The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-08-21
THE TWELFTH DISTRICT.

A congressional district which has the in
dustrial city of Fort Wayne as a center of
political influence should not be longer rep
resented in the House by man who has
always voted against every measure which
has brought prosperity TO the whole coun-
try and TO no district more generally than
the Twelfth. To-day Fort Wayne is pros
porous city, with factories giving employ
ment to thousands and with an increased
trade for it's business men because every
important measure which Representative
Robinson has opposed has become law and
every proposition for which he has stood
and stumped the district has been defeated.
No man can have a worse record on the
money question than has Mr.. Robinson. Be-
fore he was nominated for Congress he was
a blatant advocate OF free ana unlimited
coinage of silver while other Democrats
were yet holding back. When he stumped
the district in 1896 the crime OF 1873 and the
wickedness of the gold standard were the
subjects of his addresses. Doubtless it was
the one thing in which he fully believed
and he believed in it until 1900, when he
doubted because he feared that that dan
gerous heresy could no longer win votes. In
1900 he made his campaign largely on the
Bryan issue of quitting the Philippines.
This year he Will talk Of trusts and perhaps
little of the wickedness of the protective
tariff. The adoption of the gold standard
and the enactment of the Mckinley tariff
brought prosperity to the country in 1897.
Both of these Mr. Robinson did his utmost
to defeat. If Mr.. Robinson could have had
his way in 1897, when President Mckinley
called Congress to pass tariff law, tariff
| for revenue only would have been enacted.
Later, when the gold standard bill was
passed, If Mr.. Robinson could have had his
! way law providing for free and unlimited
| coinage Of silver would have been enacted
and the country would now be on the silver
basis with China and Mexico. In the first
instance he would have given our markets
to European competitors, and in the
second to syndicate of million
aire silver-mine owners through the
coming of 50 cents worth of silver
into dollars to the country's financial ruin.
| Mr.. Robinson has made quite number of
! Union veterans believe they are indebted to
him for pensions or the increase of pen
sons. Mr. Robinson himself knows that he
has done nothing of the kind. He has done
no more than has every Republican repre-
| sentative in Indiana for veterans of both
parties in their districts. All that either
| do is to have cases called up and to
have the applicants informed regarding
| their status. The law prevents representa-
! tives from doing more than this. II Mr.
Robinson has been telling veterans that he
has done more than to have cases called up
and to inform claimants of the proof re-
| quired to make cases, he has taken advan-
| tage of the ignorance of such men.
a district which has prohted so much as
has the Twelfth by the prosperity of six OF
seven years should wipe out Mr.. Robinson's
plurality of 62S and send a man to the
| House who will vote for and not against
prosperity. The Twelfth should elect Mr.
Gilhams. the Republican candidate, who is
one of the most successful farmers in the
! State.