The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-08-22

that il is being resorted to again. The
New York Leather Betting company has
sent out a number of letters tc companies
with which 1t has business dealings, ask
ing them to post in their factories a notice
saying:
The Old Device.
believing that the election of Taft and
Sherman means a safe and conservative
administration, the day following the cleo
ton we shall start this plant. on full
time and keep going"
Here is a direct attempt to influence
the election by a bride 1t is virtually d
promise of wages if the Republican ticket
is successful and an implied threat in
case of Democratic success; but the Of
fer is so made that it gives the en-
ployes 10 guaranty of its fulfillment. The
same kind of promises were mad in
1896, and yet for six months after the
election times were worse than they were
before. There were business failures and
bankruptcies. and many institutions that
promised their employees steady work and
good wages, shut down or reduced wages.
If any factory posts up the sign which
the Leather Betting company IS sending
out. the employees ought to get together
and ask for a guaranty as to the amount
of the wages they are TO receive and as
to the length Of time during which the
guaranty Is to extend. If the votes are
TO be bought, the purchase price, az least,
should be made secure. If the employees
heritage-citiZenship-is to be sold, he
ought. at least, to be sure of his mess
OF pottage.
But the whole system is vicious. Busi-
ness should not be built upon leGisia-
ton: ii should tar upon its own merit,
and when il does stand upon us own merit
we shall not only have purer poi:t1cs,
but we shall have less ~fluctuation III buSl-
ness conditions and a more equitable dis
tribution of the proceeds of TOLL
Taft's Threat of Panic.
I cannot pass from this part Of my
- ..EtIA,,k - I'm nfFAnffnn To tho
fact that Secretary Taft has allowed him
self to be drawn into the use OF an argu-
ment which the beneficiaries of protection
nave been employing for a generation
Speaking of the gradual substitution OF a
revenue tariff for the protective system,
he says in his notification speech:
Toe introduction in W OF a party
with this aVoWed purpose cannot but halt
the gradual ecovery from our recent
financial depression and produce business
disaster, compared with which our recent
panic and depression will seem small IN
deed"
publican party is not retained in power.
This panic argument was worked overtime
in 1896. but I am surprised that a he
publican refers to II in the present cam
paign-
we have had three panics since the
Republican party was born; the panic OF
1873, the panic of 1898 and the manic OF
1907. The panic of 1873 came after the
tNtllllIilCdn ldllN dd 49, !"
control of the federal government for
twelve years. and eleven years before our
p1rtv succeeded in securing control Df the
executive branch of the government. The
startling ''Danic and depression OF 1913
occurred in the very midst of Republican
rule. Just after a Republican victory. and
under a high tariff. Is it not strange
that Secretary Taft should forget this
panic, when he warns Us TO beware of
any departure from the protective sys-
temp
The panic of 1907 came after the Repub-
Leans had been in complete control of the
federal government for more than ter
years. They had had an opportunity 70
do everything that they wanted to do
and to undo everything that needed II
be undone. and we were under such 2
high tariff that even Secretary Taft adj
mitted the necessity of revision. This
panic was so bad hat banks felt it nee
essarv to do something that they had
never done before, namely. arbitrarily
limit the amount of money that depos-
itors could draw on their own accounts
Ex-Secretary Shaw says that the strin-
gency of 1907 was the severest the world
has ever witnessed" With this panit
fresh in his mind. is il not strange that
| he should argue that his election is nee
essary to prevent afpanic?
l have referred to two of the three pan
les. both of these coming under condi-
tions which compel the Republican party