The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-20

a remarkable phase in our political life.
and evidence the deep solicitude they have
| for the welfare of our country. Such
| demonstration as this would not be possible
| if the people of the country were not pro
| which is presented in the national contest
| OF this year. (Applause and cries of We
| are all interested,0
You are here to-day men of all parties
| and creeds-because YOU want to defeat the
| effort which is now being assduously made
to destroy the credit and currency of the
| country, and also because, loving law and
| order, you want to stamp out the spirit of
threaten it. GApplause and cries of @Tbaf,s
| what we will doi) Your active interest in
this contest for good politics. good govern
| ment, good morals and good money will be
| an inspiration to the friends of good gov
| ernment everywhere.
A MIGHTY FACTOR.
The railway is the mightiest factor of
modern civilization. If one proof above any
other be asked for the superiority of the
United States against any other country of
| equal or approaching territory 1 know of
| no better evidence than the fact of the
| 4S2,0e0 miles of road in the world we have
| nearly 100000 miles in this great Republic
| applause and cries of 'GoodrO To trace
their history during the past twenty years
would be to write the progress of the coun-
try itself. so intimately are they associated.
| To say that they have cost nine billions of
| dollars, employ million OF men with
| $4,000 locomotives. q. .0G0 passenger cars and
| over /, 100. 600 other cars that their capital
S4 500. 000 yearly traffic earnings of 81 O0O-
G0o0O0, net earnings $31S. S.000.0 coo and dividends
$S4, 000, COO annually, conveys but a faint idea
| OF how fully they enter into every line of
! business and affect directly or Indirectly
/ the great masses of our people. Not only
are lives constantly in their keeping but
/ every year they become more and more es-
sential to our subsistence, convenience ana
/ comfort.
THE greatest tribute which can be paid
| to the railway men of the country is The
high degree of care and attention and
| skill which they give to the service, per
! ming the most delicate and responsible
duties, engaged in a business in which botl.
| life and property are involvc1 where heed
| lessness or carelessness 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 railway in the United States t;:,u Eng
our roads are loaded DOWN wi.h debts they
can never pay, the entire railway capital
| of this countr: is two and one-Third times
| that of England. But IT NJ. the re-
1 markable enterprise of our railroads both
| in equipment and extension. 1h2l impresses
| cy in every branch of the service. In sun
| shine or storm, in drought flood fair
weather or foul, 'faithfulness 10 depth at
whatever peril or cost, railrod1 employees
| can alwcVs be relied upon dS firmly as
we can depend upon any hdnan ierency.
| (Cheering) Not only are Skill and ndur-
ance required in their exactin+5 duties, bat
| the greatest watchfulness ana fidellt 4 and
| often the heenest intelligence, to think and
| act instantly under circumstances the most
| i,erloi!s IN, L } ing, applause ana cries cf
| That's right. Major!)
The State of Ohio is a network of rail-
| roads, and busy one, too, when the busi-
ness of nwben the e9untey m Is at all al what it
| try is prosperous. applause and cries of
| Right you areD Our service is as eff
| ception to the rule, and yet the railroads
| of Ohio carried $500. 900 passengers in 1899
"a and tf erS eres OF Of single ood e oa6
! Their earnings decreased $22, $4,000 last
| their endeavor to fully provide for the COM
| fort and safety of the travelling public; nor
has there been the average decrease in cm-
| ployment of their trained employees that
| have effected them in common with all 9TH
er great business interests of the country
| (Applause.)
II have said that railroad men are cool
| and collected, brave and vigilant in the dis
charge of their duties great apDIause)
and surely greater praise could not be.
given them than this. Faithful unto death
has been truly written Of many a brave
ished rather than abandon his train when
that was possible at the expense of others
Great applause and cries of That's right!)
So worthy are these devoted servants of
the public, so watchful, that railway acci-
dents are said by competent authority to
be neither frequent nor fatal as in other
modes of transportation.
In the great State of Illinois and great
city of Chicago are nearly eleven thousand
miles of railway. l have read the official
statement of your railroad commissioners,
and in the year ending July 80, 1894, includ-
ing the immense traffic of the worlds fair,
the greatest ever known to date, only six
ty-five lives were lost. Great cheerng.)
Truly. the laborer is worthy of his 1ire.
and faithful to employer and the public;
and, my fellow-citizens, l am glad to say
that the wages of the railroad men are
larger by double in this country than in
any other country of the world 1Great ap-
plause and cries of That's right!)
WHAT FREE SILVER WOULD DO.
sYour spokesman has justly observed
that no body of Americans has greater in
terests at stake in the pending political
campaign than the railroad men, who are
everywhere taking the liveliest interest in
the proper settlement of the great prnci-
pies involved in it. (Applause) The
triumph of free silver would mean to you,
as the adoption by Mexico has meant to
the railroad employees of that country
decrease in the purchasing power of the
money in which they are paid of fully one
half, with comparatively no increase in
wages. (Cries of We don't want it and we
would mean inevitable decreased employ
ment and general distress. A 50-cent dol
lar, employees of the railroad companies,
viii no more add to your earnings than
the railroads would add to their traffic by
Cheering and cries of Good enough
The railway men are deeply interested
in the prosperity of the country. (Cries of
You bet we are!D They know from expe-
rience that when the country is prosperous
railroads are prosperous tcries OF Yes, we
doD; and when railroads are prosperous
they have steady work and remunerative
employment. (Applause and cries of That's
right!D They know when the business of
the country is poor the business of rail-
roads is poor and the employees suffer both
in time and pay. (Cries of That's right.
MaJor!) They are interested, too, in good
money (cheers) and they are in favor of
law and order. Applause and cries of
Yes! Yes, and hurrah for Mckinley They
want to perpetuate free institutions for
their children, forever and foreVermore.
Tremendous cheering) They are Jealous,
like all good citizens, for the honor of the
country (cries of We are), and they mean
to maintain unsullied the proud name of
America. (Great cheering.) They do not
believe either in public CT private dishon-
esty applause and cries of No no.
They want the government to pay it's debts
in the best currency known to the com
mercial world great appiause and cries of
That's rightJ and they want the railroad
companies to pay them in the best cur
rency of the world (great cheering and
cries of 'Hurrah for Mckinley, cur
rency that will not be questioned and that
viii pass current everywhere for its face
value, without discount depreciation.
(Renewed cheers and cries of That's what
want.o
II cannot conceive of a more potential
force in our politics this year than the men
who traverse this country from one end of
il to the other. and to feel that a large
percentage of that force is enlisted in the
Republican cause, and is fighting for the
sake of Republican principles, is assur-
anPa Of victory which will gladden. every