The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1908-07-30
IN MINDS OF PLAIN
PEOPLE
Is Whether the Govern
ment Will Continue
To Show Favoritism For
Wealthy CIass-Judge
Gaynor Issues State
ment of Present Day
Conditions.

Conditions.
When the nomination of Justice
William j. Gaynor for Vice President
by the Denver Convention seemed i'm
minent there was large collection of
newspaper representatives at his sum-
mer place, Deepwells, at st. James,
i. l. They pressed him hard for a
statement, but he would say nothing
except that he had had no communi-
cation with Denver and did not be-
lieve he was to be nominated.
He did, however, retire from his
VeTanda to his library for a while with
his secretary and write a political
statement which he handed to rep
Tesentative of The World, but not to
be used unless he should be nomi-
mated.
His permission to use it has now
been obtained and it is as follows:
BY WILLIAM J. GAYNoR,
Justice of the Appellate Division Su-
preme Court, Second Division.
"If l should be nominated l should
desire to say at the earliest moment
that those of us who run for office
this fall do not propose to put up any
longer with the repetition here in the
East of the false statement that we
oppose corporations or business com
binations or business enterprise or in
dividual wealth. That false statement
has been suffered long enough. Indi-
yidual wealth, however great, If hon
estly got, eXcites no jealousy. but is a
subject of honor everywhere in this
country.
There is no jealousy of the honest
poor against the honest rich. That l
am able to Youch for from my boy
hood up. 1t is a most unfortunate
thing and in the end must work great
i'll to the country, if continued, for
thos who are rich in property to con-
gregate in one political party only.
This is now grown evident to all
thinking men, and especially to think
ing men who have acquired wealth by
honest industry and enterprise. The
welfare of the country, and the well
fare of those who are so fortunate
as to have property and of their chill
dren, if they only knew it, requires a
healthy balance of political parties:
for that healthy party accountability
which is necessary to keep parties
from growing needless, unresponsive,
unprogressive and corrupt, can be had
in no other way.
If we had here that fine and sensi-
tive balance which exists in England,
for instance, by which parties are
turned out and brought in with
healthy facility and frequency, by the
vote of the thinking people of the
country, it would be a blessing to the
country. Those who do not think
could be left to go their way, for
they would be harmless. 1t is neces-
sary to the well being, if not to the
continuance of free government that
the thinking people should constitute
balance between contending parties
and blind and unthinking partisans.
The first and prime duty of govern
ment is to protect the industrious,
every day man, prosperous or poor, in
person, property and freedom OF OPP
portunity. The powerful and the great
can usually take care of themselves,
and more too. And just now, when
great effort of the Amerisan people TO
set certain chief things right in that
respect right is at the parting of the
ways, has been brought to a stand
still, and you cannot thrust the point
of a needle between whether it is to
go forward or fall, it is the duty Of
every man who thinks for himself
Gor nothing can be done with those
~ao do not thinE) to get his bearings
anew, and not be misled by false or
partisan statements or low appeals to
selfishness and cupidity,
The railroads are by law our char
tered public highways and not mere
private concerns. The railroad corpo-
ations are organized and empowered
by the government to run the rail
roads as public highways, the same
IS similar corporations are organized
and empowered to control turnpike
roads, for instance. They are just as
much our public highways as are our
'irt highways and our waterways.
They are open by law to all alike on
xactly the same terms for similar SER
ice.
The first law OF their being is that
hey may give no discrimination or
'ayoritism to any one. Is, then, the
fort to stop few people from using
mr railroad highways for their own
rivate aggrandizement at the expense
the rest of the community and of
he stockholders OF are railroads, to
row cold or be dropped?
Just think of the enormity of few
len, or sets of men, being allowed by
le laxity, or leniency, or in
Inference, or connivance, OF
hose chosen by the government, to
lave their wholesale freights carried
7ver the public highways of the coun-