The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1897-08-12
THE PROSPERITY BUNco.

Mark Hanna, who announced the
actual revival OF prosperity nearly two
weeks ago, has charged his mind. He
at that time described prosperity as be-
ing too brilliant for detailed description
and too generation specification. 1t had
come in with the passage of the tariff
bill, and would abide with us indefinite.
ly. But now Mr.. Hanna, in an inter.
view in Detroit paper, postpones pros
perity for sixty days. All that has SO
tar arrived, according to his latest pro.
nunciamento, is confidence.
lConhdenCe Why, confidence" ar
rived before midnight on the 4th of last
November. 1t was accompanied by that
"better feeling" which has been observ'
ble in protection newspapers and COM
mercial reports-ever since. The two
have never left us. Yet they would
seem to have no C oser connection with
prosperity than had the advance
agent" all of who numerous dates
have been repudiated by the show which
he pretended to represent.
We were served with ladlesful of ICON.
tidenCe" and "better feeling" when Nc
kinley was nominated; again when he
was elected; once more when he was in
augurated; for the fourth time when he
called congress together; repeatedly
while the Dingley tariff bill was under
way; and positively and tor the last time
when President Mckinley, welding Mr..
Dingley's souvenir pen, put his signature
to the tariff bill. But on none OF these
occasions did prosperity make good the
Republican promise that it would follow
upon the heels of confidence" and
"better feeling" And now Mr.. Hanna
postpones that long looked for, much
predicted, frequently adjourned and
most elusive event for sixty days.
Sixty days that would carry us close
to the election. If the masses can be
fooled until then, the cry of confidence
and prosperity" will be "a good enough
Morgan" for this election, as it was fol
the election last fall. And that is evi
IDENTIFY the game which the cunning
Hanna is playing
He began bis campaign with deceptive
illusions to factories opening and fam
| boyant descriptions of dazzling pros
| perity already here. But that "heifel
wouldn't plough" Men with empty
pockets we're not easily convinced o.
present prosperity. Workingmen en-
gagged IN one of the great strikes OF the
century, against wages too low, as ever
Mr.. Hanna admits, to sustain life, coulc
not be bamboozled with assurances tina
there is any prosperity for them. Th'
members OF the Amalgamated associa
ton could not be duped with "chin
music" about prosperity at time wher
in order to get even the promise OF em
ployment they we're obliged to reduce
wages below last years scale. Nor coulC
business men, however their anxiety
might make them open to self-deceptioI
by prosperity prophecies, be expected t
believe that present prosperity is quit'
consistent with such failures as hav,
recently been experienced even here il
Cleveland. For these reasons Mr.
Hanna has changed his plan Of cam
paigu. He no longer says that we are IL
the midst of splendid prosperity, bu
only that confidence" is here ant
"prosperity" is sixty days of,
Men who can be taken in a seconC
time by this artful dodging, deserve t
suffer the consequences. The pity OF !
is, that if there happen TO be- enougl
such men TO make majority, as ther
were last year, wiser men must sufie
the same consequences along with tn
dupes. .--Cleveland Recorder.