The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1896-08-06
The Political Situation.

usual Importance. Questions are to be
decided which not only underlie our husi-
ness prosperity, but also touch our
national honor and integrity.
With your approval, | should be pleas
ed to write a few articles for your paper
touching these questions, and more es-
pecially addressing the farmers of Waldo
County in regard to their interest and
duties at the coming elections. 1t may
seem presumptuous on my part to under
take to teach others, but l find in my in
tercourse with people, otherwise well in
formed, so great want of knowledge
in regard to the facts and the first
principles of the questions we have to
pass upon this fall at the polls, that
thought possible L might aid a few in ar
irving at just conclusions; and can l do
that, l shall feel fully repaid for my labor
| presume no one will dispute that all
honest people aim to reach the same end
namely, prosperity. l doubt if many will
dispute that in order to reach that end,
one of the first requisites, for all business
classes, is stability, as that is necessary
i'll order to encourage capital in building
up industries that will give steady en-
poyment to labor, for the first necessity
of prosperity is a quick and ready de-
mand for labor, and the products of labor,
and it is the only sound basis of pros
perity, for when We have these, We pros
per, and when the markets, or demands
for these dwindle prosperity departs
from us.
Admitting honorable prosperity to be
the goal which we all wish to reach, it only
leaves us to choose the road by which we
believe we can most surely attain our end.
50 fan as national legislation can aid us,
we have but two roads open to us at the
present time thatare worthy of considera-
ton, the one is the (so-called) Democratic
party differed by Bryan and Sewall, and
the other is the Republican party officer
ed by Mckinley and Hobert
As tie methods proposed to be pursued
by these parties are antagonistic, so,
logically, the results must be wide apart;
therefore. one path or the other must be a
wrong path.
1t shall be my endeavor to trace out
the different methods by which differ
ent people strive to reach the same point,
and show what to my mind, must be the
logical results of each; but in this article
! shall only attempt to outline the meth
ods proposed to be pursued by these two
political parties, and in future articles
shall take up the most salient points of
each and Show the wisdom OF folly, as
see them, of many of the methods pro-
posed and the effects which are claimed
will be resultant therefrom.
Those people who are at present domi-
nant in the Democratic party propose to
reach the desired end by radical depar-
ture from most of the principles and pre-
cepts that have heretofore governed that
party since its formation.
1t announces its purpose, should it gain
1iS PbNtjj " open the nllnIS OF The
United States to the free coinage of sill
yer on raUio with gold in weight as
sixteen is to one and declares their ex-
pectaton that at that ratio it will circu-
late in this country on a par with gold, for
the reason that this government will have
pronounced them equal, although in the
markets Of the world one ounce of gold
will buy over thirty ounces of silver
By taking this course, it not only re
pudiates all the facts taught by expert
ence and by tnanciers from the earliest
age but, it seems to me, the dictates of
common sense as well.
1t also adheres, in tariff matters. to the
free trade theories, or tariff for revenue
without any protection to our labor or
industries. thus leaving our workmen to
compete eyen-handed against the cheaper
labor Of England, France, Germany,
Italy and Japan, and permitting the Brit
ish Provinces to flood our home markets
with their hay, potatoes, grain, butter,
cheese, cattle and horses and other pro-
auctions, much to our detriment, -pro-
Tossing to believe that the cheap money to
be forthcoming from the free coinage of
silver at a fixed ratio will heal all
troubles and lead to the land of promise.
On the other hand, the Republican
party, should it attain power, proposes to
walk in well-trodden paths, and attempt
no new and doubtful experiments.
They propose to keep the currency Of
the country where it now is, and has been
Tor more then twenty years past,-using
gold, silver and paper, but making gold
the standard of value and keeping them
on par with each other by making silver
and paper exchangable for gold and not
trying the impossible feat of doing SO bv
The nat Of government. They profess to
believe that as stability in our currency Is
an absolute necessity to insure the conf
dence of business men throughout our
country, and as winning the confidence
of our business men is the first requisite
to insure prosperity in any form, so all
doubtful and experimental methods
should be stunned Believing that like
causes DrOdupp Ike raSnItc and