from a common
cause, and every eye'was anxiously
turned toward Washington; every
ear was eagerly strained to catch the
first announcement of the practical
tariff policy of the dominantpart as
it fell from the lips of Congress. The
promise has been made; it is it's full
fillment that the country breads.
Weary months we have waited
months wasted by Congress in the
dreary drizzle of partisan oratory
and sectional chickering's. Their first
move was not one calculated to in
spire confidence; the preparation and
J management of their tariff bill was
entrusted to one whose conception O
! the broad necessities of the CONNER
cial interests of the nation, was about
as lucid as Nicodemus' idea of th,
second birth; but the Wilson bill was
born and is doing as we'll as could b,
! expected. 1t survived the anxious
effectiveness of the House of Repre-
sentatives, and somewhat disfiguret
to be sure, but with name, sex ant
identity fairly preserved, went to tn
Senate, to that august body who's
high character should have been