The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1912-10-31
A REPUBLICAN OR A DEMOCRAT ?
WHICH?

Congressional District must choose a
man to represent them in Congress for
the coming two years This choice
from the very nature of things must be
made between Democrat and a Repub-
lican. One or the other of these will
represent US in the next Congress and
in deciding which it is to be we should
choose carefully. We should measure
the men and their ability to make good
as our representative both in the light
of their past records and in their pro-
misses for the future. But past records
must necessarily have the most to do
with our choice. What have these rec
ords been?
Mr.. Lewis the Democratic candidate,
seeks reelection after his one term in
Congress. He asks the voters of this
District to support him and to send him
back that he may continue to do as he
has done and may vote again against
their interests. Once a Republican,
then POpulist and now a Democrat he
has shown in the last several years that
he has strong socialistic leanings. He
has not been consistent with any one
party but failing to win recognition in
one he has fitfully turned to another and
asked for Office there. Altho lawyer
his long suit has been politics and he
has not been backward about asking
the people to keep him in office contin-
ually. He has even posed at times as
the original socialist" of this District
and has thus sought to win the votes Of
those who have espoused that cause.
1t would in truth be hard to sum up his
standing and TO tell just what his poll
ties are.
His record in Congress during the
past two years does not warrant Mr..
Lewis reelection now. He has said on
various occasions that he wishes the
duty taken entirely from wool and other
products of this District. He has vot-
ed with his Democratic brethren to
place all of our products on the free
list and to make our people compete
with those of other countries where the
wage scale compares very poorly, to
say the least, with ours and where the
standard of living is far beneath ours.
If Mr.. Lewis should have his way, as
eXemplified by his past record, every
thing that the people of this county
raise and have for sale would be made
to compete with similar products
brought in from Canada and other coun-
tries, and the price would be very much
lower than at the present time 1t
would soon drop to what it was during
the last administration of President
Cleveland and farmers would have a
hard job to find market for their pro-
ducts, instead of receiving the high
prices they are receiving today. Free
trade means that at least. But least he
be consistent, Mr.. Lewis turned about
during the past term OF Congress and
voted to place the things we must buy
on protective basis and asked that the
farmer be compelled to pay duty on his
machinery, his canned goods, and the
other things that he must of necessity
purchase here or abroad Your Con-
gresham thus caught you between the
two fences and did all that was in his
power to reduce the amount of your
profit and what you might be able to
save.
To cover it up, he has claimed all of
the credit for the recent Parcel Post
Bill and today is posing as the father of
this measure in this country. Recent
articles in this paper have shown you
that Mr.. Lewis introduced and fought
for bill that had as it's chief point the
purchase by the government of the ex-
press companies. Socialistic as his
scheme has been Mr.. Lewis wished the
government to lay out vast amount of
money to take over the express com
panies and establish system of Postal
Express. He did not favor a parcels
post bill. But his bill along with some
twenty others went into the waste bask-
eft and Senator BOnrne's bill was naSsed