The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1908-01-29
THE PROSPERITY ISSUE.

The prosperity issue has won
the republicau party at least two
presidential elections. 1t mattered
not whether the foundation for the
prosperity was substantial or film
sy, the DRY of the full dinner pail"
and "let we'll enough alone" caused
many men to vote the republican
ticket, who but for the fear of
"hard times" would have cast their
ballots for the other candidates.
Eminent students of political
economy agreed that politics had
little or nothing to do with pros.
perity; it was demonstrated that
under a. protective tariff the prices
of the necessities of life rose more
rapidly than did the wages of the
consumer; historians of all parties
and all beliefs admitted that the
panic of 1893 started under a re,
publican administration and under
the highest tariff the country had
known, that the democratic party
merely reaped what had been sown
by the republicans under the Har
rison administration, and that the
democratic tariff bill was not en-
acted until 1894 and that business
conditions steadily improved I'M.
der that tariff bill until il was re-.
pealed. But the man with the
"full dinner pail" would see none
of this; he was content to "let
we'll enough alone"
But in the good year of 1907,
another panic came along. There
were no poor drops to help it along,
no general crash the world over to
throw it's shadow, as in 1892 90;
the party of the full dinner pail
was in CONTROL of every branch of
the national government, and had
had suoh absolutely CONTROL for
many long years. The Dingley
tariff was still in existence. and there
was not probability of it's imme-
diate repeal. Yet the crash came.
and to-day in every city of the
land there are thousands of men
begging for work, and untold more
thousands who are barely eking
out an existence on short hours
and few days work each month.
Who was responsible for this
panio2 Surely not the democrats,
They were not in power. Surely
not the republicans, for is not a
republican administration an as
suranoe of prosperity Surely
not the tariff, for the Dingley tariff
we we're assured, had Cured all our
business woes, Surely not the
trnsts, for the trusts are the orea.
tion of the tariff, and the tariff is
sacred. Surely not too many
"forty cent silver dollars" for we
have the gold standard firmly fixed.
although those who opposed forty
cent silver dollars' were glad to
get hold of clearing house oertifi
oates that were, 30 far as the gov
eminent was concerned, no money
at all.
But the panic came just the
same, whatever the cause may have
been. And it has demonstrated
one thing pretty oonolusively. That
is that the republican party is not
the sole and exclusive proprietor
of American prosperity, and that
the Dingley tariff law is not pan.
acea for all the ills that may afaiot
the country. With the realization
of this confronting them. the 70
teTs of the United States will at
the next presidential election, ex.
ercise little more of their own
judgment, weigh the Issues before
them with clearer disoernment,
and vote into power the party that
will best conserve the interests OF
the greatest number of people,
Huntington Advertiser.