- fc,r;.s,'V'W"
THE SCRANTON TRIBUNE-MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1900.
I
i
I.tVY S. IHCItAHD, Editor.
0. V. DV.XBEK, nulness Manager.
New York Oltlcc! 1 KMi S,.IXAm
Bole Agent tor ForelimJYCrtW'lfr.
Entered it tho rotofllce at Scranton, Vi M
Second-Class Mall MaUcr.
When space will permit, The Tribune Js always
Blad to print short lcttcri from Its friends be",
in? on current topics, but Its rule Is that Uie
mut bo signed, lor publication, by the tilers
real name: and the condition precedent to no
ceptance Is that alt contributions shall ba sub
ject to editorial rcvNIon.
SCRANTON, OCTOBER. 15, 1900.
REPUBLICAN NOMINATIONS.
National.
Prcstdent-W!LT.IAM MeKW.BY.
Vico-lTcsldent-TIIKODOIlE HOOSn CIjT.
State.
Comrresfimcn-at-Large - OAI.USIIA A. OnOW,
noDEUT ii. FonnnKiiRn.
Auditor dcncral-E. I). HAKDEMJnnOH.
County.
Congrcss-WIIXIAM COSSEMj.
Judgo-UXORGE M. WATSON.
ShcrllT-JOlIX II. FELLOWS.
Trcasurcr-J. A. SCRANTON. .,,
District Atorncy-WII.LIAM It. LEWIS.
Prothonotary-JOIIN COPELAND.
Clerk of Courts-THOMAS P. DASILLS.
Ilcccrdor of Deeds EMIIi BONN.
Itegister of ttllla-W. K. DECK. ..,
Jury Commlssloner-KUWAltD B. STUBGES.
Legislature.
First Dlitrlct-TIIOMAS J. REYNOLDS.
Second Dlstrlct-JOHN SCHIUIKlt. .IB.
Third Distrlct-EDWAItD JAMES, JR.
Fourth DUtrict-P. A. PHILBIN.
"If there is any one -who believes
the gold standard is a good thing,
or that it must be maintained, I
warn him not to cast his vote for
me, because I promise him it will
not be maintained in this country
longer than I am able to get rid of
it." Wiliom Jennings Bryan in a
Speech at Knoxville, Terra., Deliv
ered Sept. 16, 1896.
"The party stands where it did in
1896 on the money question." Will
iam Jennings Bryan, Zanesville, O.,
September 4, lOuO.
In the Light of Reason.
THAT INTERESTING chroni
cler on political topics,
"Roderick Random," on
several occasions has ex
pressed tho opinion that the strike con
ditions are favorable to Mr. Conry'a
candidacy for congress. This belief Is
concurred in by a number of Mr. Con
ry's friends. It is worthy of examin
ation. In his speeches to the citizens of our
county up to Saturday night they
numbered sixty-three the Democratic,
nominee for congress frankly states
his purpose If elected to stand with
his party. This is creditable to his
party fealty and we make mention of
it in no spirit of personal criticism;
but It is important that tho voters
should realize what standing with the
Democratic party means. The only
way to find out is to sos what it has
meant in the past.
First of all, history teaches us that
it means a low tariff or approximate
free trade. In 1891 It meant the Wilson
bill, which William Jennings Bryan,
Mr. Conry's patron saint, helped to
frame. How did the Wilson bill affect
the people of Lackawanna county?
The production of coal in 1S94, the
year in which low tariff was enacted,
fell to 170,000,000 tons as against 182,
000,000 In the preceding year, and the
value of tho product fell from $203,
000,000 in 1S93 to $13(5,000,000 in 1S94, a
loss in a single year of $22,000,000 in
this one article in which labor forms
so important a part of Its value. In
1891, under protection and tho activ
ity of the great industries of the coun
try, tho average number of days In
which the men in the coal mines of the
United States were employed was 223.
In 1893, the year in which a low-tnrlff
president and congress came into
power, the number of days in which
the miners were employed dropped to
01, and In 1894 dropped again to 18,
while in 1S97, tho last yeur of the Wil
son tariff, the number was but 179,
a reduction of 20 per cent, in the time
Jn which they were employed as com
pared with 1891. These are tho fig
ures for tho country at large, Includ
ing both soft and haul coal mining.
TJielr accuracy is beyond dispute, but
every miner has In hand or in memory
Ills own pay checks during the free
trade slump. Lot him compare them
with his present prospects of full time
with a ten per cent. Increase and then
decide whether, simply because Mr.
Connell is a coal operator, whllo Mr.
