The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1916-09-14
HON. CHARLES SUMNER BIRD.
Former Leader of the Progressive Party in
Massachusetts,, Calls on Progressives to
Support Hughes.

In speech at Skowhegan last week
Hon. Charles Sumner Bird asserted that
the Progressive party as a national or
ganlzation was dead and appealed to
former Progresslves to support the Re-
publican presidential candidate, Charles
E. Hughes.
Il am for Hughes" he said mot
merely because | am opposed TO Wilson.
out because Hughes, by his past record
ana his recent public utterances, is en-
TITLED to the support of all voters who
| dlStruSt Wilson and southern democracy
Above all, and In striking contrast to
President Wilson, Hughes is patriot
Il am opposed to Wilson because | be-
lleve his administration has been dis
NAL failure, DO in foreign and domes-
tic affairs. | agree that he has forced
through Congress some legislation for
which he deserves credit, but as an exc
cutlve, as leader of thought. as man
of action, positive and direct, he has fail
ed. His foreign policy in Mexico and
Europe has been marked by vacilation,
hesitation, inaction
For the first time in our history an
american president has failed to recog-
nlze what our fathers taught, that the
first duty of a nation is to protect its cit
liens in every part of the world. 1t is
said: He has kept US out of war; Yes,
but at what sacrifice of honor and self
respect.
| Cleveland kept US out of war and with
1t all saved our name and standing among
the nations of the world. Roosevelt
kept Us out of war-at one time with
England, at another time with Germany
in both instances without insult to our
| flag, and in each case preserving friend
ship and respect.
And now a word about Wilson and
business. In 1912 before Wilson was
elected, the business of New England was
healthy and prosperous. When, how
ever, it became known that the govern
ment had passed into the hands of south
ern Democrats and that Bryan, Daniels
and men of their type had become the
chosen advisors of the President, COM
merce and trade began to lag and the
line of unemployed to lengthen. After
the Republican party split and Wilson
was elected" Mr.. Bird continued, "he
began to attack business 10 smash big
units of production into small competing
units "a rulnOus policy long ago discard
ed by all the big individual countries of
the world. If We are to compete sue
cessfully with the worlds trade we must
encourage large units of production as
they are encouraged in other countries.
He dissolved the tobacco trust, the
telephone from the telegraph company
and smashed the Harvester trust. Has
in the meantime the price of tobacco or
farm machinery been lowered?"
In 1914, less than two years after Will
son was elected a panic was upon US.
Capital became frightened. The price
of labor fell. Soup kitchens were start
ed and four million respondent men and
women walked the streets searching for
work. That was the ansW er to Wilson's
boast that the Democratic party had
lifted human labor from the category of
commodities. In less than two years it
made labor a useless commodity for
which there was no demand.
Does the wage today, the wage that
comes largely from blood, murder and