The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1908-06-19
Permanent Chairman Henry Cabot
Lodges Speech, In Part.

NSh'SIhca VI the COuVtnllOu-l
thank you most sincerely for the great
honor you have done me in choosing
me to preside over your deliberations,
for 1t is a great honor to be the pre-
siding officer of Republican national
convention. ] can conceive of con-
ventions-I have, indeed, heard of con-
rentions where the honor of such a
post as that now occupied by me is
dubious. and where, If excitement is
present. pleasure is conspicuous by it's
Ger of Republican convention is yer
high distinction to which no man
can be insensible. Gentlemen of the
convention, again l thank you.
/ shall not delay or detain you with
many words. Your resolutions will set
forth the principles of the party and
declare the policies upon which we
shall ask for the support of the people
Of the United States. With fullness
and with eloquence your temporary
chairman has already reviewed the
history of the party, has given you ac-
count Of what has been done and has
set forth what we hope and mean TO
90. My duty is merely to aid you so
Ear as i can in the orderly and prompt
transaction of the business which has
is momentous. In order to win for
our candidates and for our party an
assured as well as a merited victory
we must defeat our opponents, whose
exclusion from power is desired by
The country and deserved by them.
No political party in modern times
can show such record of achieve.
lnent during the last fifty years as
the Republican party. Upon that re-
cord we can stand and challenge all
corners to the lists.
The American people must choose
next November between us and the
Democratic party. With the Demo
cratic party, and with that alone, must
the comparison be made. We differ
from that party in some important
particulars. We both, it is true, have
past and a history, but we treat
those possessions very differently.
They wish to keep their past pro-
found secret. We seek by all means
20 publish ours to the world.
On the one side-"Slavery, seces-
sion, reputation of the public debt,
fiat money, free trade, free silver, the
overthrow of the courts and govern
ment ownership"
On the Republican side-"Free soil,
Zee men, the Union, the payment of
the debt, honest money, protection to
American industry, the gold industry,
the maintenance of law, of order and
of the courts and the government reg
ulation of great corporations" The
Old shibboleths of the Democrats are
Today the epitaphs of policies which
are dead and damned. They serve
only TO remind us of dangers escaped
rr to warn us of perils to be Stunned.
The battle cries Of the Republicans
have been the watchwords of great
causes.
Our long career of victory, so rare
" broken, has been due to our meet
boldly each question as it arose. to
our facing every danger as it crossed
our path with entire courage, fearless
Of consequence and determined only to
be true to the principles which
brought the party into existence and
TO the spirit which has inspired it
from its birth. We faced secession
rather than assent to the extension of
slavery. Rather than submit TO seces-
sion, we took up the dread burden of
civil war. But few years ago we
permitted thousands of Republicans to
leave us, thereby imperiling our politi-
cal power, rather than abandon the
gold standard and plunge the country
into disaster and dishonor.
In the process of development n
point was reached where the country
was confronted by a situation more
perilous than any 1t has ever faced ex-
cept in the civil war, and we Repub-
licans were therefore obliged to deal
with problems of the most complex
and difficult character.
To our honor, be it said, we have
not shrunk from the task.
I have spoken of the seriousness Of
the situation with which the country
was confronted. 1t grew out of condi-
tons and was the result Of forces be-
yond control Of men. Science and in
vention, the two great factors in this
situation, have not only altered radi-
cally human environments and our re-
lations to nature, but in their applica-
ton they have revolutionized economic
conditions. These changed economic
conditions have in turn affected pro-
fcundly society and politics. They
have led, among other things, to COM
binaticns OF capital and labor on
scale and with power never before
witnessed.
The social and political problems
thus created are wholly new.
Great individual fortunes and rich
men are, 1t is true, as old as recorded
history. Yet It is none the less true
that the same things today present
questions different in kind as we'll as
IN degree from their predecessors. ;
1t IL the huge size of private for
tunes, the vast extent and power of
modern combinations OF capital, made
nor otbIa H., ,.rnea-t nAnIittn-c