Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-10-31

LIZ immediately CdllSu OIL ShIiu oSf'
sion OF congress to convene March 10,
only eleven days later Off the purpose
of re-enacting that benifcent meas
ure which had been so much maligned |
in the campaign of 1892, known as
the Mckinley bill 1t took the name
of the Dingley bill and it has remain
ed upon the statute books ever since,
and | submit to you that we have had
longer period of prosperity under
that measure, than was ever enjoyed
| by the people of any country under
the shining canopy of Heaven.
BY Their Fruits We Shall Know Them.
You men who toll in the mines re-
member the unsteady employment
prevailing at that time. You know that
the highest wages paid for common
laborers around the mines in this To-
cality was Is cents per hour. And
you also know that at this time that
the wages of the same men are 23&
cents per hour. or $1.90 per day for
eight hours You know, too that
skilled labor received not to exceed
l171a cents per hour, or S1.75 per day,
! You know that the same men now are
receiving 80 cents per hour, or $2:56
per day.
Compares Prices.
/ "The farmer also knows that if he
had gone to town in 1885 with a view
to buying an Orchard City wagon, and
had depended upon it's purchase by
the sale of corn, that it would have
been necessary to have sold 375 bush
els Of old corn at 16 cents per bushel
the same yielding him $50 exactly, the
price of wagon at that time. Con
trast, if you please, the amount that
could be purchased with the sale OF
375 bushels Of old corn at this time,
the same selling at 70 cents per
bushel. And suppose that you want to
buy a wagon to take the place of the
one you bought in 1896. You ask the
dealer what the Orchard City wagon
is worth now He tells you S75. And
then you raise your hands with hor'
ror depicted on your countenance, and
eXclaim the wagons are controlled by
trust, and you call his attention to
the fact that you had bought the
. same kind of wagon in 1896 for $50.
But you forgot that you gave 375
bushels OF corn for that wagon. You
decided TO buy the wagon, however,
even though it does cost SIS. You
also buy a S14 pillow to be used for
breaking your ground preparatory to
sowing oats early in the spring. You
inquire the price of a cultivator which
YOU will be obliged to have next year,
You find that it costs you SIT. You de-
eide to buy 1t for fear it will be high
er in the spring You also determine to
purchase a surrey with automobile
seats, which costs you S120. You still
have some money left after selling
your corn, and you buy yourself new
suit Of clothes for $40 and a pair of
Douglass shoes for $3.50, also a Stet-
son hat for 81 All of these items
mentioned including the wagon, have
been purchased with the proceeds OF
the 375 bushels of corn, and you have
!, fS9 surplus I'm the ramity treasury.
'Is there any reason why a farmer
should contemplate voting the Demo-
cratic ticket at this time? In fact If
there is any good reason why any
many should vote the Democratic tick
, ct, it has not been shown in this CAM
paigp by any references to what that
party has done in the past. BY their
fruits We shall know them
'There is question perhaps as vital
to YOU as the one have just discuss
ed and some of you will feel it even
more keenly. | refer now to our coun-
ty expenditures You understand
} that we have Democratic county adj
ministration Ordinarily these Offices
| are not looked upon as being OF po-
litical nature, but all the candidates of
these parties having leen selected at
the June primary, brings the record
of each properly under the scope of
NV remarks and I desire to call your
attention to the difference between q
Republican administration in this
county and the first and only year
that we have had Democratic adj
ministration for which l have been
able to obtain actual figures. These
figures are taken from the official re-
ports of the auditor and treasurer of
this county. All of the current ex-
: penses of the county are paid from
: what is known as the county fund. |
will not refer to those provided for by
special levy. Warrants drawn on the
county fund as shown by the report Of
January /, 1907, which closed the last
, Republican year, amounted to $751;
SS2.16. Warrants drawn on the county
r fund by the Democratic administra-
ticn as shown by the report of Janu-
/ ary 1, 1908, amounted to $50 ,71022, a
$ difference of S25,S2S.06. We are in
: the habit of indulging in luXuries in
!, these modern Republican times, but S
t not this a rather expensive luxury for
+ us to indulge in? Let us compare the
S amount of warrants drawn on the
t county fund beginning with 1902 and
ending with 1907 which shows five
$ years Of Republican administration
s and one year of Democratic admins
t tration:
$ 1902 s5S, 6211e
r 1903 62,0266s
q 1904 56,14165
v 1905 59929.5s
+ 1906 Observation-Disclosures. 57,SS21e
''All Republican years.
e Behold 1907, the first year of the
IF Democratic administration warrants
e drawn on the county fund amount K
O $S3, 71022. Contrasted with the las
v Republican year we find an increase
- OF s25,S2806. Even in the salaries D