The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1900-06-21

sumo the gayel, he was wildly clleered.
Addressing the convention. Chairman
Lodge said:
"One Of the greatest honors that can
fall 70 the lot Of any American in pub
lic life is to be called 70 preside over
a republican national convention. How
great an hon1r II Is you know, but can
not realize. but | can express the grati-
tude which feel toward you FOR having
conferred It upon me. can only say
70 you, In the simplest phrase, that
thank you from the bottom OF my
heart Beggar that | am. / am even
poor In thanks. and yet I thank you
We meet again to nominate the next
president Of the United States. -Four
years nave passed since we nominated
the soldier and statesman, who Is now
president. and who Is rOon TO enter up
on MS second tenn. Since the Civil
war no presidential term has been 50
crowded with great events as that
| which II now drawing 70 a close They
have been four memorable years. TO
republicans they show a record Of
promises kept, Of work done, OF un-
foreseen questions met and answered.
To the democrats they have been
| generous In the exhibition Of untitled
predictions. IN the ruin Of their hopes
OF calamity and In futi.e opposition
u the forces OF the times and the as
pirations OF the American people. I
wish could add that they had been
4 equally Instructive 20 our opponents
but while II Is true that the democrats.
| Ike the BOurbOns. learn nothing, II Is
only too evident that the familiar COM
parison cOnn0t De completed. for they
forget a great deal which Il would be-
well for them 10 remember.
In 1887 we took the government and
the country from the hands OF Presi-
dent Cleveland. His party had aban-
doned him and were Joined TO their
idols. OF which ne was no longer one.
During the last years OF his term. ne
had presented 10 as the melancholy
spectacle Of president trying to gov
ern without party. The result was
that his policies were In ruin, legisla-
tlon was az standstill. and public az
fairs were In a perilous and incoherent
condition. Party responsibilities had
vanished. and with them all possible
" Of intelligent action demanded by
the country at home and abroad. II
was an interesting. but by no means
singular display Of democratic unfit
ness for the practical work OF govern
ment. 10 the political student It was
instructive; to the country II was ex-
trcmely painful, TO business disastrous.
We repla ,ed this political chaos with
president In thorough accord with
his party. and the machinery Of gov
eminent began again TO move smoothly
and effectively. Thus we kept at once
our promise Of better and more efficient
administration. In four months after
the inauguration Of President Mckinley
we had passed a tariff BILL For ten
years the artificial agitation on behalf
Of what was humorously called tariff
reform. and Of what was really free
trade. had kept business In q foment
and had brought a treasury deficit.
paralyzed Industries, depression. panic
and, finally, continuous bad times TO a
degree never before imagined. Would
you know the result OF our tariff legis- |
latlon, look about you. Would you
measure its success, recollect that 1t |
Is no longer an issue; hat our oppOn-
ents. frse traders as they are, do not |
dare TO make It an issue; that there |
is not q state In the union today which |
could be carried for free trade against |
protection. Never was a policy more |
fully justified by its works, never was
a promise made by any party more |
absolutely fulfilled.
Dominant among the issues of four |
years ago was that Of our monetary |
and financial system. The republican |
party promises to uphold our credit, to |
protect our currency from revolution, !
and to maiutain the gold standard. |
We have dona so. We have done more. |
WgA have haaf, haff.,r.
railing to secure, after honest effort, |
any encouragement for International |
bimetalism, we nave passed a law |
Strengthening the gold standard and |
planting II more firmly than ever In |
our financial system. improving our |
banking laws. buttressing our credit, |
and refunding the public debt at two |
per cent interest, the lowest rate in |
the world. Ii was great work, well |
done.
The only argument the democrats |
can advance in their own behalf on /
the money question. is that repubh- |
can senate in the event of democratic |
success, would not permit the repeal |
OF republican law. This is a precious /
argument when looked at with consid- |
era.a eyes, and quite worthy of the in |
t,lleets which produced 1t. Apply IL |
generally. Upon this theory. because |
We have defeated the soldiers of Spain |
and sunk her ships. We can with safety |
dispense with the army and navy |
which did the work.
Take another example: There has
been fire in great city; it has been
checked and extinguished; therefore,
let us abolish the fire department and
cease TO insure our homes. Dlstrust in |
our currency, the dread of change, the
deadly fear of debased standard We're
raging four years ago. and business lay
PROSTATE before them. Republican SUI
premacy and Republican legislation
have eXtinguished the fires of debt and
fear, and business has risen triumph
ant from the ashes. Therefore abolish
your fire department, turn out the
Republicans and put in power the in
cendiaries who lighted the flames, and
trust what remains of Republican con-
trol to avert fresh disaster The SUI
premacy OF the party that has saved
the standard of sound money and
guarded 1t by law is as necessary for
its security and for the existence of
honest wages and of BUSINESS conf
dence now as 1t was in 1896 The
moment the Republican party passes
from power, and the party of free sill
yer and the fiat paper comes in, staple
and the gold standard, the
standard of the civilized world, are in
imminent and deadly peril Sound cur
rency and steady standard of value
are today safe only in Republican
hands
But there were still other questions
in 1896. We had already thwarted the
efforts of the Cleveland Administration
to throw the Hawaii Islands back to
their dethroned Queen, and to give
England the foothold for her cables in