The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1914-05-29

sives. 1853. In California in the
campaign of 1912 Taft received 81
GA; Roosevelt 2SS,610; Wilson
283,486. The latest registration
shows as follows: Republicans 1885,
769; Democrats 1888; third par
ty 127,7S5. In the seventh district
of New Jersey where they held an
election a few days ago the Repub-
lican candidate received 1O,62O
votes; Democrats $780, third party
$40.
"Now, in view of this pronounced
and unmistakable purpose of those
who voted the third party ticket to
ally themselves with the Republican
party. in view Of their determination
to support it's principle and its poll
cies, what Is the task before us? 1t
is unquestionably to make our party
equal to the tremendous prob
lens which now concern us. 1t is
our duty in otter words, In unmis-
taxable terms to make it clear that
tho Republican party is to be as it
was in it's best days a thoroughly
progressive party. We ought not to
assume for a moment or concede for
a moment that because the. party
bids fair to go back into power there
is going to be any compromise with
the forces which brought it near
it's ruin.
mo man living in this splendid
age, amid these exhilarating environ
ments, can afford to permit the cor
roding poison of pessimism to enter
his soul. But on the other hand,
the curse of our age. is that cold,
cruel, selfish, conservatism which
living in its ease and comfort, en-
joying wealth and all it brings, refus-
es to see or sympathize with the con-
ditions of those who in midst of
world of plenty are bordering on the
line Of hunger and misery, who re-
fuse to see the new conditions or the
new problems which must be met
and dealt with in the same spirit and
with the same courage and progress
iveness that our fathers met the
problems of their age. The great
and almost superhuman task, my
friends, is not the gathering of
wealth but it's fair and equitable
distribution.
ION the one hand, we have those
who defend monopoly, those who
have grown up with it and are enjoy
ing it's extorted comforts. They say,
we will erect some kind of a bureau
or tribunal and we will dole out to
labor and those who do not enjoy or
own monopolies whatever seems
right and proper. The heartless
irony of this scheme has been re-
corded time and time again in the
of the past. The result
has always been in the end to estab-
lish two classes of citizens. The prop
erty and government class, one-half
living in luxury and ease, the other
class circumscribed and tied down
by the iron bands of necessity. Att
the other and opposite end from the
are those who disbe-
lieve in our government, who disbe- |
lieve in our whole Industrial. system,
who disbelieve the basis upon which |
modern civilization has been built
up and would uproot and destroy
them. In the broad temperate zone
which lies between these extremes Is |
to be found the happiness and ulti-
mate prosperity of the human race,
where men are still free and oppor-
tunity is still open. What we need
in this hour is a party with the Wis
ion to see and the courage to exc
cute.
What we want in this country Is |
a party which will 90 the simple but
profound thing which Lincoln did
that Is, gather up the common
sense, the common honesty, the COM
mon patriotism; the common cour-
age and the common righteousness
of the common people of this coun-
try, and organize 1t into a militant, |
disciplined force for
legal and social justice, and do it all
under the constitution and laws of
this blessed old Republic.