Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1901-06-25
Says: Ohio Must Elect a Republican Leg
iSIature This Fall
Or the State May Have Democratic Majority in Congress
For the Next Ten Years.

new responsibilities, but Democratic
ascendency at this time would mean
abandonment, retreat, and national
humiliation.
This is not imagination but serious
fact. The record shows it.
HARRISON'S ADMINISTRATION.
At the close of Benjamin Harrison'S
Administration we were more prosper
GUS than we had ever been before in all
our history. We had never known
such business activity, such universal
employment such diversity of occupa
tion, such contentment, such wide
spread happiness, such national credit,
or such international commerce.
We were better off than any people
on earth. We should have been sat
isfied but we were not. We thought
we could do better-and tried-and
lost.
We We're told that it did not make
any difference whether the Republican
or Democratic party held the offices;
that prosperity did not depend upon
national policies, but on natural con-
ditions. We were quickly and painful
ly undeceived.
CLEVELAND'S ADMINISTRATION
The Democratic party came into
power. Prosperity vanished and four
years of disaster followed.
The soil was as rich, the sunshine
was as warm, the rains were as abund-
and, the seasons were as regular, and
labor was as eager, but it was all in
vain.
The Democrtic party was at the
helm. Free trade was in the saddle and
capital went into hiding; the mills
stopped, the mines closed, and idleness,
want, suffering, tramps, and riot
spread over the land.
| Commerce waned, the balance of
trade turned against us, revenues de-
until they amounted to hundreds of
millions.
Issue after issue of Government
bonds became necessary to meet Gov
ernment obligations, and the national
credit, now so high, became so i'm
paired that a Democratic Secretary of
the Treasury would not venture to Of
fer new issue of bonds for sale until
he had organized Wall street trust
to guarantee a market.
Finally, as comes the light of day
after long, black night, came the year
1896 and brought with it another op-
| portunity for the American people
| What did the Democratic party then
do? Did it acknowledge failure? Did
it confess incompetency? Did IL apol-
ogize for the ruin it had wrought? nd
it beg pardon OF the wage-workers
whom it had turned into idleness by
| hundreds of thousands and whose fam
lilies it had imposed hunger, want, and
misery by robbing them of millions?
! Did it manifest regret for the grief
and sorrow with which it had filled
the land? Did it show penitence on
! any account? Did it offer to abandon
! its heresies, or any of them? Did it
| show sign of conjunction or give any
evidence of wisdom learned from ex-
perience?
No, not one of these things did it do,
or for one moment think of doing.
THE CAMPAIGN OF 1896.
On the contrary it threw overheard
! it's old leaders, nominated William j.
Bryan formed an alliance with thePop-
ulists, and with free silver for new
issue, taking advantage of the bank
ruptcy and despair it had occassioned
with appeals to prejudice, sought to
array class against class, labor against
capital the poor against the rich, that
it might retain power
1t was not content to attack only the
Republican party. 1t attacked every
thing and everybody. 1t embodied in
it's platform a the heresies of Popu-
lism, Socialism, Communism, and An
archy. Property rights, vested inter
ests, law, order-even the courts them
selves-were assailed and placed il
jeopardy No such wild, reckless, de
structive and dishonest program was
ever before entered upon by any politi
cal organization.
The very life of the Republic was in
volved in the struggle, and conserva
tive bunsineis men, including hun
dreds of thousands of Democrats, raj
lied to the support of William McKin
ley, and, by his election, saved thu
country, its honor, and it's institutions
There is only one intelligent man il
America who does not now see that tn,
defeat of Bryan in 1896 saved us from
an irretrievable disaster-and he edit
"The Commoner." Had we then addel
free silved to free trade the most bril-
liant chapter in the economic histor.