The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-09-21
ANOTHER SPIRITED
DAY in CANTON
Enthusiastic Delegations Visit the Home
of the Next President.
SOME oRATORY OF THE RIGHT KIND
Crowds Of Railway Employees, Com.
mercial Travellers, Steel.Workers
and Others Come, Ten Thousand
Strong, to Cheer the Champion OF
Sound Money and Protection.

Canton, O., Sept. 2O.-Major Mckin-
lev closed an arduouS week Oh CAIN
paigning with eight speeches yester-
day. One delegation from ChicaSo
consisted of about 500 men, ana tne
others contained in the aggregate pe-
tween 1000 and 5000. The largest sim
gle delegation which has come to can
ton was that composed of Chicago rat-
wav men. All of the men who came
with it were active and actual railway
employees save three. The Delegation
was made up Of engineers, nreneh'
brakemen, switchmen and conductors
who work on railroads entering Chica-
go. They came on ten special tra'ns'
and 1t took 1l2 cars to carry them. 10
this delegation Major Mckinley saio IN
part:
These delegations, coming long distanc'
ss nresent n reina arkable phase In our po-
N.ical lise and evidence the deep sonv...uue .n,,
they have for the welfare or our county.
Slch a demonstration as this wouiu Hot
he possible II the people OF the country
we're not profoundly sensible OF the dah
gerous menace which is presented IN me
national contest Of this year. :, ,,,,,
You are heIe today-men OF an paiuss
and crecds-. because you want 10 ueleat
the effort which is now being asslduousiy
made to destroy the credit anu cut
of the country, ana also petause' iU ,hss,
law and order you want to stamp out tne
spirit of lawlessness ana repuu'atioi.
which now threatens it. Applause.o louI
active interest in this contest lOr eoou
politics. good government. Ro9u i.' inoinns
and good money will be helpful In every
part of the country and inspiring 70 .he
friends of good government everywnere.
The railway is the mishtiest factor Oh
modern civilization. If one proof above
any other be asked for the superiority OF
the United States above any 0ther country
of euqal or approaching territory, l huoW
of no better evidence than the iact tna'
of the AZ 600 miles of railroad In tne Wotlu.
we have nearly 100000 miles in TINS great
republic (Applausc and cries Of 'Goou' }
To trace their history during the last tWeL,
ty years would be to write the progress ot
the country itself. so Intimately are th'v
associated To say that they nave cost
So, ,eOO 900. employ 1,Oo.OC0 men, with
30 900 locomotives, 1900 PASSENGER cars aiiu
stock Is 81 64O. .OOO, ,OEO with funded debts OF
Si,Se0. OO0,OoD, yearly traffic earnings OF
Sl.Occ, C00G0o. net earnings s3lS.OU,OOo and di.
vidends $Sl,OOD.Gp annually, conveys put
faint idea Of how fully 'hey ehtgr ,ir mo
every line of business and affect directly
or indirectly the great masses or our peo
pie. Not only are lives constantly in their
keeping. but every year they become more
and more essential to our subsistence,
convenience and comfort. (Appiause)
TRIBUTE TO RAILWAY MEN.
The greatest tribute which can be paid
to the railway men of the country Is that
high degree of care and attention and SKIN
which they give to the service performing
the most delicate and responsible duties,
engaged in business in which both life
and property are involved, where heed
lcssness or careiessness would sacrifice
either or both; and yet the percentage OF
loss is merely nominal in both cases. We
have nearly nine times greater mileage OF
,t..Et
land, and yet despite the complaints
that our roads are loaded down with debts
they can never pay. the entire railway cap
ital of this country is two and one-third
times that of England. But 1t is not the
remarkable enterprise of our railroads,
both in equipment and extension, that iin-
presses us as the safety and efficiency IN
every branch of the service. In sunshine
or storm in drouth or flood, fair weather
or foul, faithful to death at whatever
peril or cost, railroad employees can al
ways be relied upon as firmly IS We can
depend upon any human agency. Great
Cheering)
Not only gre skill and endurance re-
quired ia their eXaatng duties. hut the
greatest watrhfuness and fidelity, and
often the kceu.s. iptelligence to think and
act instantly under circumstances the
most pcrlous ana trying. (Applause) The
state of Ohio is a network of railroads.
and busy ones too. when the business lf
the country is at all what " ought to be
when the business of the country is pros
porous. tApplause) Our service Is as ef
tcnnt as that of the other states, but 10
exception TO the rule. and yet the railroads
of Ohio carried $500, 900 passengers in 1922.
81 without the loss of IL single life Great
applause.l Their earnings decreased SO. -
S@S,OOO last year. but there has been no
vide for the comfort and safety of the
travelling public; nor has there been the
average decrease in employment of their
trained employees that has affected them
in common with all the other great busi-
ness interests of the country. Great ap-
plausc.)
| have said that railroad men are cool
and collected, brave and vigilant in the
discharge of their duties. Great ap-
plauseD And surely greater praise could
not be given them than this Faithful
unto death has been truly written of many
brave engineer, conductor or brakeman
who perished rather than abandon his
train when that was possible at the ex
pense of Others. (Great appiause.) So
worthy are those devoted servants Of the
public, so watchful, that railway acci-
dents are said by competent authority to
be neither as frequent nor fatal as in other
modes Of transportation. In the great
state of Illinois and the great city of Chi
cago (applause) are nearly 1l,OO0 miles Of
railway. ] have. read the official state
in the year ended July 10, 1891. including
the immense traffic of the Worlds fair
the greatest ever known to datc--only six
ty-five lives were lost. Great cheering)
and is faithful to employer and the public: /:
and, my fellow-citizens, l am glad to saw
that the wages of the railroad men are
larger by double in this country than in
any other country OF the world. Great
applause)
WHAT FREE SILVER WOULD COST.
Your spokesman has justly observed that
no body of Americans have greater inter-
ests at stake In the pending political cam
paign than the railroad men, who are ev-
erywhere taking the liveliest interest in
!hes ,he proper D settlement OF the great princi-
umph OF free silver would mean to YOU
as the adoption by Mexico has meant to
the railroad employees of that country, a
re decrease e, IN ,s the purchasing power of the
half, with comparatively no increase in
wages. Cries of I'VE don't want it, and
we will not have it!D Not only that but
1t would mean inevitably decreased em-
ployment and general distress. A 5O-cent
dollar, employees of the railroad COM
panies, will no more add to your earnings
than the railroads would add to their traf-
nc by diminishing the size Of their cars.
Great cheering and cries of Good
The railway men are deeply Interested
in the prosperity Of the country. They
know from experience that when the
country Is prosperous railroads are pros
porous: and when railroads are prosper-
Gus they have steady work and remuner-
;,nVs, ative ,,sII employment; ,H Applause) They
poor. the business of railroads is poor, and
the employees suffer both in time and pay.
They are interested, too, in good money
order. Great applause) They want 10
perpetuate our free institutions for their
children for ever and for evermore. (Tre-
mendous cheerng) They are jealous like
all good citizens. for the honor of their
country (cries of 1--WE are.); and they
mean to maintain unsullied the proud
name of America. (Great cheering.) They
90 not believe either In public or private
dishonesty. applause and cries Of mo.
No!o They want the government to pay
Its debts in the best currency known to
the commercial world applause and cries
OF That's right!O, and they want tho