Courier Democrat., 1904-07-28
RISK ALL ON PROSPERITY.
Are Republacaas Playing Their She
Game Once Too Oftent


The Republicans will continue to
shout prosperity" and will try hard
to distract the attention Of the millions
Of unfortunates who are working at
lower wages or who have lost their
Jobs from their misfortune and misery.
Regardless Of facts, a great prosperity
racket will be kept up until Nov. 8.
The Republican spellbinders will make
one more desperate effort to hypnotic
the hapless victims Of the greed Of Re
publican trusts.
II the charm works, thousands Of the
idle, hungry and poorly clothed VIC
tins Of high prices and trust extortion
will march up to the polls in a half
dazed condition and deposit their bal
lots for the party of protection and
prosperity" On the eve Of the election,
If the spell is still on and they are still
possessed by the prosperity delusion,
they will button their cheap, ragged
coats closely and stand shivering in the
street until midnight to cheer for the
candidate Of prosperity-for the trusts
way.
The Republican platform declares
that "a Democratic tariff has always
been followed by business adversely; q
Republican tariff by business prosper
iV." The fact is that every business
depression that has occurred since the
Republican party came into power has
occurred under Republican tariffs. The
great panic Of 1873 occurred thirteen
years after q Democratic tariff had
ceased and twenty-one years before
another began. The panic Of 1893 &C.
CURED more than a year before Dem
ocratic tariff became law. The depres-
sion Of 1904, which is still on, cannot
as yet be blamed on a Democratic tar
III, for It is reasonably certain that
there cannot be q Democratic tariff un-
til 1907, even If the Democrats get the
president and the house this year.
The semiofRcial organ Of the pres
ent administration, the Washington
Star, has already led OF in the direc-
ton that the Republican press is ex-
pected to go. On July / It put pros
per1ty" forward as the issue on which
the Republicans could surely win. It
said ''the country is prospering as new
g before" and that "the people. as a
rule, are in clover knee deep. The
Wall street gamblers are the only
croakers. . Legitimate business
Of every kind is booming, and crops
are on the way promising to make this
record breaking year for the farm.
ers."
OF course the Republicans expect to
get credit at the November election for
record breaking crops. But are there
no croakers outside Of the Wall street
gamblers? Are the 10000 cotton mill
workers who are either entirely out Of
work or are working only four days q
week at reduced wages happy and con.
tented? II not, are they Wall street
gamblers? Are the 100000 men that
the railroads laid of this year Wall
street gamblers? What about the 188,.
600 steel trust employees who are idle
or who have had their wages reduced
20 per cent recently? Are they Wall
street gamblers? About 10000 of them
were bunkoed by a profit sharing
scheme into buying steel stock at s21a
which is now selling at IS. II they are
gamblers they are sorry for It. They
are trying hard to quit the game.
The Republicans will soon learn that
there are 'croakers" in all industries
as well as in Wall street. Their pros.
perity shell game is being played once
too often. They cannot fool all the
people or even a majority all the time.