The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1898-11-24
PROSPEROUS REpUBLIcANIsM.
Periods of Business StagnatiOn Have
All Occurred Under Demo-
cratic Rule.

One point in the short speech which
President Mckinley made in St. Louis
deserves and will receive particular
attention. II congratulate you" he
remarked, upon the splendid outlook
for the business future of our country.
We were never before so we'll off as we
are to-day. Industrial despair no
longer hangs over us. We have gone
from business depression to business
prosperity. We have gone from labor
hunting employment to employment
bunting labor" This is an important
and Inspiring truth. and has been re-
ferred to by the president, in differ
ent language, at one or two other
points in the west. 1t deserves TO be
mentioned often, for ii is striking
and gratifying change from the con-
ditions which prevailed until year
or two ago. Such a stupendous and
benehcent change never occurred but
once before in the entire history of
this country. and that was in 1879. just
HllCI tuC law III liiC PtlOb vi
gold payments went into operation.
Whoever takes look over the his
tory of the United States will find that
the periods of business stagnation all
occurred when the democrats were in
control of the government. except in
a single instance. that of 1873. 1t will
be found. too. that the only periods
of prosperity which the country has
seen in the past half century have
been while the republicans were in
power. Van Buren,. Polk, Pierce and
Buchanan complained of widespread
industrial prostration. The panic of
1897, the most destructive which the
country ever knew, took place just
after Van Buren, got into office, and
its effects lasted, in one phase and an
other, six or eight years. There we're
loud complaints among business men
during Folks and Pierce's service. and
the panic of 1857 started few months
after Buchanan's Inauguration. Blu
chanan, in his messages to congress,
made frequent mention of the hard
times which prevailed. but he some.
times laid It to the agitation of the
slavery question. for which, of course,
he blamed the north. Another disas-
trous panic. that of 1898. began just
after Cleveland attained the presi-
dency. the effects of which were not
counteracted until the republicans
went into power year and half ago
There must be some reason for these
conjunctions of democratic rule and
hard times on the one hand and re-
publican sway and business prosperity
on the other. They are something
more than accidents or chance coinci-
dences. They are, as matter of plain
historic fact. largely due to democrat
ic recklessness. ignorance and folly
on the one side. and on the other side
to republican intelligence. caution
and general political capability. The
only business convulsion which ever
occurred when the republicans were
In control of the government, that OF
1878. was due to the disturbing effects
| Of the war which the democratic party
precipitated, and this panic was
stopped by the gold resumption act,
which a republican congress passed
which republican president signed,
which the democrats in congress
fought before its passage, which the
democratic national platform subse-
quently demanded should be repealed
and which that party frequently tried
to repeal. The conjunction of demo
cratic rule and industrial collapse and
that of republican supremacy and
financial prosperity is so well estab-
lished that when the antecedent comes
in either case the country immediate
ly looks fo~ the consequence. To be
sure. the president did not attach any
partisan connection to the present
prosperity. He is wisely keeping poll
tics out of all his remarks on his tour.
His hearers and readers, however,
have no reason for any restraint of
this sort. They not only see the cause
of the prosperity, but they point it
out. eve were never before so well
off as we are to-day" said the presi-
dent. Everybody knows that the oppo-
site condition of things would have
prevailed at this moment all over the
United States had Bryan and his party
been put in control Of the government.
st. Louis Globe-Democrat.