The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1910-11-04
tox, was in vain. I ask you my friends,
Issue In. This District.

Issue In This District.
"The main issue, then, in this cam
paign is; shall the second district Of
Minnesota elect progressive repub
hlican or a democrat: The present con
j gresham says his platform and mine
are identical, or rather, that / STAND
on his platform. | have here a copy
of my platform printed, thirty thou
sand of which were circulated to the
voters of this district before the pri
maries. This platform has received nc
/ serious criticism for the people OF
press but has been widely commended
Seventeen thousand voters at the pri
maries have. commended. it by major.
/ ity vote, and | have full faith that it
will again be commended in November
I'm. his Madela speech my opponent
said that ! was standing on his plat
FORM j did not know that my OPP
1 I have never seen his platform in
| print and have failed to find anyone
who 3has. However, in my platform
/ 'that,fI favor "A bipartisan tariff com
mission with full power to compel tes-
| timony to witnesses to investigate in
/ dustrial conditions, and report to con-
! gress to the end that the tariff laws
may be revised to meet the changing
conditions
"In the last congress a measure was
( introduced to appropriate money to
| investigate industrial conditions for
the express purpose of making report
so that the congress could be informed
of conditions to the end that there
might be proper revision of the tariff.
All of the eight republican congress
men from Minnesota voted for this
measure. They recognized in it a step
toward the practical operation of a
true tariff system. The present repre-
sentative for this district voted against
it.
He Would Get Off.
''If this is the way my opponent
stands on my platform, then L am re-
minded Of the story about the Irish
man who was riding the government
mule The mule became fractions, and
in kicking about finally caught its
foot in the stirrup. The Irishman
looked down at the mules foot in the
strrup and exclaimed We'll, begorrah.
/ if you're goin to git on OH git off,
| / will not be as petulant as the
! freshman about it, and shall feel con-
tented enough to stay on the platform.
It. is fattering to have platform
broad, enough to accumulate all broad
minded citizens, and l apprehend quite
an influx of fellows will come crowding
over on our. platform before election.
My democratic opponent voted
against the tariff commission. 1t was
like throwing dust in the eyes of
president Taft and n republican adj
ministration. 1t was but carrying out
the plan of democracy. to try to de-
feat republican measure.
"The American people today are
alert. Never in the history of the
world has there been parallel to the
practical application OF economic prin-
ciples existing in this country today.
One-half century ago we were but a
scattered and broken multitude of
communities with diverse interests,
conflicting opinions, and sectional jeal-
Ousies. Our national politics were
scintillatng and uncertain, our bust
ness enterprises were hazardous and
unstable, and the government was
vested in the hands of political parties
seeking to curry favor by depreciation
of depressed business conditions, or the
assumption of partisan credit for a
prevailing prosperity. 1t is but a brief
period ago when the universal custom
| of the campaign orator was to paint a
/ glowing word picture for his auditors.
He fioated the empty dinner pail, the
smokeless. chimneys, and the idle
wheels in the face of .he enemy, and
Wanted the full dinner pail, the roar
ing furnace, and the buzzing saw The
one talked of high prices and high
standard of living; the other of low
prices and the purchasing power of the
dollar. The one cried, give us pro-
tective duty on imports to protect
American wOrkingmen, and the other,
give us free trade with all foreign
countries, or tariff for revenue only.
"The significant part of it all was
that the empty dinner pail, the smoke
less chimneys, the idle wheels, and the
low prices were generally on the side
OF the apostles of thestarif Tor revenue
only, and the full pail and the roar
ing furnaces, and the buzzing saws.
and the high prices were the hand
maids of the apostles of tariff for
protection a-
"The historic fact is that the adj
ministration of James B. Buchanan,
and the first and second administers
tons of Cleveland, stand out in strik-
ing contrast to the administrations of
I Lincoln, Grant, Garfield, Mckinley and
+ Roosevelt. and it is undeniable that
this contrast has contributed to the
fortune of one political party, which
| today nninfc 10 I'D hn
fortune of party which obliterates
the past, and turns to the future with
glowing promises Of carrying out the
other party's politics better than it it.
self has done.
Present Day Conditions.
"The present day conditions admits
of no appeal to favoritism, or preiu-
/ STATE OF OHIO, City of Toledo, Lu.
| cas- COuntV-SS