Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-07-27
ACCEPTANCE SPEECH
Continued from First Page.)

5Or1ty, the On1cerS IN the various oepd,t
ments Of the administration. and the leg1s,
lative and executive branches as toward
each other must work together with supor-
dInation of self to the common end OF sue
cessful government.
We who have been intrusted with power
as public servants during the past seven
years of administration and legislation now
come before the people content to pe 3uos
ed by our record of achievement.
In the years that have gone by we nave
made the deed square with the word; anu
IL we are continued in power we shaii uI
swervingly follow out the great lines VI
public policy which the republican party
has already laid down; public poncy 10
which we are giving, and shall give,
united. and therefore an efficient. support.
False to Every Principle.
In all of this we are more fortunate than
our opponents, who now appeal for conn
dence on the ground. which some express
and some seek to have confidentially I'M
derstood, that II triumphant they may oe
trusted to prove false to every prlhcipio
which in the last eight years they nave iaiu
down as vital, and to leave undistufpeu
those very acts Of the administrator ue
cause of which they ask that the aoHiis-
tration itself be driven from power.
Seemingly their present attItu4e as 80 ~
their past record Is that some OF them VIZ
mistaken and others fnsincere. we maKe
our appeal in a wholly different spirit we
are not constrained to keep silent on any
vital question; we are divloeo on ho va a.
question; our policy Is continuous, anu AM.
the same for all sections and iocau'ies:
There is nothing experimental ABOUT the
government we ask the people to continue
in power, for our performance In the past.
our proved governmental emclency. Is q
guarantee as to our promises Aof '"o
future.
Our opponents, either openly or secretly
according to their several temperaments,
now ask the people to trust their presen!
promises in consideration OF the 1act tnal
they intend to treat their past promises as
null and void. We know our own minus
and we have kept of the same mind Tor
sufficient length of time to give to our pol
icy conference and sanity. In such funoa-
mental matter the enforcement OF the
law we do not have to depend upon prom
ises, but merely to ask that our record be
taken as an earnest OF what we snail con-
tinue to do. In dealing with the great or
ganizations known as trusts, we do not
have to explain why the laws were not
enforced, but to point out that they ac-
tually have been enforced and that legls-
lation has been enacted to increase the Ell
fectiveness Of their enforcement.
We do not have to propose to turn the
rascals out" for we have shown In very
deed that whenever by diligent investiga-
betrayed his trust he will be punished to
the full extent of the law without regard
to whether he was appointed under re-
publican or democratic administration.
This lS the eT1ClenJ way 10 luTH Tie IdSSoiS
out and to keep them out, and 1t has the
merit of sincerity. Moreover the betrayals
Of trust in the last seven years have been
insignificant In number when compared
with the extent of the public service.
Never has the administration Of the gov
eminent been on a cleaner and higher
level; never has the public work of the ma
ton been done more honestly and ef-
ficiently.
Unwise to Change Policies.
Assuredly 1t is unwise to change the
policies which have worked SO we'll and
which are now working SO well. Pros
perty has come at home. The national
honor and interest have been upheld
abroad. We have placed the finances of
the nation upon a sound gold basis We
have done this with the aid of many who
were formerly our opponents, but who
would neither openly support nor silently
acquiesce in the heresy Of unsound finance;
and we have done it against the convinced
and violent opposition of the mass of our
present opponents who still refuse to re-
cant the unsound opinions which for the
moment they think it inexpedient to as
sert. We know what we mean when we
speak of an honest and stable currency.
We mean the same thing from year to
year We do not have to avoid a definite
and conclusive committal on the most i'm
portant issue which has recently been
before the people, and which may at any
time in the near future be before them
again.
Upon the principles which underlie this
issue the convictions of half of our num-
Der do not clash with those of the other
half. So long as the republican party is
in power the gold standard is settled, not
as matter of temporary political expe-
diency, not because of shifting conditions
in the production of gold in certain min
we regard the fundamental principles
of national morality and wisdom.
Under the financial legislation which
we have enacted there Is now ample cir
culation for every business need; and
every dollar of this circulation is worth
a dollar in gold. We have reduced the
interest bearing debt and in still larger
measure the interest on that debt All of
the war taxes imposed during the Spanish
war have been removed with a view to
relieve the people and to prevent the ac-
cumulation OF an unnecessary surplus.
The result is that hardly ever before have
the expenditures and income of the gov
eminent SO closely correspondent. In the
fiscal year that has just closed the ex-
cess of income over the ordinary expendi-
lures was nine millions of dollars This
does not take account of the fifty millions
expended out of the accumulated surplus
for the purchase of the isthmian canal
1t Is an extraordinary proof of the sound
financial condition Of the ma ton that in
stead of following the usual course in
such matters and throwing the burden
upon posterity by an issue of bonds, we
were aple 10 make the payment outright
and yet after it to have in the treasury a
surplus of one hundred and sixty-one mil
lions. Moreover, we were able to pay this
fifty millions of dollars out of hand with
out causing the slightest disturbance to
business conditions.
A Beneficent Tariff Law.
We have enacted tariff law under which
during the past few years the country has
attained a height of material well-being
never before reached. Wages are higher
than ever before. That whenever the need
arises there should be readjustment of the
tariff schedules Is undoubted; but such
changes can with safety be made only by
those whose devotion to the principle of q
protective tariff Is beyond question; for
otherwise the changes would amount not
to readjustment but to repeal.
The readtustment when made must main
tain and not destroy the protective prin-
ciple. To the farmer, the merchant. the
manufacturer this is vital; but perhaps no
other man is so much Interested as the
wage-worker in the maintenance of our
present economic system, both as regards
the finances and the tariff The standard
of living of our wage-workers Is higher
than that Of any other country, and it can
not so remain unless we have a protective
tariff which shall always keep as a mini
mum rate Of duty sufficient to cover the
difference between the labor cost here and
abroad.