The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-14


/ am glad to meet and to greet the citizens
| of McKeesport and wish for II a return of
that splendid prosperity which II enjoyed
four years ago. TREMENDOUS applause.)
Il am also glad to meet so many OF the
Pennsylvania lines west of Pittsburg here
at my home, for / have long known much
of their efficiency and fidelity. Consider
ing that they are but frail human beings,
like the rest of mankind. nothing could
surpass the wonderful perfection, com
pleteness and safety of the system of rail-
| way management and operation which dis
| tinguishes this country above all others and
/ your road among the most conspicuous of
any liz the country. lGreat applause.) In its
| advancement you have achieved results
that even in my own boyhood would have
/ been considered magical. You have prac-
/ tically eliminated distance, subdued nature
and brought into contact the uttermost
ends of the world and with a Skill celer-
/ ity and modest pride that does you infinite
| credit. tApplause0
/ A POINT SCORED.
| But, busy business men that you are. L
am glad that you have not lost your in
| terest in public affairs and determined
to do all you can for their wise and honest
conduct Indeed do not think that there
was ever a time in the history of our
country when so many men were inter-
ested in the rightful settlement of public
| questions as this year. And no class of our
| people are so much interested in their
| righteous settlement as the men who work
| for wages and salary. Great applause and
| cries of You are right!) Your zeal is most
| commendabie, and l thank YOU for 1t. 1t
has pleased me very much to observe that
all along the lines of the railways of this
| country the employees are organizing, and
| L thank them for it. applause and cries
! of We don't need thanksio But l want TO
give you piece of advice: Don't use
| these great organizations to coerce your
| employers to vote the same ticket as you
| do. Tremendous cheers and laughter
| lasting for several mnutes.) And l also
| warn you against any attempt TO coerce
the Republican ticket. (Renewed cheers
and laughter, and cries of 'Hurrah for
| McKinley!)
| greater interest in the prosperity of the
| United States which they always do so
| much to create and promote than the vast
| army of men in our wonderful railway
service. No enterprises feel depression
| more quickly than the railroads-those
| grand arteries of commerce and civiliza-
| ton, which have united, developed and
transformed the globe. (Cries of That's
| tiers the business of the country than the
railroads, and there is none that has so
the far West with the extreme East; the
| remote North with the distant South, and
constantly traverse every InteTVeh d part
| ure by their traffic and their tonnage the
business condition of the cities; villages
counties and States through which they
pass They are unfailing barometers OF
every business change, and have never yet
| failed to meet every demand made upon
them how ever sudden, perpleXing or great.
| They are constantly increasing their re.
| sources and facilities, their efficiency and
| of legitimate business rivalry they
| have constantly, of their own free volition,
| steadily reduced their rates for both freight
| and passenger traffic. They not only regis
| ter the domestic trade of the country, but
| to a very large degree the foreign trade, for
| without their enterprise and liberality the
! farmer would be deprived of any partici-
patton in distant markets and the mer
| chant unable TO offer his goods at prices
within the means of any of his customers.
| Whatever wrongs they have perpetrated,
| ard in a system so great and extensive:
| doubtless there have been some in spite OF
| their efforts to prevent extortion rather
| than on account of their purpose to prevent
| it. They are now and always have been
| common carriers, and believe that, almost
without exception, the aim of their mana
| gers is to oblige and not to impose upon
| the public. Great applause0
NO department of human man d industry al IN
| Vancement in the last thirty years than
| that which you represent. In 1865 the num-
Country COZ was ,OS7: in 1887, 10000. and in
! 1893 us 900 miles but ] believe we have not
road road since then. we have. at any rate
| fully one-half of all the railroads in the
world The traffic of our railroads is ina
| country. x Single example will suffice to
| illustrate this: England is our aeknowl-
| edged greatest commercial rival, and her
| foreign trade is the greatest of any coun-
try in the world The vessel tonnage en-
| tered and cleared in the foreign trade of
| London during 1890 was 10 $50, 767 tons. and
of Liverpool 10. 94l 500 tons, a total for these
two great shipping ports of "a 442,5S6 tons
| domestic trade for 1891 was 704, 396, 609
| or more than twenty-nine times as great
| Fort what, therefore, should we chiefly con-
| tend-the advancement and protection of
| this domestic traffic its practical aban-
| donment-or neglect, at least. in the effort
to share England's ocean traffic.
| RAILWAYS SUFFER FIRST.
| Whenever the property of this country is
| blighted the railroads of the country are
the first to feel it, (Cries of That's rightly
| If products are not carried by railroad
| transportation there is no employment de-
! nand for the operatives on railroad lines.
| Let US seek first to increase trade at home
and gradually so improve our merchant ma
rine to give us greater advantages in
the commerce of the high seas. We will
neglect neither, but by a wise protective
tariff and reciprocity system increase both.
! Great cheerng)
| THE Pennsylvania lines in 1865 had a
! freight traffic of ,7O6 tons, and in 1897
of more than thirty million tons, rate Of
| increase under the beneticent and undis-
! turbed policy of the Republican party OF
more than 100 per cent. Great applause.)
| So with the other great railway systems,
| the New York Central showing rate of in
! in the same period. All steadily advanced
and kept full pace with the increased pros
perity Of the country. This is the system
| policy, which must again restore in the
! United States of America. (Cheers and
| cries of 'Hurrah for McKinleyi) VIII not
| the votes of the progressive and industrious
/ railroad men be cast that way? Great
| applause and cries of Yes! 'YesiD
| I'm 1895 the traffic of the Pennsylvania
railroad had reached the enormous volume
of 81, TAT tons, but observe that while
! it was enabled to employ $4,000 operatives
in 1898 il had but $4,000 at work in 1895.
| You know better than / can tell you that
it was poor business that caused this army
| of 124 600 to be no longer employed, and
| that it was poor business that caused a
reduction rather thar an advance of
| wages (Cries of That's righti) The
| great manufactures and the farms were
| not running on full capacity and the
| railroads in consequence were not doing as
| much or as profitable business as they
| ought to have been doing.
| (which policy do you like best the old
or the new? loud cries of We want the
Republican polcy!D Decide this question
| yourselves and then vote that way (Cries
| of We will vote all righti) Your spokes-
| man has made an excellent and able ar
| gument against the policy of the free coin
| age of silver it affects your business.
and / need not attempt to enlarge upon it.
Free silver would prove equally as disas-
| trous-aye. probably more disastrous-than
free trade has proven to the people of the
| United States. (Cries of We have had
enough of thatiD We want neither free
silver nor free trade in the United States,
and I know that men so familiar with
dc mill