The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1916-02-10


which has come to the American peo-
pie, in spite of the baneful effects Of
the Underwood free-trade tariff law,
is the subject of a powerful speech
recently delivered In the house of rep
resentatives by Hon. William f. Hum
phrey, of Washington. 1t is, said Mr..
Humphrey, a prosperity that Is meas
ured by the blood and shed
across the sea-" "a prosperity I,e8T-
ured by the tolls of life taken l'rs ,
the armies of Europe" In the =,
of his speech Representative : .
phrey said:
Our Battlefield PrOspe 'ity.
Every time a new gun is s''s (.
warning nations of Europe, or a ne,;
shell is manufactured for them, or
they give another order for an addi-
tional ton of powder, the secretary of
commerce, the official, suave prosper
ity "thimblerigger' of the administra-
ton, issues a cheerful official bulletin
that prosperity at last Is coming.
daughter on the Republican side.
He has issued these promising bulle-
tins with feverish frequency ever
since the Underwood law went upon
the statute books. Almost daily he
seeks to dispel the psychological"
gloom by declaring that business is
looking up 1t may be so, for bust
ness has been fiat on its back, gazing
at the stars, ever since this admins
tration went into power, wondering IL
1t will ever be able to stand erect
again. applause on the Republican
side)
If business Is improving it must
have been bad. If it Is looking up
now 1t must have been looking down.
Prosperity, SpasmOdic and Temporary.
What are the true conditions today :?
Does prosperity prevail? When / was
on the Pacific coast l was told that
things were very prosperous in the
east and middle west. When l was
In the middle west / was told that
business was very prosperous on the
TWO coasts. When / reached the At
lantic l was told that business was
very prosperous in the middle west
and on the Pacific. The fact about
1t Is that the country today is blessed
only with local, spotted, Temporary.
-spasmodic prosperity.
The Democratic party Is in ecstasies
over 1t, poor as 1t is, transient as it is,
coined from the greatest calamities as
It Is, for 1t is the only prosperity that
this nation ever saw under a Demo
cratic. administration. Perhaps the
Democrats are not to blame for claim
ing 1t. for they never had an oppor-
tunity to claim any kind of prosperity
before. Our present condition, COM
Ing from an unexpected and tragic
source, at time when the Democratic
party, in despair and gloom, was fac
Ing overwhelming defeat, has been a
piece of political good fortune that
has upset the Democratic mental equi-
librium. That party today is COM
pletely befuddled. They think that
the people can be deceived as to the
facts. The Democratic party today
reminds me of an incident of Klon-
dixie days
Because of His Great Mental
Capacity"
A day laborer went to that region of
promise and disappointment He work
ed with shovel. In the meantime
he staked claim that was considered
worthless. Like the Democratic par
ty, the sweet smile of accidental for
tune came upon him. His claim yield
ed half million dollars in gold. He
secured this sum and, unannounced to
friends or family, brought it to Seattle.
He found his wife working ut the
dashboard to support herself and
three grown daughters. He determin-
ed that lifes luxuries should no long
err be denied them. He bought new
dresses of latest fashion for mother
and the girls and a white parasol for
each, and thus arrayed, although 1t
was mid-winter, he ordered cab,
and the family enjoyed drive about
the city-an indulgence which they
had never before enjoyed or dreamed
of AS they drove about the city the
old gentleman sat on the drivers seat
and pompously smoked two cigars at
the same time. This was the first step
of the delusion brought by his good
fortune. Soon he became overcon-
WINGED that he had secured his fortune
solely because of his great mental ca
pacity and ability. and he was offend
ed that his financial genius was not
generally recognized.
Our Competitors Have Become Our
Customers.
The Democratic party is passing
through the first stage into the sec
ond. 1t Is now confident that this
temporary prosperity of misfortune is
due solely to its wonderful achieve
ments. The rest of the world knows
1t is entirely due to accident
The war in Europe has compelled
our competitors to become our best
customers. 1t has compelled them to
buy from us. 1t has compelled them
to stop selling to us. The price of
their existence has compelled them to
do this. Our trade has increased hut
little with any nation not at war. 1t
has decreased with most of them.
Our export trade has increased enor-
mously. but all that increase is meas
ured exactly by the increased sales
caused by the war.
We are selling today products to
Europe made necessary on account of
the war to the amount of $500, O0O. 900
a mOnth-$3. 900 100000 a year Every
forty days an amount sufficient to CON
struct the Panama canal No such f.
nancial fortune ever before came to
any nation Of earth. 1t is brought by
the accident and horrors of war. This
Is the basis-and the only basis-for
all our prosperity. such as it is today.