Conry Is not, ho wants to send to
represent him In congress a man
pledged in advance to stand with his
party, even though his party should
declare for free trade,
But while, Mr. Conry does not say
much about tho tariff question, he Is
outspoken for free silver. His elec
tion would mean a vote changed In
congress from the gold standard, un
der which there lias bqen four years
of extraordinary prosperity that min
cers are about to share, to tho silver
.standard, which wouU cut In two tho
minora' wages and woveq than that,
cause such a tear-up In business con
ditions that the market for coal of all
kinds would bo upset and full time In
tho mines becomes an Impossibility,
The 'fuct 'that Mr, Connell ,1s an em
ployer of labor, whlla his Democratic
competitor Is not; the fact that Mr,
Connell Is reputed rich, while Mr,
Conry Is exploited as young and poor;
all these side Issues relating to the
personal clrcumstuns;s of tho candi
dates are unimportant compared with
tho broad consequences at stake In
tho differing national policies which
they represent. The majority of the
miners In oup county are Republl
cuns'from principle and men who want
to bee tho whajo nation respected and
prosperous. They, therefore, will not
bo ltl by preludlce Into a mistaken
alliance with tlu unsafe Democracy,
wl.ic't wants to undo all that construe
live Riub1l(on legislation has elonn
fort 'he expansion tot our natlontil
credit, prestige and ueallh.
Jn off years It ptay do to let friend
ship or prejudice pull you over the
party line, although It is always Oi
doubtful policy; but In presidential
wise Republican vote3
Fair piny for John Mitchell. At the
beginning of tho Into unpleasantness
distorted opinions of him prevailed on
both sides. By many of the operator
he was considered nn unscrupulous
agitator and by many of the strikers
almost a god. Now most men who are
free from prejudice recognize him as
ho Is a cool, shrewd and honest man,
capable of taking good advice and nble
both to form opinions and to stick to
them. Whether "recognized" or not,
ho has won a notable victory, and no
Just man will begrudge him due credit.
Coats off for Victory.
N
OW THAT the all-absorbing
strike has practically ended
In a substantial gain for the
dclvcrs In our mines, Insur
ing nn early recovery of strike losses
and a wage disbursement yearly aggre
gating larger by several million dol
lars than before, the time Is ripe for
a vigorous onrush to Republican vlc
toryat the Novembsr polls.
To hold what they have won, the
miners need Republican triumph, for
history teaches that Democratic suc
cess Invariably is followed by falllifg
wages and dull tlme3. McKlnley re
elected, with n congress to match,
means our currency safe from attack,
our flag respected and confidence so
general that business will continue to
thrive; but Bryan in the white house
and a Democratic majority in con
gress, mean tariffs ripped to pieces,
currency agitation renewed and the
whole structure of our present splen
did national prosperity undermined
and caved in. i
It is for the laboring men of Lacka
wanna county in part to pass) on this
vital question of national welfare or
adversity. In a fight of their own for
better wages, a fight conducted with
great skill by leaders who have shown
ability of a high order and who are
triumphant for the first time In the
history of general mine strikes, they
have established a new foundation for
their personal prosperity. But as men
of Judgment they must appreciate that
to vote to hazzard the general pros
perity would inevitably put in Jeop
ardy their own. Good time In the
mines necessitates good times else
where. The better tho times through
out the country the more coal burned
and the more coal mined. To got not
only more pay per day, but also more
days per month Is the mine workers'
aim, and this is not to be furthered by
taking chances with the Democratic
party.
If It is to the miner's iutorest to sus
tain the national policies of the Re
publican party, by the same token it
Is to his Interest to uphold Republican
Ism In local affairs. Party organiza
tion exists in national affairs by vir
tue of local support. It Is like the
great river fed by Innumerable small
streams. The cutting 6Tf of one tribu
tary might not seem important, but
If applied to all tributaries there would
be no river. In Lackawanna county
this year the Republican local ticket
Is, fortunately, well calculated to In
vite the harmonious support of all Re
publicans. Nom!nat2d fairly by direct
vote at open primaries, it combines all
factions, sections and racial constitu
encies, nnd in personal quality com
pares favorably with any ticket named
In years. Let every Republican, there
fore, in these llnal three weeks take off
his coat for the whole ticket and help
to bring it in a winner with a Garri
son finish.
Tho way to carry Lackawanna coun
ty by a splendid plurality for the
whole excellent Republican tlcltet Is to
get out during these three lust weeeks
nnd hustle incessantly.
The Convention's Work.
