West Virginia daily oil review. [volume] (Sistersville, W. Va.) 1894-1902, 1898-08-13
Ex-Governor John II. AItgeid.


his speech before the Illinois DEM
ocratic convention, among other
things said:
The American people have been
paying at the national debt which
the war created for 33 years, and
yet such have been the industrial
and financial policies Of the repub-
lican party that today it will take
nearly twice as much Of American
products, nearly twice as much Of
American labor to pay what is left
of that debt as would have been
necessary to pay it all at the con-
clusion of the war. This is only a
sample Of all Of the acts Of that
party. Although we were a mighty
producing as we'll as debtor nation,
and were therefore interested in
keeping up the price of property
and in keeping steady the exchange
value of money, this republican
party, controlled by foreign inhu-
ence, legislated in the interests of
the few and struck down the value
of American property and American
products by nearly one.half, thus
practically doubling the amount Of
labor and sweat that was required
to pay dollar Of debt. 1t is the
great mortgaging party of the CEN
fury. 1t mortgages the property
made by the toll Of others. It
mortgages the inheritance of the
American people, and not content
with this, it has reached out and
mortgaged the generations yet to
come, generations whose fathers
are yet unborn, generations whose
bread will be shortened to pay
mortgages created by this political
party, and the vast sums Of money
thus raised at the expense Of the
coming toilers Of the earth have
been speut in riotous living and in
the enrichment of manipulators and
Corruptionists. y
The civil war brought not only
an eclipse for the Democratic party
but it brought q change Of charac-
ter. From being the powerful
champion of the human race it was
reduced to the humiliating coDdi,
ton or being conveience for men
who knew not Jefferson, who
cared not for humanity and who
used government for personal en-
richment. Owing to invention,
there took place after the war
great concentration of capital and
t here were first formed great cor
POI atoms but subsequently, these
combined and formed trusts ard
wiped out competition. These cor
porations soon discovered that by
controlling the government and it's
policies vast fortunes could be rap.
idly drawn from the pockets of the
American people and there came
forth in the east shrewd manipula
tors who controlled both OF the
great political parties and p1osti-
tuted both to their base purposes.
These men got control of the Dem
ocratic party and made it a spoils,
mans convenience. Our party
was robbed of its mission. 1t was
robbed Of voice in human affairs;
it stradd1ed everything and concen.
trated on nothing. Although the
spirit of Democracy had founded
this republic and the Democratic
party had shaped it's destiny for
more than half a century, there fol-
lowed period Of about 80 years
upon which no Democrat can look
with pride. Having no definite
purpose to serve, Our. people de,
voted themselves to compromising
and trading and instead of carry.
ing out great mission we spent
our energies in the lowlands and
played tricks IN the underbrush.
But new time was dawning, a
new century was approaching, and
the Almighty decided to make prep
aration for its advent. The human
family was again to move forward.
An aggressive army was needed.
He looked upon the party of Lin
coin and found that it stood fol-
exactly the opposite of all the
principles for which that great man
had stood. He found that the, men
who now controls fhe convention