The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1904-06-24
The County Prosperous.

In an address at Wilmington, Del
q few days ago. Secretary l.. NJ Shaw
presented facts which will appeal to all
citizens. We give space to part of
what he said:
The Republican party is not a party
of sympathy but of encouragement.
Instead of posing as benevolent insti-
tuition, it represents policies which re-
duce the occasion for almsgiving to the
minimum. Its bounty is opportunity.
The Democratic party, on the con-
trary, never fails to express sympathy
for the overburdened; but its policies,
when put in operation, never fail to pro-
duce conditions which incite sympathy.
When the products of labor find ready
sale, and labor finds correspondingly
ready employment then our opponents
are loudest in their protestations of
sympathy for the overtaxed and over
burdened people. They never congrat-
ulate; they always sympathize. They
never rejoice; they always bemoan.
They seldom cheer, except at the pros
pect of something worse.
am neither prophet nor the son of
prophet, but venture the opinion
that at least one-half of the opponents
argument during the coming campaign
will be directed against alleged unreas-
enable living expenses. You will be
told that the price of meat is exorbi-
tant; that the price of bread is unreas-
enable; in short, that the price of every
thing you buy has been unduly advanc-
ed and all because of Republican poll
cies and Republican legislation.
am confident, however, that before
the campaign proceeds very far there
will be furnished from the highest pos
sible authority in the United States we'll
authenticated data showing that the
average wages have increased in larger
proportion than the average articles of
ordinary household consumption. But
of this do not care to speak at this
time. My present purpose will be serv-
ed by showing that universal and con-
slant employment at reasonable wages,
even in the face of high priced living
expenses, is preferable to employment
for only a portion of our people, though
at the same wage and at much reduced
Employment for all our people at Civ.
en- wage, with living expenses high, is
preferable to employment for only one
half of our people with living expenses
however cheap.
This country has never seen and new.
er will see suffering at time when
labor finds ready and constant employ
ment, whatever the price of food and
clothes. And the converse of this is
also true. This country always has
been and always will be filled with stuff
ering whenever labor fails of employ
ment, however cheap may be food and
clothes
1 think | can demonstrate either one
or both of two propositions. lean show
thai the happiness of the wage Garner is
dependent upon high-priced farm
products and can also demonstrate
that the prosperity of the farmer is de-
pendent upon the ready and constant
employment of the wage Garner. In
other words, it is easily demonstrated
that the prosperity of artisan and farm
er is interdependent.
Phil Armour once said to me; II got
rich when comparatively young man
by watching the coal and iron miners.
Whenever they were employed l packed
every ham could get my hands on. My
partner would say, Phil, you will break
us up, / would answer, No, they are
working now But when I saw the
coal and iron workers quit, sold every
ham we had"
The farmers Of my state understand
this fully. 1t has been taught in every
schoolhouse, in tent meetings in all
groves and from the platforms of all
towns, and. as result, more farmers
came to our recent Republican State
convention than ever before, and every
one Of them came determined that the
American wage Garner should be en-