The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-07-28
A Great Speech.

| "a GTeaC speech. i
| 1t is exceedingly doubtful If during
| the entire course of the presidential
campaign the republican party will
! be able to get together, within similar
| compass, as convincing a statement of
| reasons for republican success as are
to- be. found in the speech Of accept
ance delivered by the president yes
terday at Oyster Bay. Tt is just such
a statement as we should expect Theo-
dore Roosevelt to make-terse, lumi-
nous logical, convincing, and carry
Ing thru all its parts that spirit of high
patriotism and devotion to duty for
| duty's sake, which is his most notable
characteristic. AS with a scalpel at
one moment and microscope at the
next, he uncovers and exposes to the
public gaze the shallow pretense of
the democratic position, and asks the
country what profit there can possibly
be in a change of policy.
We wonder what reply the demo-,
Gratis will make or attempt to make,
to the array Of fact and legitimate de-
duction with which the address is.
filed. What, for instance, will they
say to the following statement, which
sums up the democratic and republi-
can positions of the past eight years..
Our opponents, either openly or secretly,
| according to their several temperaments,
now ask the people to trust their present
promises in consideration of the fact that
they intend to treat their past promises
as null and void. |- :
| What reply can be made to the
statements concerning law enforce
ment and the trusts, buttressed as
these and all the other statements are
by the official records? Speaking Of
the trusts, the president says in part,
having in mind the shortcomings of
the last Cleveland administrations:
We do not have to explain why the laws
were not enforced, but to point out that
they actually have been enforced, and
that legislation has been enacted to in
crease the effectiveness Of their enforce
ment. .... ..... I
AS the chief representative Of the
I party which made the fight for honest
money during days which were dark
and uncertain, the president has q
Il right to call attention to the republi-
! can record and to contrast it with the
democratic record, and this he does in
a way that will not add to the comfort
of the democratic position: .. :
We know whatsWe mean when We speak
of an honest and stable currency
mean the same thing from year to year,
7 We do not have to avoid a definite and
conclusive committal on the most impor-
tant 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 rthis
issue the convictions of half Of our mum
Der do not clash with those of:thesethe1
half. So long as the republican party Is
in power the gold standard is settled, not
as a matter of temporary $polltfcalfeXp
} iiency, not because Of shifting conditions
in the production of gold Uncertain min
ing centers; but in accordance with what
we regard as the fundamental principles
of national morality and wisdom.
The presidents tariff view will
command the Endorsement Of al
) right-thinking men,, whether employ
ers or employees. In reply to the
democrats, who denounce protection
. as robbery" he demands that the
tariff shall always be high enough tt
protect American labor against the
; encroachments Of the cheap labor o.
the old world. At this point the diff
ference between the two parties, as hi
we'll says, is fundamental. American
. labor, with the democracy in contro
9 of the government, will find itself un
protected and unsupported, because
the democracy declares protection /!
robbery"
In discussing reciprocity, the rights
! and responsibilities Of labor and CAPT
! tai, the isthmian canal and the Philip
! pines, the president takes high GROUND
!. and makes an appeal to the best tina
, there is in American citizenship. HI
$ wants the republican party to stant
!. or fall by it's past performances, blu
S naturally and properly he wants tn
: democratic party to stand or fall b,
0 q similar standard Of comparison. H
n invites such a comparison, convinced
t that the republican party will stant
: the test Of it and that the democrati
e party will not.
:, What will the democratic party pre-
d sent as an offset to this masterfu
c summary Of recent political history
e Nothing in the way Of past perform
s ance. 1t will make new. promises
It which. to judge the future by the past
: it may or may not keep If put il
?. power, and will pivot the campaig
n on the race question and the person
$ atty of the republican candidate.
d So be it. If the American voter ca
c be caught with such chaff, he /
: scarcely worthy of the protection of
q government such as this of ours.
e AS showing something Of the element {
r uncertainty which enters into the Ne,
York campaign this year, the Kansa