The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1915-01-14
POLITICAL TALK
By PRES. WILSON
oom6s oe The fhlnas He Said az
lndlanapolle List Friday
IN his JACKSON DAY SPEECH

in his JACKSON DAY SPEECH
FIRot Purely Political Speeoh He
nas Made Since He Became
preeident
President Wilson. as the jack
son Day Orator at Indianapolis
last Friday. delivered his first po-
litical speech since he became
president, and it bristles with
strong points all the way through.
The Times has space to- print on
II q few Of them. as follows:
hlts the Republicans
"The trouble with the Republi-
new new es for q 'asi thrty y 9es gssrs o' nao
clan. I am speaki-e as an histor-
in the records and have not
Republican ranks. They have had
leaders from time to tirne who
suggested new ideas. but they
never did anything to carry them
out.
1.-THE Republican Party is still
q covert and refuge for those who
are afraid. for those who want to
consult their grandfathers about
everything. You will notice that
most of the advice taken by the
Republican Party is taken from
gentlemen old enough to be
grandfathers.
Power Of Independent Voters
''My friends. what l particular
ly want you to observe is this:
That politics in this country does
not depend any longer upon the
regular members of either party.
There are not enough regular Re-
publicans in this country to take
and hold national power: and I
must Immediately add there are
not enough regular Democrats in
this country to do it either.
This country is guided and it's
policy is determined by the inde-
pendent voters and l have come
to ask you how we best can prove
to the independent voter that the
instrument he needs is the Dem
Ocratic party and that it would be
hopeless for him to attempt to
have to prove it. admit it.
What" seems to me perfectly
evident is this. that if you made a
rough reckoning you would have
to admit that only about one
third of the Republican Party is
progressive and you would also
have td admit that about two
thirds of the Democratic Party is
Progressive. Therefore the inde-
pendent progressive voter finds a
great deal more company in the
Democratic ranks than in the Re-
publican ranks. I say great deal
more. because there are Demo-
Gratis who are holding back. There
are Democrats who are nervous.
I dare say they were born with
that temperament. And I respect
the conservative temper.
II claim to be an animated,
conservative myself: because be-
ing a conservative l understand
to mean a man not only who pre-
serves what is best in the nation,
but who sees that in order to pre-
serve it you dare not stand still,
but must move forward. For the
virtue Of America is not statical,
it is dynamic. The forces of Am
erica are forces i'm action, or else
they are forces of inertia.
Tho Democratic Party
what l want to point out to
you. and believe this is what the
whole country is beginning to
perceive is this: There is larger
body of men in the regular ranks
OF the Democratic Party who be-
lieve in the progressive policies
OF our day and mean to see them
carried forward and perpetuated
than there is in the ranks of the
Republican Party. How can it be
otherwise. gentlemen? The Dem
ocratic Party, and only the Demo-
ocratic Party, has carried out the
policies which. the progressive
people of this country have de-
sired. There is not a single great
act of this present great Congress
which has not been carried out in
obedience to the public opinion of
America. and the public opinion
of America is not going to per-
NIT any body of men to go back
wards with regard to these great
matters.
No Money Strlngency
Let me instance a single
thing: want to ask the business
men here present. if. this is not
the first January in their srecol-
lection that did not bring money
stringency for the time being.
because of the necessity of pay
ing out great sums of money by
ways of dividends and the other
settlements which come: at the
first Of the year? I have asked the
business men of this country
if that happened this year and
they say: No it did not happen sit
could not happen; under the Fed
eral Reserve Act. We have eman-l
cipated the credits of the coun-
try. Is there ANYBODY here who
will doubt that the other; policies
have given guarantee to this
country that there will be free
competition and policies which
this country will never allow toi
be reversed?