The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-08-20
B0TKIN OPENS UP.
Continued from Page one.)


all our varied commercial and manu-
featuring interests throughout the
country, which began in September.
1873, still continues" For sixteen
years his party had held undisputed
control Of the government AMI was
wholly responsible for all the legisla-
tion OF that period. In the follow
ing fall. Mr.. Hayes convened congress
In extra session TO grapple with the
distressing conditions. II will be re-
membered that the prostration con-
tinued for some time after the period
described by the president. and it was
under the stress and terror of hard
times that the greenback movement
arose with its proposed remedies for
the awful conditions then existing I'M
der Republican administration and
policies
In April, 1890, thirteen months after
President Harrison's inauguration.
William Mckinley. chairman of the
ways and means committee. presented
TO the congress his report on the tariff
bill bearing his illustrious name. In
that report he said: The committee
have given months of investigation to
the existing conditions of agriculture
and matters connected Herewith. This
great industry is foremost in magni-
tude and Importance in our country.
Its success and prosperity are vital to
the nation No prosperity is possible
guish. Insofar as the fostering care
of government can be helpful, 1t must
be faithfully and forcefully exerted to
build up and strengthen agriculture.
That there is widespread depression in
this industry today cannot be denied.
Every remedy within the scope of
practical legislation known to your
committee has been recommended in
the proposed measure to meet the
urgent requirements of the situation.
ie ario oil af 81 on
and hard times for which the Demo-
Gratis were not even remotely RESPONSE
BILE, for the reason that from 1851 to
that time. that party had not put
single law of any kind on the books
You certeinly have not forgotten that
1t was the frightful depression of the
latter eighties and the early nineties.
the period so graphically described by
Mr.. Mckinley in his report just men
toned, that gave rise to the Farmers
ments. In other words. those move
ments were the popular protest
against. and the proposed remedies for
the intolerable conditions existing ur-
der Republican party administration
and policies. These conditions con-
1892. when against them the whole
country entered it's protest by turning
the dominant party down and electing
Grover Cleveland. So that the Repub-
lican party bequeathed to Mr.. Cleve-
land and his party a condition of wide
spread financial and industrial depres-
sion. and as all thoughtful men remem-
Der, a depleted public treasury.
Panic and the Tariff.
'One Of the most oft repeated~asser-
lions of Republican leaders in the past
dozen years is that the panic of 1893
was caused by Democratic free trade.
OF course. reference is made to the
Wi1scn-Gorman bill, the only tariff law
that party has put on the books since
1861. Here again the truth of history
is against the Republican leaders. The
Mckinley tariff law was superseded by
the Wilson-Gorman-law in August.
1894 a year and a half after the panic
struck the country. Besides. the Will
son-Gorman law was anything but a
free trade. measure. The future I'M
prejudiced historian will record that
the panic of 1898 was terminated and
grew to adult proportions under the
Harrison administration. Candor COM
pels me to say that II was neither Re
publican nor Democratic administra-
ton that caused that period of depres-
sion and panic. so much as a long SER
les of poor crops. which demonstrates
the truth of McKinley's assertion that
when agriculture languishes. all other
industries anguish and hard times
necessarily follow. Such was the con-
dition in this country until 1897 when
we had a bumper wheat crop. This
.
by a great increase in the volume of
money. and by war prices. The result
has been a period of unexampled pros
perity. The same causes would have
produced the same effect under any
other party's rule. If not, why not?
For ten years, the Republican par
ty had been in undisputed control of
the government. AS already indi-
Gated. the volume of money had enor-
mously increased This was due to
the sale of bonds by Mckinley, the
increase of bank note circulation. the
the marvellous output of klondike
gold. This increase of money alone
would have stimulated prices. Taken
in connection with war demands for
our great surplus of products. II
brought upon the country an era of
prosperity never before approached
nor dreamed of. This continued I'M
til a fateful date last october. Up to
a Saturday night, the tide was rising
higher and higher. Republican lead
vociferous in their shouts about pros
perity. Quoting a typical Republican
orator: Every wheel of industry Is
humming. Every smoke stack is emit
ting a huge volume of thick, black
smoke. Every laboring man is en-
business man is overrun with a
mighty volume of business. Every
bank is bursting with its vast accumu-
lation of deposits. Every farmer is
riding in an automobile and wearing
diamonds And all due to Republi-
tariff law. But, alas. alas! The next
Monday morning every bank was
closed. Thousands of industries were
shut down and hundreds of thousands
OF Iaboring men found themselves
without Jobs. Business was stsgnatsd