Evening star., 1936-10-22
THE POLITICAL
MILL
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.


close, many parallels are found with the
campaign of 1896. William Jennings
Bryan, the new dealer of that day, was
a great campaigner, a great orator, an
easy money man. He had the backing
of the Populist party as well as the
backing of the Democratic organization.
He made his appeal to the farmer and
to the laborer and attacked big business.
He was opposed by the quiet-Spoken
William B. Mckinley of Ohio.
Today. Franklin D. Roosevelt, another
great campaigner and speaker par ex-
Cellence, Is the Democratic candidate.
He has the backing of the Farmer
Labor party in Minnesota, the Progress
sive party in Wisconsin,, which have
many of the characteristics of the
peoples party-the Populists-of 1896.
In addition he has the backing of other
more radical groups among the elec-
torate. He is seeking particularly the
support of labor and of the farmer. His
gold and silver policies more nearly
approach those of Bryan than any other
presidential candidate of either of the
major parties. And he is opposed by
another quiet-spoken man, Gov. ALI M.
Landon of Kansas.
y
In the campaign of 1896 Bryan drew
enormous crowds. Roosevelt is doing the
same thing. Bryan had opposed to him
the old Cleveland Democrats, the So
called gold Democrats, who put a sepa-
rate Democratic candidate in the field,
Palmer by name. Roosevelt has against
him old line Democrats who supported
John w. Davis and AL Smith when they
were presidential candidates in 1924 and
1923. Both Smith and Davis are on the
stump against Roosevelt Several anti
Roosevelt Democratic organizations are
in the field. And as in 1896, business men
generally were fighting the election of
Bryan, so today they are fighting the
reelection of Roosevelt.
The campaign Of 1896 was fought out
on the gold issue, with the protective
tariff as McKinley's real love- In those
days the business men of the country
saw control slipping away from them.
Today the business men see that control
has already gone from them and they
are trying to regain it in some measure
They are backing Landon on the ground
that Roosevelt is out to regiment business
and place it under Government control.
if not in Government ownership and
operation.
In 1895 the country was recovering
from the depression of 1893, Mckinley
and his hackers were able to persuade the
workers that they would be better of
under Republican rule and strong pro-
tectiye tariff, insuring them the full
dinner pail" Today Landon and his
hackers are telling the workers that they
will improve their condition If the Re-
publican party is put back into the
saddle and business is given free rein,
making for more and better paying
jobs. And today the country is recovering
from the depression of 1929 and the years
following.
There is still an enormous number OF
workers out of employment with esti-
mates putting the number at around
100000. The Roosevelt adminiStra-
ton has put those out Of work on the
dole, either direct relief or work relief
rolls. With the return of more normal
conditions, thousands of men and
women have gone back to work in pri-
vate industry. In some Of the indus
tries things are actually booming. The
steel workers have jobs back and they
are making good money. There Is more
employment in the gold and silver mines
mobile industry.
The Republicans are trying to per-
suade the workers that there is no future
in relief payments from the Government.
They are attacking the Roosevelt social
security act, which will take from the
workers pay envelopes per cent of their
Mani, nxrt ynvr yaI vx-i1I
bring the contribution later up to per
cent. They paint the social security act
as an enormity rather than blessing,
| pointing out that workers will pay into
the Federal Treasury, in what amounts
| to pay roll tax, much greater amount
| during their working years than they will
| ever receive from the Government in
the way of pensions after they are IS
| years of age, except in the case of those
| workers who already are approaching
| that age. If the payments by the work
ers had begun last July /, instead Of
| waiting until next January. the New
Dealers might find themselves today in
much worse case than they are. The
| workers have not yet felt the pinch Of
that tax.
The attack by the Republicans on the
pay roll tax for the social security act is
making itself felt among the workers.
The workers do not relish the idea Of q
| compulsory tax on their wages. And
| when 1t Is explained to them that the
| employers must pay first per cent tax
| and later per cent tax for the eld-
age pensions, and on top of that q
per cent tax for unemployment insur-
ance, the whole tax rises to 8 per cent
on the pay rolls. The question arises
whether the employers and the employees
| of private business can afford any
such tax, on top of the State and Federal
taxes already exacted, and continue to
do business without very great increase
in prices of products which the people
| must buy.
| In 1896 the big States of the East, plus
the populous States of the Middle West,
defeated Bryan. It is upon the East and
| the Middle West that Landon and the
| Republicans are relying today to defeat
the Roosevelt New Deal administration.
Forty years ago Mckinley carried Iowa,
| Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Minne-
sofa, Wisconsin, all States with the pos
sible exception of Wisconsin, upon which
John Hamilton, the Republican national
chairman, is banking today to put Lam
don across the line winner. Bryan, on
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