The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1912-10-19
Viii 1892 Be Repeated?

49,
ing sentiment in business circles
against change either in policy or in
administration.
IT Is recalled that when President
Taft entered the White House three
ami half years ago. Gays the Saginaw
Courier Herald. the business Of the
county was depressed and discouraged,
with thousands Of idle men and with
capital shrinking from investment ;and
il is noted that from the very begin
ming of the Taft administration tide of
business activity has been rising until
il is now at full flood Just how full
the flood. had striking evidence in
Chicago last week when the Tribune,
which is not supporting President
Taft published an editorial article
boasting that the preceding days issue
OF that paper contained thirty columns
OF help wanted" advertisements
showing Il brisk demand for labor of
every sort. trained and unframed, men
and women. OLD and young
What possible business advantage
could be gained by a changer is the
question that is heard on every side
and to which the opponents of the al.
ministration can find no convincing
answer.
The only thing they can say is that
the business Of the country is too big
and prosperous 10 be halted by any pc.
litical condition or consideration. But
there are those who remember that the
same thing was said in the campaign
OF 1852. In that campaign as in this
| the industrial activity of the nation
was at high tide. labor was fully en-
ployed farmers had good crops for
which they were getting bigh prices.
and the Democrats jeered at the idea
that the defeat Of Harrison would
change these conditions, just as they
jeer now at the suggestion that the de
feat of Taft may alter existing condi.
tions.
But the very moment it became
known that Harrison had been defeated
business began TO slacken II was
known that Just as soon as the Demo-
cratic administration could get the
reins of power into its hands, the tariff
would be revised. And SO, although it
was more than year until the new
tariff law was finally enacted, the fear
OF IT, the certainty that il would write
radical changes into the tariff schedules
spread pail of uncertainty over all
business operations. Manufacturers
limited their output TO immediate or
ders because they did not dare to fill
their warehouses with goods which
might be brought into competition q
few mouths later with similar products
from European factories made under
European conditions jobbers and
wholesalers bought only TO I'LL their
current demands and retailers Kept
their stocks at the lowest stage possible
that they might not be overloaded
with high priced goods when the ex-
pected influx Of cheap products should
come.
The result of all this retrenchment
was that railroad traffic fell off so that
practically every railroad went into
the hands of receivers, borrowers were
unable to meet their obligations SO that
banks were forced TO close by the hun
dred, labor was thrown out of employ
ment, the price of farm products dc
clined, and within six months from the
day when Democratic orators were dc.
claIng thar no matter how the election
went the business of the country would
boom rignt along, we were in the grip
Of the most deadly panic the country
had known in half n century, Who il
bold enough TO Say that the industrial
history Of 1892 would not be repeated
in 1912 if the political history of that
campaign were duplicated in this
Now, as then, Democratic victory
would mean the revision of the tariff
along non protection lines. Such revi.
sion has never yet occurred in this
country without bringing iuore or less
industrial depression in its train. What
reason is II ere TO believe that history
would reverse itseltA
That. in briefest possible summary,
is the line along which men are think.
ing who want to keep on doing bust.
ness for the next four years, or who
want to sell their tarm products at a
profit. And that is the reason the drift
toward the Republicans party is grow
ing day by day more steadily pronoun.