The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1902-10-24
RousING SHORT ADDRESS.
w. w. Wedemeyer, Of Ann Arbor,
Made Brilliant Speech in Armory
Saturday Night.

SATURDAY NiSnt.
If every campaign speaker could
make as good speech in as short
time as w. w. Wedemeyer, of Ann Ar
Dor, did in the armory in this city Sat
urday night it would be good thing
for campaign managers to arrange their
schedules so that the speakers would
have to hurry to catch a train. Mr..
Wedemeyer had to hurry if he was to
get home for Sunday, and it is safeNto
say that he never gave better speech
before in the same length of time.
On the outset he paid an eloquent
tribute to the memory of President Nc
Kinley, reminding his audience that
when they faced him in that same
place two years ago that night none of
them would have surmised that in an
other year their leader would be num-
bered among the immortal dead. He
then quoted from the last speech of the
President to show that the mind of Nc
Kinley was on the great victories which
the country was making in peace rath-
er than any of the great victories in
war, that it was in the grand progress
in civilization with all that it implied
that the real victory of this nation lay
From this the speaker passed to brief
consideration of the commercial progress
made by the country.
So great had the country become and
so prosperous were her people that dur
ing every year of McKinley's admins
tration the amount of our exports ex-
ceeded the amount of the things which
we bought of other countries by larger
amount than the excess of all the years
from 1889 to 1897. Our exports this
year are about two times as great as
those of 1895. From 1897 to 1902 the
balance of trade in our favor was ?, 700
millions against only 1873 millions for
the entire preceding los years Our
farmers were prosperous. Over 300 mil
lions in farm mortgages had been paid
off during the last five years. Why, he
added humorouslv, the prices of farm
produce had become so high that the
farmers We're complaining that they could
not afford to eat the things which they
raised themselves. The manufacturers
were-also prosperous. A few days be-
fore he had addressed six hundred en-
ployees of a manufacturing institution
near Detroit. He asked the manager
later if there were any danger of any of
them voting the democrat ticket and
was told that they remembered that un-
der democratic administration there
was work for but seventyfive instead
of six hundred and that they were not
likely to vote for a change back to those
times
In our trade with the rest of the
world we are increasing fast. We are
increasing our trade with the south
American republics and are the only
nation except Germany to show an in
crease of trade with Mexico. We are
shipping more and more goods to Asia,
Africa, Australia, and even to Europe.
American rails are laid by the pyramids,
American locomotives whistle across
the Asiatic steppes. We sell WATCHES
in Switzerland, and rhine wine" in
Germany. We trade everywhere.
So far as government policies can i'm
prove the condition of the country re-
publican policies have improved the con
dltion of affairs since 1897. As an old
farmer in one of the western states re-
marked week ago to democratic can
didate for congress who was talking
about imperialism, he could stand i'm
perialism pretty comfortably as long a:
beef stayed at FIVE cents on the hoof
And that is the situation everywhere
The question is simply do we want
prosperity or do we prefer to go back tt
the conditions Of 1897? And if there i,
to be any change in the tariff laws they
should be made by men who have
shown themselves the friends of the
protective tariff rather than by those
who have continually fought the policy
under which the country has grown tt
its present great proportions.
A single reference to the money ques
tion was made. Bryan had said repeat
edly that the money of the country
would decrease if the policies of the re
publican party were to prevail. TIL,
per capita circulation of the money o.
the country at that time was abou
twenty-one dollars. Today there wer,
in circulation about twenty-eight dol
lars for every man, woman and child il
the country.
He had been expected to speak of tn,
trusts and had been asked what abou
the coal striker OF the latter he sale
that the American people could thanl
the courage, the uprightness, the hon
esty, and the persistence of Presiden
Roosevelt for the settlement of th
great coal strike which had Just beei
brought about. Never had organize,
labor found truer friend than in Presi
dent Roosevelt The interests Of th
farmer and wage Garner are the first t.