The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-09-01

or representatives nus pAAadu AAAe FA1As
hour labor bin.
the second Congressional district that
It's uaterihl interests have not been
neglected and that OF the 81. 200, OO0,des-
ignafed IN the river and hnrbOr act OF
the Fifty -fourth Congress. for the I'M
provemelt OF the MonOngahe!a river,
5000 900 has been made available by the
general appropriation bin. and the work
OF this great improvement, In conse--
quence. T. progressing as rapidly and
satisfactorily as II can well do.
And. fnallF. IN addition to all these
measures and others that could be mem
toned. the Fifty-hfth Congress has
stood by and sustained In every step
the present administration in the inau-
guratiOn and prosecution OF the war
with Spain, made necessary by all the
dictates OF humanity. mercy aud love OF
free government. This war was lhstl-
tuted, prosecuted and ended In n man-
ner unknown in the worlds history.
Not q mistake was made, not Il single
dollar was uselessly expended. not d de-
feat sustained.
The Present Situation.
And now my fellow Republicans, ap-
proachlng as we are another one Of the
periodical campaigns. it is wise for us
to review the situation that confronts
US. At the Threshold we may be par
doned for saying, in a spirit Of exulta-
tlon, that every pledge and promise
made bV the Republicans in the cam
palgn Of 1896 has been redeemed. In the
remarks made by me IN 1886, accepting
the nomination, called your attention
to the fact OF what Dem ocrncy had cost
US, and I reheaTsed the bitter history
whereby Grover Cleveland and the
Democratic PARTY by falsehood md
Misrepresentation, raised the deceptive
cry that q change from Republicanism
was necessary and deceived the farmers
and inborers OF the country into making
the change: and called your attention
TO the millions OF dollars Of debt that It
had, brought to our government; to the
billions of dollars In shrinkage OF values
that It had brought to our people. the
decline and loss In products, In exports
In balance Of trade.
I pointed out to you then, that four
years OF free trade and Democracy had
wrecked the banks, ruined the manu-
featuring industries, discharged the
men from the mills. created panics. dis
lTtSH anu uAAAll6L uEdpuAAe anu 4 AANANe4
ted TO yOu that this was but a repeti-
tIon OF the same old, old story that had
always come to our common country
when the Democratic party commenced.
its tIpkeTlng with the tariff. and that
the message OF Grover Cleveland was
simply the language and the doleful
song that had been uttered by James
Buchanan. The facts, the crisis, the
undeniable condition that Confronted
the people in, 1896, were such that we,
witnessed In this country one OF the
most remarkable political summersaults
ever turned by any political party;
abandoning all OF the teachings OF its
fathers and founders, repudIating its,
leaders and its administration the
Democratic party organized upon 4
single idea and came before the c0un-
try 10 ask II to try new experiment,
that OF the free and unlimited coinage
of silver an experiment against COM
mon reason, common sense and every
sound instinct OF good judgment.
With a blind faulty, Its leadership
simply presumed that the thoughtful
earnest people OF this country would
permit them to repudiate. III moment,
the responsibility for their past errors
that had been so baneful in their eff
fects. declare the tarln question settled
and spring the IDEA that all the trou-
Bles that man WIS heir to. grew out OF
the fact that we did not have Ia depre-
clated currency instead of the sound
money given 10 the couutrR by Re
publican legislation, and which had
stood the test without complaint for
years. The cardinal theory of the Dem
ocratic party In 1892 was that prices
were too high, that the farmer was
down-troddeu and oppressed by the
manufacturing baronS who were reap
ing vast fortunes of OF them by reason
OF class legislation. They tinkered with
the tariff. in1ugurated the Wilson mon
stroslty. brought us TO panic and dis
tress, and then, because the farmer
could sell nothing and the manufacture
ing Industries were shut down, they In
sisted that. In order TO raise prices
again, It was necessary for us to debase
our currency.
The psTGRt Of Bryanism.
It was q question with them In 1899
how to lower the prices that marked
that era of prosperity Having de-
stroyed those prices, in 1896 their sole
energies were bent upon raising them
by some new experiment. The very es-
sencc OF the free coinage idea was the
false theory, promulgated by the
Democratic candidate FOR President. that
the price OF silver controlled the price OF
wheat and other commodities and that
because silver had been demonetized
and dIscredlted. 1t had sunk in value
and thar wheat, farm products and 9TH
or commodities had sunk In value with
II.
IL did not take long for the people Of
this country to determine TINT il was
tired OF experiments and that II was
not willing 10 trust farther n party
whose leadership so little understood
the true principles Of political economy,
and as a result, William Mckinley, a
brave. earnest, consistent exponent OF
protection and sound money, was elect
ed TO the presidency. We promised the
people In the campaign Of 1896 that the
tarlfT should be rcadjustcd and restored
to the old basis OF Republican protec-
tlon. We declared TINT every dollar,
whether II be gold, silver. bank cur
rency or gTeenbacks, should be equal,
by the pledge and faith Of this govern
ment. with every other dollar and should
SO stand equal, worth 100 cents In the
markets OF the world, and We predict.
cd that this policy would restore again
prosperity to our suffering country,
raise the value OF farm products and
once again make 1t possible for the far
mers 10 sell their products for enouuh
to pas taxes and reap profit.
We were cooliy informed ~ the OK
cited cxfoncnts Of the proposed expert
ment Of free coinage that It's Inaugural
ton would bring panic and additional
trouble At first until matters became
adjusted. We asserted, ON the other
hand, that protection aud sound money