The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1899-01-04
History Repeats Itself.


The nation has during the past year
expanded" internally as we'll as extern
ally. The foundations of the material
prosperity of the country are more solid
than they have been before within the
memory of any member of the present
generation.
The general volume of the business
that we have had with the outside world
has during the year progressively increas-
ed until it has excited the wonder of all
observers. 1t is not too much To say
that the wave of prosperity has risen
since the panic of 1898 to a height cor
responding to the deepest depression OF
the days Of adversely. Indeed, re-
markable frame of mind is the result OF
our enormous output abroad, when Dun
q Co. say thatnobody knows how Europe
is TO pay the big balance OF oIoOOo,VoO
due this country on account OF the eur
rent months trade alone. 1t is really no
problem of the present how Europe is To
meet our balances, but it may be prob
lem for the future.
The business activity has permeated
into all the hooks and corners OF trade
and manufacture. The retail trade,
common at this season of the year, rs
better than it has been in good many
years. Everybody seems to have money
to buy with, and this fact has been antic-
ipated 10y wholesalers and merchants
alike, SO that the "holiday trade" of this
year will prove profitable in an unprece-
denied degree. There is not a single
branch of legitimate industry that re-
ports depression. Iron, steel lumber,
cotton, wooden, cereals, and, in fact, all
the great staples upon which all other
branches are commonly dependent, are
enjoying an unusual "boom."
The foregoing extract is not, as our
readers might naturally suppose, taken
from republican paper, nor did it ema-
nate from a republican source. On the
contrary it is the editorial utterance of
the Detroit Tribune, the leading free
silver and freetrade newspaper of Mich
igan; a paper that ardently supported
Mr.. Bryan as against President Mckinley
during the last presidential campaign; a
paper that urged that the only avenue to
prosperity was over the highway of six
teen to one; a paper that condemned the
Dingley tariff ia no unsparing terms,
condemned the protective policy and ad-
vocated democratic freetrade. doctrine to
the utmost of its ability. But notwith-
standing all this, unlike some of its less
fair minded. contemporaries, it acknowl-
edges that the nation has experienced
revival of business, a recovery from de
preston and has just closed a year of
torocparitN, ,,pnaral II alad IN tic history ap6
this result has been achieved under a
protective tariff and sound money policy.
Some one has said that the republican
party is peculiarly fortunate in always
coming into power just on the eve of an
era of national prosperity. He might
just as truthfully have said that the
democrat party is peculiarly unfortunate
in always securing control of national af
faits just on the eve of an era of national
er.lty.
The mistake in either statement would
be in not recognizing the cause that
produces the changed condition of
affairs. The history of our country
during all the years of its exist
ence shows that prosperity follows the
Inauguration of protective policy while
adversely as invariably accompanies
freetrade Of taritl or-revenue-only policy.
The present prosperous condition of af-
fairs is only what was freely predicted
would result from republican victory and
the Inauguration of republican policy:
it is but history repeating jtself. The
real truth of the matter is that the re-
publican policy of protection and sound
money causes prosperity, whilethe demo
crat policy of freetrade and cheap money
causes adversely. Ifever a political party
was justified in saying 81 told you so,
it is the republican party of to-day, just
as the people are entering upon the new
year, year that bids fair to excel even
the unexampled prosperity of 1898