The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1899-11-10
AN ISSUE THAT MUST ENDURE.
The Question of Democratic and Repub
lican Wages One of Vital Consequence

lican Wages One of Vital Consequence.
He is dullard indeed who, after the
experience of thelast three presidencies,
cannot tell the difference between re-
publican and democratic wages. There
is an issue to which the soul tossed by
doubts of the morality of Imperialism.
and uncertain whether he favors Gen
eral Aguinaldo or Admiral Dewey-who
has just ordered the best ships in the
navy around the globe to Cypress the G..
Washington of Tarlac with S-inch shell
can safely tie. Lest we be accused of
vain and empty Boosting on this subject,
we append figures from an industrial
census just concluded by The American
Protective Tariff League in nearly 1900
Il, 957) industrial establishments:
NUMBER OF HANDS EMPLOYED:
March, 1895, 191. 1924.
March, 1899, 267, 1861.
Gain for March, 1899. $3.50 per cent.
AMOUNT OF WAGES PAID:
March, 1895, SO, 39S, 044.5
March, 1899, SIS, S59, 2S0.3S.
Gain for March, 1899, $500 per cent.
AVERAGE WAGES PER CAPITA
March, 1895, $33 80.
March, 1899, S36 SO.
Gain for March. 1899, 1910 per cent.
March, 1895, was among the most
prosperous months of the Cleveland
Wilson period. The 'false BOOM of
that year was just setting in. March
1899, was not the high tide of the pres
ent prosperity. 1t has been rising ever
since that time.
We call these wages OF 1899, which
are 81 per cent greater in volume than
the wages of 1895. republican wages,
because they are paid under the politi-
cal domination of a party which has res
cued the greatest market in the worlds
history from foreign invasion and pos
session, and because it has assured every
one investing dollar of labor or CAPT.
tai in supplying that market that he
will get his dollar back in the same 100
cent money which he put in. We call
those wages which at best were "a, and
at worst nearly 100 per cent less, demo-
cratic wages, because they were paid
under the domination of party which
after it had followed one leader to the
destruction of the tariff, dismissed him
for WEAKNESS in we'll doing and secured
another to lead them to the destruction
of the currency. We call the one re-
publican and the other democratic be-
cause there never were two occasions
in which politics acted so closely upon
economics as in the elections of 1892
and 1896.
We have been twitted by free traders
with the historic fact that voters forget
the source of their well-being, that re-
publican wages were openly rejected for
democratic wages seven years ago.
This is true, but at that time there was
no one working for hire throughout the
country who knew what democratic
wages were None had been paid since
the soup-house period of 1857, and the
years Immediately following. But
everybody knows now.
This is not a national election-no,
not till after the ballots are counted and
the never dying worm of parties decides
which way to wriggle. Then, if it has
reduced the republican majority in any
state, it will discover ''rebuke to the
which will suffice for
business-chilling agitation throughout
the presidential year. The man, be he
employer or employed, farmer or store
keeper, of professional or mechanical
calling, who wants to be sure of repub-
lican wages and all that they imply will
unless extraordinary local reasons are
presented to him for contrary course
vote the republican ticket two weeks
from today for all sorts of candidates
and in all parts of the country. New
York Press, Oct. "a, 1899.
He-Would it be good grammar for
me to say that an idea had occurred to
me?"
She-"That would be more than an
occurrence; it would rise to the impor-
lance of an event."