The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1912-10-25
LIGHT ON ANCIENT
PANIC ARGUMENT
History DGm0IiShGS Republican
Claim That Democrats Make
Hard Times. +
1893 WAS UNDER HIGH TARIFF
Every Panic Since the Civil War Has
Been a Republican Panic-Lessons
From 1907 Upheaval.

From 1907 Upheaval.
! The enemies Of Democracy are maxi
ing their anticipated and regularly re-
curing howl-they are predicting hard
times Il Woodrow Wilson is elected
president on a Democratic tariff revi- ]
sion platform. I
The Republicans are claiming all ,
credit for present prosperity.
A glance backward will he worth ]
while at this time.
Every panic since the civil war orig
mated and developed under Republic =
an rule
The Republican campaign textbook
of 1901 devoted much space to the
many business disasters occurring from
July, 1898, to November, 1894, intend
ing the public to attribute them to the
Inauguration of President Cleveland in
March, 1898. But the Republicans tail
to refer to the fact that the Republic
an tariff law was in force during more
than twelve of the sixteen months Of
greatest business disasters. This fact
must be remembered-the Mckinley
tariff bill became law Oct 8, 1890,
and the first indications of the 1898
panic were seen Nov. Il. 1890, scarcely
more than thirty days after the Nc
Kinley law was passed, and the panic
reached its worse stage in 1898 and
early in 1894. during which time the
Mckinley law was in full force.
Millions Lost Their Jobs.
1t may be recalled, too, that the
panic of 1878 under Republican rule
and in n period of twelve years Of high
tariff taxation, was most disastrous.
1t continued Eve years, 100000 work
ingmen were thrown out of employ
ment and bankruptcy ran riot
In 1890 the Mckinley high tariff bill
was passed. and there were 1868 fail
ures. followed by 1884 in 1891 The
tariff was raised to nearly so per cent,
but wages stood still or declined while
the cost of necessaries advanced.
The most serious labor troubles in
the history of the United States have
occurred under Republican high tariffs.
Some Lessons From 1907.
The Republican panic of 1907 fur
uished another forceful refutation of
the Republican claim that Democratic
administration and hard times, lower
tariffs and panics have been cock
isting.
In 1907 in the midst of prosperity,
thousands of leading banks, with hum
/ dreds of millions on deposit, suspended
cash payments. The trouble began as
/ a result of n struggle between great
! New York financial institutions for bus
| mess.
The New York Post in October, 1907,
said:
Condemn Themselves.
"The certain and significant thing is
| that it will be known as a Republican
and high tariff panic. Protest as Re-
publicans may. they will be held re-
sponsible Out of their own mouths
the Republican party and the Dingley-
ties will stand condemned. They fixed
in 1896 the standard by which they
cannot escape being judged. In the
party platform of that year they refer
red to the panic of 1898, and the hard
times following, squarely to charge up
the entire accountability to the party
in control of the national government,
and the political inference was stated
with merciless logic:
Every consideration of public safe
ty and individual interest demands that
j the government be rescued from the
hands of those who have shown them
selves incapable of conducting it.
Now, what are the Republicans GO
ing to do when the Democrats hand
them back their poisoned chalice?
A great emergency has come
and the high tariff is seen to be Of no
avail whatever 1t was to keep us all
rich and prosperous
Because the country has just got
over the results of a Republican panic
the president and his friends are urging
us to perpetuate the Republican admin
istration.' says the Philadelphia Rec
ord.
Business Depression.
''As soon as business was checked
five years ago the steel corporation,
which was encouraged by Mr.. Roose-
welt to swallow the Tennessee con-
Germ, then its 'most formidable poten-
tia competitor, drew its fires and
threw about half its workmen out of
employment. Other industries did much
the same thing. There was an
extensive stoppage of mills in Phila-
delphia
'The Republican candidate for con-
gress in the Kensington Richmond dis
trict is using the soup houses Of 1899
as means of soaring the wage earners
from voting the Democratic ticket.
Those soup houses existed under the
Mckinley tariff. But there have been
more recent ones After 1907 there
were soup houses in the Kensington
Richmond district, and everybody who
was charitaby disposed was begged
for contributions to feed the people
who were out Of employment