Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1904-07-14
WILLIAMS SHARP TALK.
Temporary Chairman of ST. Louis Conven-
ton Makes Special Point of Exposing
Republican Claims That Party
Makes Prosperity"

OF paragraphs dHu III many
These duties affect a vast number OF in
terests which are often conflicting. Ii
necessary for our welfare. then of course
congress must consider the question OF
changing the law as whole or changing
any given rates of duty, but We must re-
member that whenever even a single
schedule is considered some interests
will appear to demand a change in al
most every schedule in the law; al
when it comes to upsetting the schedules
generally the effect upon the country
would be ruinous' Verify two souls
with but single thought; two speeches
that read like one.
And that single thought so harmoni-
ousIy expressed is not to force SIN
gle special interest to take its lips from
the public breast for fear the public
finding them unnecessary might shake
them all of.
But to go on to the authoritative ut
terance of the republican party in con-
vention assembled The platform, like
the temporary chairmans speech, deals
chiefly in the boast that the republican
party is responsible for everything good
which has happened. 1t also deals
much in ancient history. 1t did we'll to
go back 50 years ago. The present re-
publican party needs running start oil
fully so years to enable the imagination
of the American people to jump over its
present obstructiveness and its evasion
of live issues which lie in its pathway
/ to success in this year of 1904. The plat
! form in speaking of the access OF the
| republican party to power alter MT
/ Cleveland's second administration had
| expired, uses this language: we then
| found the country, after four years OF
4 democratic rule, in evil plight, oppressed
| with misfortune and doubtful of the fu-
/ ture. Public credit had been lowered
! revenues were declining. the debt was
growing. the administration attitude
| towards Spain was feeble and mortlfy-
! ing, its standard of values was threat
| ened and uncertain. Labor was unem-
ployed. Business was sunk in the de-
/ preston which succeeded the panic OF
/ 1893. Hope was faint and confidence
was gone" Suppose | paraphrase that
utterance by saying that when Mr.
! Cleveland succeeded to the presidency
in March, 1898. after four years of re-
publican administration under Mr. Har-
| rison, the democratic party found the
! country, after a long period of public
! misrule and extravaganza, in evil plight
| oppressed with misfortune and doubtful
! of the future. Public credit had been
| lowered, the revenues were declining.
The outgoing administration was pre-
pairing and had prepared to issue bonds
| A government deficit was confessed.
! The panic which had devastated the
world was relentlessly approaching oul
shores A long saturnalia OF extrava-
/ gance, public and private, and OF reck-
| less speculation had been already fol
| lowed by depression. Corn was burned
/ for fuel in Kansas and elsewhere in the
! west in 1890 and after. Cotton was at OIL
| below the price of production. The
acute reaction which we call panic wa;
! inevitably approaching, even before Mr.
| Cleveland was elected. Business was
| sunk in the depression which preced-
| ed the panic of 1893. Labor was unem
ployed," or poorly remunerated in fac
tory or field, especially in the latter
Indeed, business depression, especially
| in agriculture and the lack of adequate
remuneration for labor taken together
with the high prices of manufactures
under the Mckinley act (high price:
! especially accentuated to public realiza
| ton by the contrasting starvation price!
! of agricultural products which had be
gun to prevail in 1890 and had contin
ued more or less persistently since)
these constituted the chief industrial
reasons in the public mind for turning
Mr.. Harrison and the republicans GU
and putting Mr.. Cleveland and the dem
ocrats in. To go on with the para
| phrase: Under Harrison's administra
ton for three years hope was faint ant
| confidence gone The plight of tn,
! people, was so desperate that, lik,
drowning men. they we're catching a
! straws." Many nostrums were bein:
suggested. Agrarianism and state so
| cialism in the shape of subtreasury an,
other schemes were rife from 1890 AM
thence on. The two old parties a
| they were called, were blamed for it all
but the one in power was blamed most
hence the out of power got in. Men ad
vocating these nostrums. in the stat
of public desperation then existing
counted their audience throughout tn
suffering west and depressed south, NJ
longer by numbers but by the acre.
Who will deny the historical truth o
single sentence of the paraphrase
| Why pretend to have forgotten all this
WHY not be honest with the people. a
men ought to be? 1t is true that afte
the election of Mr.. Cleveland tn
chronic business depression continued
1t is true that it became acute; in wor
reached the banks-and then the frigh
or panic of 1898 came, which was not
local or American condition, but on
which had existed from where Vienn
nestles on the Danube to where Bueno
Ayres commands its bay, one who's
foundations had been laid long before
reached us. almost last among the ma
tions. Then with the panic upon u
more nostrums of national characte
we're suggested to cure an evil of worl
character One of them as you will al
rem member. was the repeal of the pur
chasing clause of the Sherman act Thi
nostrum was suggested by wise men an
| il was administered to the patient.
did no good. of course. The panic wen
on. went on until wheng Ii went o