P'
RUDENCE AND wisdom con
trolled the deliberations of
the miners' convention nnd
the result Is highly gratify
ing to tho overwhelming public opin
ion In favor of nn Immediate settlement
of the strike. Tho minor conditions
attached to acceptance of the prof
fered ten per cent. Increase present,
so far as wo can see, no serious ob
stacles to u prompt resumption of
work. That the Increase would In any
event, whother t.o stipulated or not,
hold good until next spring is a faci
apparent to nil familiar with business
methods. It Is the period of maximum
activity in tho mines; tho strike has
Intensified the public's appreciation of
anthracite coal; thoro promises to bo
an energetic demand for this superior
fuel sufllclent to wnrrant full tlmo for
months to come; removals duo to tho
strike havo eliminated tho surplus la
bor from tho coal fields, causing a
naturally Increased demand for compe
tent miners', and abovo all olse, the
difficulty of adjusting clerical methods
to tho new basis of wage payments
would make inexpedient nn early
modification. Tho abolition of the slid
ing scale Is not of local consequence,
but If tho Schuylkill nnd Lehigh re
gion men prefer a flat tonnage rate It
Is difficult to see why they should not
havo It. Some little time may be re
quired to effect the change, but the
change Itself Is not of sufllclent Im
portance to block a sett'ement.
Estimates of the cost of tho strike
place the total In tho neighborhood of
$13,000,000. If not exactly correct these
figures are near enough to tho truth to
emphasize tho need of getting prompt
ly to work so that this great loss may
be regained as speedily as possible.
The victory of the men, which all
pei sons outsldo of a very few Indi
viduals behind the big rullroads re
Jolce at as representing a vindication of
justice, has been an expensive one
for the community, and while there
Is now no disposition to lament the
cost the proper thing for all concerned
to do is to pull together harmoniously
for recovery of lost ground. The past
Is over; let all face about for future
recompense and throw Into the various
activities which have been temporarily
suspended or Interrupted enough vim,
year the
strnlKht.
WAGES AND PRICES.
A!
MONO THE mis-statements
committee Is one purporting to come from a farm laborer who
says he Is getting tho same pay he got four years ago, but that
owing to the Increased cost of necessaries of life ho has to oay
$1.27 for what 83 cents bought In 1890.
wo don't believe It Is genuine or that It correctly states the facts. Some
prices have advanced, but the great majority have gone down. Ask any mer
chant who deals In a largo variety of
household uses whether the dollar of today buys less than tho dollar of
four years ago and he will soon convince you by reference to his books
and by citation of examples that the dollar of todav buys more. It must
be so, for tho whole energy and brain of our manufacturers and shippers
Is to cut down tho waste In production and transportation and by economy
cheapen 'the selling price, extend tho market nnd yet make profit. Yet If
prices have advanced this was exactly what Mr. Bryan argued for four
years ago when he told everybody a dozen or more times a day that free
coinage would haltj the era of declining prices and cause everything to go
up again.
But the big falsehood In tho alleged farm laborer's statement Is In the
Inference that the pay of labor has not Increased In four years. Everybody
knows It has increased, and more than enough to cover any net average
increase in prices. A census of wages recently taken by prominent labor
organizations showed:
Wage Increase-
Crafts.
Agents
Bricklayers and stone masons
Broom makers
Bicycle workers
Boiler makers and Iron shipbuilders.
Brickmakers
Blacksmiths
Brewery workmen
Bakers
Bookbinders
Boot and shoe workprs
Conductors (railroad)
Coopers'
Curtain (lace) operators
Core makers
Carpenters
Clgarmakers
Engineers (locomotive)
Engineers (coal.holstlng)
Electrical workers ,
Engineers (stationary) ,
Firemen (stationary) '. ,
Firemen (locomotive) ,
Glass-bottle blowers ,
Glass workers ..' ,
Horscshoers
Iron moulders ,
Iron, steel, and tin workers .'.'..,
Longshoremen
Leather workers ,
Meat cutters and butcher workmen ,
Metal workers ,
Machinists
Mine workers of all kinds
Potters ..' ,
Plumbers, gas and steam-fitters
Paper makers
Printers ,
Pattern makers '.
Stone cutters
Spinners (cotton mule)
Stove mounters
Stage employes
Street railway employes
Seamen
Tailors
Tin plate workers
Trunk makers X
Tile layers ....
Railroad laborers
Textile workers
Tobacco workers
Upholsterers
Waiters and cooks
Wood carvers
wood worKers .........................................
A still more interesting return Is embodied in the report of the Pennsyl
vania bureau of Industrial statistics, Just Issued. A table is given of 329 rep
resentative establishments divided among 35 Industries and comparison is
made of wages paid In 1891 with wages paid In the same establishments in
1899, as follows:
Industries.
