The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1900-11-02
A LINCOLN REPUBLICAN
Has Something Pertinent to Say
to the Young Men of
Ohio,
10 the young men of ohio:

Sibly without much thought, simply
voting for the party which in association
you have been Identified with, you are
now confronted. with an issue which di-
rcctly concerns you, and as man en-
dowed with reasoning powers you are
to help shape your own destiny.
II you are not a rich mans son, or if
you are, you have discovered that ave-
nues for success are not open to you
as they were to your father. You see
the field constantly contracting, narrow
ing for the young man Of today 1ndl~
vidual effort is met by combinations i'm =.
possible to overcome. 1t is true you may
obtain n cierkship at a fair salary, Il
you have q strong pull, in some trust
magnate's office, an hireling for life,
but do you aspire to proprietorship,
business of your own, you at once find
the door closed. Trusts are in the sad
die, controlling every avenue to success
and individual enterprise Is handicapped
and speedily crushed out; in short, you
know for your eyes have not been
closed and you are no longer a child,
that there is not one chance FOR you TO
succeed by individual effort where there
were thousand chances for the young
strong, we'll educated and alert you
may be, the odds are greatly against
you; though a Hercules you can not
throw off the incubus which like o mil
stone about your neck is holding you
down, to q life OF manual labor, or at
best salaried mendicant dependent
upon the so-called Captains of Indus
try" who have, by and through class leg
islation, stolen the free opportunities
from you, which We're given to your
fathers. The trusts have you down, the
| doors are closed and closed forever un-
! less, uniting with others, throwing
prejudice to the winds, you vote to pro-
mote your own interest which is only for
a fair field and no (speciaD favors. No
matter what vocation in life you seek
| to establish yourself, you are met by the
| same conditions.
Are you a farmers son. what chance
| have you had to save a few hundred
| dollars, with which you may make first
payment on a farm, with the proba-
bility of ultimately being able to pay
| for 1t. You haven't one chance in q
| thousand to succeed. But the one road
remains open, move to town and become
| a day laborer.
Are you a mechanic, the trust will fix
prices and a mechanic you can remain.
Are you the superintendent of fac
| tory, one superintendent can manage a
\ dozen factories, but you can take your
| place in the ranks.
Do you seek to become a travelling
| salesman? The services of tens OF
| thousands are being dispensed with now
and it is only a question of time when
| all must go, again swelling the ranks
| Of labor.
Is your ambition satisfied with being
| common laborer continue to be a
laborer forever, satisfied with q full din
ner pail, crumbs from your masters
table, and life of drudgery, the poor
house in old age, the potters' field in
death?
| Are you a clerk in a store hoping to
become merchant yourself, sometime
Give up the idle dream, the trust store
| will soon drive out the present owner
and he be forced to become a CLERK
competing with you for a subsistence.
| Are you a struggling, but ambitious
young lawyer, seek out the Office of q
big trust lawer. and happy if It may be
you may become his clerk, and remain
a clerk for life.
| The picture Is not overdrawn, you
know that 1t is not, for you have beer
looking around you and ydu are not
blinded by prejudice. A false economic
| system has resulted In vast combina-
tions of capital which throttle individual
| industry and you are fully apprised OF
| the fact.
| The writer cast his first vote for Abra
ham Lincoln at his second election and
| know, as / see bright capable young
men all around me, that your opportu-
mites for an independent livelihood, a
successful career of your own, are well
nigh destroyed, the task hopeless and
while life long Republican, / can not
I will not contribute to the debasemen,
of the glorious young manhood of Ohio
and the nation.
How shall l escape from this thrall-
dom you ask. I answer, full well you
know, for you know that every trust ir
the land and each Individual member o.
| every trust every trust magnate, every
combination Of organized greed and rob.
berry desire the election of Mckinley
and these same men, composing the
trusts, are contributing the money. from
the trust treasury, with which, IL pos.
sible, they hope to debauch the Ameri.
can people and perpetuate the conGi.
tions, industrial slavery, which is con.
fronting you. Your duty and your in.
terest are both perfectly plain to you
The remedy is in your own hands.
II you are careless as to your own and
neishbor's condition, il you will MOI
heed the living, listen to the voice stillet
In death, the voice of Sage and Seer
Prophet and Friend, the great hearted
tender, loving, patriotic Lincoln.
In letter to VIM. +. IIlkin, Novem,
Der q, 1864, when the shadows of dealt
were lowering around him, Lincolr
said, "As result of the war, corpora,
tions have been enuhroned, and an erf
Of corruption in high places will follow
and the money power (trusD of thu
country will endeavor to prolong III
reign by working upon the prejudicei
of the people (to keep them within
party llnes) until all wealth is aggrega.
ted In a few hands and the reDublir 4,