The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1904-08-23
DEMoc RATIc EvAsIoN


saysathe Philadelphia Press Since
the Civil War OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
has BEEN conspicuous in a~dvpcating
policies which it had previouslysoppos
ed.4# The success If a Republican
measure and it's approval by the peo-
pie would lead the Democrats to
change their attitude and pretend to
favor it after having bitterly opposed
BILE to prevent its success. For in
stance, the Democrats were always in
tensely opposed to the national bank
ing system. In Congress they fought
every measure to benefit the system,
until it's popularity made it indiscreet
to say ,muchs about-it. And now the
public might be led to think that they
had always approved national banks.
In b same way the Democrats
scorned h reciprocity treaties pro-
posed by Republicans, and when the
Democrats obtained power under Pres
ident Cleveland they ~ruthlessly swept
away all Of the treaties in effect, with
out giving any notice to the foreign
nations concerned, causing a good deal
of i'll feeling on their part. Reciproc-
ity was derided by the Democrats in
Congress, and even when the proposed
treaty with Cuba was before Congress
the Democrats fought it bitterly. Now
they are trying to make the public be-
lieve that they favor reciprocity.
But perhaps the most amusing thing
in connection with the pending can-
vass is the effort of the Democrats in
the Mort to make it appear that the!
are conservative on the tariff, and tina
the Wilson tariff law was not greatly
injurious to business. The real Demo
cratic feeling on the tariff is shown
in their platform, where it is de-
nounced as robbery, and the Southern
Democrats adhere to that view, as do
their followers in the North, though
the latter as a rule seek for campaign
purposes to evade the issue. AS to
the Wilson bill, the harm began as
soon as Cleveland was elected in 1892,
and it became known that the party
oul secure control of the Senate
and be able to carry its free trade
policy into effect. From that moment
suffered and never recovered
until Mckinley was elected in 1896,
\ it became known that the Wilson
law would be repealed.
HI business failures in the calendar
year of 1892, under Harrison, though
Cleveland was elected in November,
aggregated 1884; in 1898 they were
15,242. and in 1896, the last year of
rule, 15,OSS. The liabil-
tiles in Harrison's last year aggregat-
STA, 000, 900, while they swelled to
s346, 900, 900 in C1eveland's first year
and were s26,OOO,OOO in 1896, even
though the Republican rule was the
assured. But when the Republicans
got control and put their tariff law into
effect, the failures fell to 9,733 and
the liabilities dropped to 100000, 900,
Or about ~one-quarter those of the first
Of Democratic rule. The clearing
house returns. which were $50. OOO,-
00O, 900 in 1892, the last year of Re
control, dropped nearly one
only $50, 100000, 900 in 1896, but under
rule again they more than
doubled in amount.
In the same way the records of the
business of the railroads, the tele-
graphs, the banks and every other
Of recorded business show like
results. The deposits in the national
banks were greater in the last year of
President Harrison's administration
they were four years later under
President Cleveland. That is the rec
ord all along the inc Do the voters
a repetition of that sad expe-