The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1908-04-04
Policies / mi 4 NUS /
N N I. Tine ! p! PREVAIL VA |.
Excerpts From an Address Deliv.
cred at Omaha by William y
Jennings Bryan.
Democrats Face the Future With
a Hope Based on Sure :
Foundation.

Mr.; Bryan, after showing that the
Republicans fall lamentably short in
their efforts to give effect to Demo-
cratic ideas, said in part as follows:
Our Former Trouble.
Our trouble used to be to persuade
the Republicans to accept Democratic
policies; our work now is to expos,
the Imitation by them of Democratic
IDEAS and to point out wherein they
come short in their effort to appro-
pirate Democratic doctrines. Take for
instance the trust question. We had
difficulty convincing the Republicans
that there were trusts. Now they
admit trusts exist; we had difficulty
convincing them the criminal law
should be enforced against trusts;
now they admit it should be enforced
but fail to enforce it. Insofar AZ
they have acted against the trusts
at all they have acted along the lines
laid down by the Democrats, but the
trust magnates are still at large, tehe
| trusts are still hourinshing, and even
the. supporters of Mr.. Taft have no
specific remedies to offer for relief
and trusts arise while Republicans
| are batsing Of their crusade against
them.
Exterminate the MonopoIes.
They propose regulation of mono
poles instead Of determination, al
though tey have reason to know that
regulation has failed and that any
one of number of trusts can afford
to contribute ten times as much to
a campaign fund as can be collected
from all the voters who are outside
tie privileged circle.
Tho Tariff Question.
"On the tariff question the Repub-
lican leaders row admit that tariff
reform is necessary, but a careful
reading Of their promises show that
they use language identical with that
employed in former platforms which
have been the basis for the present
T extorti0nate rates. The advocate of
the Mckinley tariff and of the Dingley
tariff never asked for more than
enough to cover the difference Of the
cost Of labor here and abroad but
under the pretense of protecting labor
they built up the present oppressive
schedules. What reason, then, have
we to believe their promises are
worth any more now than they havs
been in the past twenty years?
Railroad Regulation.
'The Republicans now admit tina:
railroad regulation has been needed,
and yet for ten years the Repub
lican party allowed itself to be over
awed by the railroad lobby at Wash
ington and having, with the aid of
the Democrats, secured little relief.
The present financial stringency is ar
illustration Of Republican incompe-
tency In the full possession of power,
it has allowed the country to be run
by Wall street financlers and in the
crisis is impotent to do more than
furnish money out of the public trea
sury to support the market. It has
made no effort to stop gambling
the fruitful cause Of panics-it has
made no effort to furnish government
notes for an emergency and it has
made no effort to protect depositors.
While it demands security for govern
ment funds when deposited with
banks, it has left the individual depo-
sitor to risk his scanty savings with
out protection against acknowledgement
by bank officials.
Democracy Gaining.
1.-THE Democrats face the future
with hope and their hope rests on a
firm foundation. Democratic policies
have grown in popularity as the
voters have become better acquainted
with the evils to be remedied. The
Democrats have been looking at pub
lie questions from the standpoint Of
all the people, while Republican lead
ers have been looking at them from
a standpoint of few. AS the strength
Of a party must in the long run be
measured by the strength Of its prin-
ciples, Democrats have reason to be-
lieve that their prospects of success
have been greatly Increased by the
widespread acceptance of Democratic
remedies