Griggs courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., Dak. [N.D.]) 1885-1902, 1900-10-11
DEAR BOY" g

SO old man skinner says that there
viii be war in the Philippines Tor twenty
years vet; that we will soon see the time
when inen viii be conscriptcd in every
township for service in China anl that
we are bound to have Il financial crash
next spring. and then the poor people vii!
the hardest times they ever saw.
Well | guess the old man is Il typical
Democrat. He certainly has all the
symptoms. Perhaps had better tell You
what the symptoms are.
There are certain constitutional. char
acteristics which distinguish the Demo
cratic party and opposite characteristics
which distinguish the Republican party.
When l tell you what they are, You VIII
see why want YOU to be q Republican.
l. The Democrats are pessinistlc.
They always look on the dark side. They
perpetua!ly expect evil ahead and see
nothing but the evil in the things that
now are You pick up an average Demo
cratic platform and you find it full of
phrases like the following: I'VE protest"
eve denouncc," we disapprove, we
view with alarm" One of the strongest
reasons against the party is that they
are always striving to make the people
discontinued with their lot and to fill
them with anxious forebodings for the
future Right in the middle of abundance
and cheer and victory. they insist that
we are all going ITO the bow-wows.'
Now it is the nature of Republicans to
be optimistic. The Republican party sees
the bright side. Thankful for the bless
ings of the past. they look forward with
confidence to the future. They expect
good things and the expectation helps
bring good things to pass. They rejoice
in the greatness and prosperity OF our
highly favored land. They look upon
our schools and churches. our farms and
factories. our army and navy, and their
platforms contain phrases like these:
Thankful for the past" Eve rejoice"
Eve congratulate" Eve point with
PRIDE They bring to the people a song
of hope and cheer and content Be Il
Republican, my boy, and keep sweet"
Don't let yourself get soured and pessi-
mistic
.. The Democratic party seems unable
why l fit in easily into the Republican
ricnce. Eight years ago l was free
and was convinced. 1t was very nice
book and the free trade theory was pre-
sented in Il very nice way. l still insist
that free trade is a nice thing in book
so long as you keep it in the book: but
when You take it out of the book and APP
ply it to wool and eggs and pig iron and
things, it doesn't work worth a cent. The
experience of this country from 1893 to
1891 made me q prctoctionist. But Our
Democratic friends have failed to learn
the lesson. In their platform this ycal
they still Gcnuunce our protective tariff
law.
If there is anything positively settled
| by the experience of nations. it is tina,
the best standard for nations currency
and for the worlds currency is gold. For
| centuries the nations bungled along en-.
| deavorins to keep up two standards. sill
Yer and gold. with the result that the
comparative values of the two metals
We're constantly changing and the cheap
or one driving the other out of circula-
ton. making currency scarce. values UNI
certain. exchange troublesome and com
mcrcc difficult. Through. experience. the
| nations. one after another. learned that
the honest way and tho best way is to
have enc standard ard that standard the
best moneys ofl--with Il hundred cents
worth of gold in the dollar. We have
learned that. since Il standard dollar is
Il measure Of value it should contain the
value that it represents.
All civilized people in the world have
learned this except the Populis1c-Dcm-
ocratic party. They come out this year
| of our Lord 1900 and propose to roll
back the wheels of progress and return
to the financial ways OF barharism.
Now the Republican party does learn
| by experience. 1t keeps UP with the pro
cession When Il thing has been tried
and found wanting. the Republican par
| ty drops it, When q thing has been
proved to he good by experience. the Re
publican party sticks to it. My boy. the
Republican party is not perfect 10y long
ways. 1t has some men in it who are
not good. Any great party must have
some such in Il world like this. 1t may
sometimes make mistakes. But the broad
political principles Of the party are true
and RICH, and it is the party that learns
from experience. You hc Il Republican
and you will not be SORRY
YOUR FATHER