The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1904-06-23
SHAW ON PRICES
Keynote Speech at Meeting Of Roose-
Welt Workingmen's Club.
HIGH PRICES DUE TO HIGH WAGES

Clothes-Better That All Should
Work With High Prices Than That
Few Should Labor With Prices Low.
At Wilmington, Del, on June 9Th
6ecretary Of the Treasury Leslie M.
Shaw addressed meeting of the Roose-
welt Workingmen's Club of Delaware,
which marked the opening of the cam
paign in that state. Secretary Shaw
said in part:
THE Republican party is not party
Of sympathy, but OF encouragement.
Instead Of posing as q benevolent in
stitution. it represents policies which
reduce the occasion for almsgiving to
the minimum. Its bounty is opportu-
nifty.
The Democratic party, on the con-
trary, never fails to express sympathy
for the over-burdened; but it's policies,
when put in operation, never fail to
produce conditions which incite SYM
pathy. When the products of labor
find ready sale, and labor finds cor
respondingly ready employment, then
our opponents are loudest in their pro-
testations of sympathy for the over
taxed and overburdened people. They
never congratulate; they always SYM
pathize. They never rejoice, they al
ways bemoan. They seldom cheer ex-
cept at the prospect of something
worse.
81 am neither a prophet nor the son
Of prophet, but venture the opinion
that at least half of the opposition's
argument during the coming campaign
will be directed against alleged I'M
reasonable living expenses. You will
be told that the price Of meat is ex-
orbitant; that the price of bread is un-
reasonable; in short, that the price of
everything you buy has been unduly
advanced, and all because of Repub-
lican policies and Republican legisla-
ton.
An Economic Theory.
Il am confident, however, that be-
fore the campaign proceeds very far
there will be furnished from the high
est possible authority in the United
States well-authenticated data showing
that the average of wages has en-
creased in larger proportion than the
average articles of ordinary household
consumption. But of this do not care
to speak at this time. My present pur-
pose will be served by showing that
universal and constant employment at
reasonable wages, even in the face of
high-priced living expenses, is prefer
able to employment for only portion
Of our people, though at the same
wage and at much reduced living ex-
penses. Catch the thought? Employ
ment for all our people at a given
wage, with living expenses high, is
preferable to employment for only one
half our people with living expenses
however cheap.
This country has never seen, and
never will see, suffering at time
when labor finds ready and constant
employment, whatever the price or
this is also true. This country al
ways has been and always will be filled
with suffering whenever labor fails of
employment, however cheap may be
food and clothes.
Phil Armour's Wisdom.
81 think l can demonstrate either
one or both of these two propositions.
can show that the happiness of the
wage-earner is dependent upon high
priced farm products, and l can also
demonstrate that the prosperity of the
farmer is dependent upon the ready
and constant employment of the wage
Garner. In other words, it is easily
demonstrated that the prosperity of
the artisan and farmer is interdepen-
dent.
Phil Armour once said to me: 4
got rich when comparatively a young
man by watching the coal and iron
miners. Whenever they were employ
ed packed every ham could get my
hands on. My partner would say:
Phil, you will break as up l would
answer: No, they are working, now
But when l saw the coal and iron
workers quit sold every ham we had
THE farmers of my state understand
this fully. It has been taught in every
schoolhouse, in tent meetings in all
groves, and from the platforms Of all
| towns, and az . result more farmers
came to our recent Republican state
convention than ever before, and every
one of them came determined that the
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