The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-02-23
Democratic Love Feast Closes
With Banquet.
EX-G0v. C. s. Thomas, of Colo
rado, Makes Hit.
WAS WE'LL RECEIVED.
His Speech a Masterpiece of
Logic.
Young Democrats Give Good Ac-
count of Themselves.

In points of attendance, interest and
harmony the Democratic annual BAN
quet held at the Masonic hall last night
was one grand success. Over 500 guests
sat at the tables and listened to the fine
music and the trumpet call of the
orators. The feature of the banquet
was the address by Ex-Governor C. S.
Thomas of Colorado. He ranks with
the first flight of the orators of the
country. He is radical of the most
pronounced type, but he does not tear
his hair nor rant and rave. Imagine an
aristocratic looking man with gray
mustache. thin face and quiet manner
who breaches crusade against the
classes in the most scholarly and elo-
quent language. He mixed his meta
phor and logic and funny stories in
equal doses and held his audience in
the hollow Of his hand. Governor
Thomas had no prepared speech. He
spoke from brief notes made on the
train while en- route to Topeka. He
said in part, speaking from the subject,
The Problem of High Prices"
The Democrats have come to be
called the enemies of wealth and prop
erty. 1t is not SO. They have gained
this title by fighting the battles of the
people; by trying to make certain cor
porations be decent. That pleasant and
l.
declared that the tariff was revised
downward. So it was They cut
the duty on refined sugar one-fourth of
a cent per pound; If the president will
will have saved a dollar.
The Cost of Living.
Il thank God for the raise in prices
| over those that prevailed in the hard
| times of the early nineties. But there
| is limit to all things. A reasonable
Il Tor nd
the cost of living of 80 per cent from
1896 to 1910 is nothing short of a menace
when one considers that wages have
only increased rs per cent in the same
period. This is the most sinister phase
that confronts the wage Garner today.
Food we must have. and clothes. These
i conditions became so insistent early in
| the year that congress paused in it's
work OF regulating. the corporations
I long enough to appoint committee to
| investigate the reasons for the exorbi-
tant prices of all necessities.
"The Republicans tell us that the
supply is short Yet the secretary of
agriculture in his last report declared
that the crops of 1909 broke all rec
ords in volume. Either the Repub-
licans are wrong or the secretary of
! agriculture has given out false fig
ures. / will tell you where the most
of the bumper crop of 1909 is being
kept safe from the hands of the peo-
pie, it is being kept in the refrigera-
! tors of the country by trusts who fat
ten on human misery-trusts that
gamble on staple food products
! THE increased cost of living is due
to protection, but not altogether to
tariff protection, rather to the pro-
! lection afforded in a hundred other
ways by a friendly set of government
| officials and legislators to the big in
terests and combinations. Modern
| business combinations are founded
on debt. The corporations of this
/ ~ frxy n re of mil
of dollars and half of this immense
sum represents absolutely fictitious
| values
Here Mrt. Thomas told the story of
| the steel trust, the sugar and Stand
ard Oil trusts and other big corpora
| tions of the country. 1t sounded like
one of the Arabian Nights tales Of
enchantment and splendor- He de-
pervade the hearts of the people
at this time should be the desire to
control these corporations before
they got beyond the bounds of control
/ He pointed out the dangers that arise
when the individual or group of in
dividuals become stronger than the
| government.
He closed his mastery address
with this prophetic utterance: In
the end justice will prevail, and right
and decency find their own level.
Fraud may flourish for a time, and
the wealthy classes multiply their
dividends. But there will come an
adjustment. This republic is the last
4 ity of mankind. If the trial fails here
in spite of the safeguards of our
fathers who fed Europe seeking lib
/ erty there can be no other chance to
try again. But it will not fail here.
1 am not a pessimist. 1 believe that
the wrongs of the people shall be
righted. BY resolutions, I hope. and
legislation. But they will be righted.
Governments have been overthrown
and dynasties have perished in order
that justice might prevail in the end
We have the ballot for a weapon In
place of the sword"
| C. F. Foley, president of the club
and toastmaster of the evening, deliv-
cred the opening address. His speech
Twas full of cutting logic. He told of
the claims and pretensions of the Re-
publican administration and showed
. the part played by the Democrats In
placing all the reform laws on the
statute books.
Richard Higgins of Kansas City
spoke from the subject, "Young Dem
ocrats,'' as follows:
"By young Democracy 1 mean not
only the young men. members OF the
present Democratic party. but all men.
Irrespective of party, who realize the
injustice of certain phases of our gov
ernment-I care not whether they are
called Democrats, Insurgents or Mug
, wumps. The young Democracy OF to-
l day is broader than the party lines OF
: any of the old parties. and its triumph
is as certain as its existence. for its
principles are as right as truth can be
right
| Rurt r Brown Of Lawrence. speak
ing of a democrats Duty, said: