Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1913-04-03

Hon. Gerrit ]. Diekema regretted
that he had been unable to fulfill his
engagement to speak on the 2Sth, but
as they had waited SO patiently he
would do what he could on the Goth.
The Republican party had always
been a party of courage. The Am
erican liked courage. Not brute
courage, but high moral courage The
Republicans had this courage when
they fought the civil war, when they
issued the Greenback, when they rel
egated the Greenback to the scrap
heap and declared for specie payment
to establish credit when in the face
of Coins Financial School when rea-
son had been almost overthrown by
Coins arguments they declared for
a single gold standard; and they
showed the most desperate courage
when they went down to defeat
rather than give up principle. Any
political party that holds the conf
dence OF the people must make good
in actual accomplishment and the Re-
publican party has held the conf
dence of the people for over half a
century as the most progressive party
only could do. While they may not
always have been as fast as they
should have been their faces were
always right and looking toward the
hilltops of progress.
Remember, motion does not always
indicate progress and speed may not
necessarily be in the right direction,
but real progress is persistence in
the right direction. An avalanche
moves down a mountain side and not
up even though it bears an Excelsior
sign stuck in some snowbank. Mr..
Diekema summed up the financial
and trade conditions with agricul-
tural reports and men employed at
good wages as a result OF Republican
administration. The past election
had not demonstrated a hocking to
Democratic standards but rather an
idea that President Taft represented
the interests" for which the press
and the magazines of the country
were responsible These facts assert
ed by a most popular man and a
skilled leader of revolt led the Am
erican people to belttle the name
of Taft The Republicans had held
power a long time and Instruction
was pecessity. OF the future he
assured his hearers that the party
was not hopelessly divided, that a
compromise on leaders could be eff
fected that methods which had done
harm in Michigan and elsewhere
should be abolished. that the prnci-
pie Of protection of home industries
should rule patriotic citizens and
keeping the American boy and girl
in. school could not be done on Eu
ropean wages, therefore as these
principles were the corner stone of
representative government we must
not sacrifice what the Republican
party has given us for so many years.
Our forefathers recognized three dis
tinct departments of government and
embodied in our constitution the
clause, that these three = Executive.
Legislative and Judicial - should be
independent of one another. But
how soon we forget! read an edit
orial today stating that President
Wilson expected to assume control
of all tariff legislation and dictate the
changes which should be made by
congress. In other words, the execu-
tive is to assume control of the leg
islative and judicial departments, and
| warn you the liberties Of the peo-
pie have never been lost through the
legislative or judicial departments but
always when the executive controls
the other two. and | say tonight that
though our relations have been
strained we must not let them break
for the country needs right now the
services OF reunited party that
stands for the higher ideals and is
faithful to foundation principles.