, 1922-10-15
Their Record a Nemesis

~ IS AMUSING these strenuous DAVIS of cam.
L ~paigning TO observe the Democratic party flee
from its record as something unclean and ~pestilen-
ttal. Not only do they seek to eyade and disown
record but they would if they could. blame
their blunders and foIlies on the Republican party.
The policies and the history made under them DIR
ing the Wilson regime have no popularity now. if
they ever had and il is to get away from these re-
doctrines that is keeping them busy now.
At their state convention held in Connecticut the
other day under the leadership of Homer Cum
mings, former Democratic national chairman, one
of the paragraphs of their platform read:
I'VE charge that the Industrial depression which
began shortly after the inauguration of President
Harding was due to the cutting off of our foreign
markets"
The industrial depression to which this platform
referred was in full bloom when Mr.. Harding was
inaugurated and the Republican party took charge
of the government, This depression began in the
carly SIMMER of 1920 due to the cumulative re-
suit Of Democratic policies such as restriction of
credits which struggled industry: the menace of in.
creasing imports under free trade; the tremen.
douse increase in immigration. adding ~ the mum.
her of men seeking work; and a number of ether
factors.
That there is no doubt of this, let the record be
cited. The newspaper columns of the early sum.
mer of 1920 were filled with accounts of factories
being closed or their forces being radically reduced.
Samuel Gompers issued several statements in
the summer and fall of 1920 deploring the idleness
of hundreds of thousands of workers. In November
1920, the unemployment situation become so critical
that the executive council of the American Fedora.
ton of Labor held a special session to consider
ways and means of relieving condition. In many of
the industrial centers local relief measures we're
taken in the fall and winter of 1920 to feed the un-
employed.
On December rs, 1920, the United States Employ.
ment Service bureau of the department of labor,
then under Democratic administration, gaze out
a statement estimating that 100000 workers ordi-
narily employed were out of n Job.
On January 6, 1921 the Plumb Plan League. com.
posed of A. T. of /. affiliated unions and the rail
road brotherhoods, issued a formal statement to
the effect that 2,35O,000 men ordinarily employed
were then out of a job.
On April %, 1921, six week after President Hard.
ings inauguration Mr.. Gompers issued a public
that the number of unemployed at that
time was 5000, 900.
These facts utterly dispose of the charge that the
industrial depression did not begin until after the
inauguration of President Harding.
The second part of the above charge in the Demo.
cratic state platform of Connecticut is that our for
eign markets were cut off by the Republican party
The refutation of that is found in the reports of the
department of commerce No one would take the
war period as normal because during that period
production of everything except war material had
practically stopped in all European countries. The
United States was practically keeping the whole
world by food and materials 1t exported. Because
of that fact our exports during the world war were
phenomenal. Going back to the pre-var period OF
our commerce, we find that in 1912, the year Presi-
dent Wilson was elected, our foreign exports to
the worlds markets amounted to s2,204, OO0, 900. In
1913 they amounted to 50. 465, 600 900. In 1914 they
amounted to $2,364,000,000 .
On August 1, 1914, the European war began and
from the time on our exports jumped TO unheard
of figures.
Coming to the Harding administration, we find
that for the II months ending June 30. 1922. our
exports were So, 770,000,00O, or over 1,300, 100000
greater than they we're during the greatest export
year OF the pre-war period under President Wilson.
This effectually disposes of the charge that the
Harding administration cut off our foreign mar
kets.