Pig iron
Rolling mills
Iron and steel sheets and plates
Steel
Plate and bar
Architectural Iron work
Iron forgings
Nuts and bolts
Pipes and tubes
Foundries and machine works
Stoves, ranges, heaters, etc
Hardware
Mailable iron
Saws, edge tools, etc
Metal and metallic goods
Locomotives and engines
Boilers
Car springs
Car couplers '.
Cars and car wheels
Window glass, bottle and table goods
Pianos and organs
Woolen yarns
Cotton yarns
Worsted yarns
Miscellaneous yarns
Carpets
Cotton gbods
Woolen goods
Worsted goods
Cotton and woolen goods
Mixed textiles
Chenille goods
Knit goods
Hosiery
Here Is an average wage increase
man familiar with the bargain offerings In our enterprising stores bellovo
that prices on tho average are 19 nor cent, higher today than in 1894? Tho
Democratic party's treatment of labor as Illustrated six years ago was to
close the factories and mills and nut 3,000,000 American workingmon In Idle
ness, It stopped our steel mills, reduced time In our mines to one-third and
one-quarter and throughout tho length and breadth of tho land drove cad-
tal into hiding. If prices were low they
lacked tho wages to pay them. The McKlnley idea .is to keep the mills run
ning steadily, labor employed at advancing wages nnd let prices take care
of themselves. The man with tho dollar Is In better shape to look out for
his own Interests In tho matter of nrices than the man who cannot find tho
chance to earn a dollar no matter how
cheerfulness and common sense to con
vert this whole episode Into a substan
tial blessing.
A word of praise for tho strikers In
Lackawanna county. No similar body
of men ever carried themselves under
similar circumstances with better self
control or higher respect for law and
order than did tho great bulk of theso
tollers In our mines. If good behavior
and fidelity to a cause ever earned a
victory, they havo earned thelr'3; and
while not In tho habit of serving dally
gush and taffy thickly Bpread to en
snare the unwary, The Trlbuno feels
that this simple word of recognition
Is justly due,
Under Its present leadership and pol
icy tho Democratto party Is not en
titled to anything but defeat. Bee that
It gets this In bulk next month.
The Republican party is the party
that performs. The Democratic party
Is the party that criticizes. T
It Is safe to predict that free silver
will never again nnd place In a Demo
cratic platform.
.tent out by the Democratic national
Wo call this a mls-statcment, because
the articles entering Into common
1897. 1S98. 1S99.
P.C. P.C. P.C.
5 10 20
10 13 25
10
10 20
10 25
.. .. 10
,. .. 10
10 15
15
5 10 25
5 15
itantlal increase.
3 i 10
15
8 12 25
5 S 15
6 10
Small 12 30
10 50
25 25
20 30
15
.. .. 10
.. 8
3
10 10 10
10
5 8 17
10 5 15
la 15 15
25
10
10 15 40
12 28 40
12'4 ..
.. 5
10
10 30
6 15 30
.. 5
no
.. .. .-
5 10
25 200 300
.. 5-10 12
5 12 33
10
'.'. 10 15
10
5 7 10
.. 12i
8 1
3 10 20
5 10 10
5 7l
5 8 15
Very substantial Increase,
,
,
Small
'Average individual Increase, 1S99
earnings.
over 1894.
1894.
1899. Amount. P. C.
$498 24 $116 15 30.4
605 72 123 07 25.5
574 18 49 87 9.5
517 24 57 83 12.6
513 21 111 50 27.7
553 31 53 12 10.6
557 84 51 53 10.2
545 22 172 27 4G.2
483 52 77 14 19
537 35 32 82 6.5
4S7 2S 62 22 14.6
391 42 53 63 15.9
521 83 79 39 17.9
514 40 70 35 15.S
495 36 45 01 10
594 65 116 93 24.4
464 53 145 30 45.5
729 46 269 61 58.6
496 13 109 17 28.2
553 78 97 13 21.3
456 02 25 29 5.9
444 19 159 09 55.S
307 46 57 S5 23.2
329 70 66 80 25.1
285 88 15 68 5.S
37S 27 47 96 14.3
373 f.3 18 23 G.1
351 08 33 33 10.5
314 42 58 42 20.1
405 67 61 32 17.8
323 06 32 87 11.3
315 05 27 19 9.4
421 29 44 74 11.9
287 28 32 35 12.7
232 7fi 33 60 15.1
r cent. Does any sane
$382 09
482 65
524 31
459 41
401 71
500 19
,. 506 31
372 95
406 38
504 53
425 06
337 79
442 44
444 05
450 35
477 72
319 23
459 85
386 96
456 65
430 73
285 10
249 61
262 90
270 20
330 31
355 30
317 75
286 00
-.. 344 35
290 19
287 86
376 55
234 93
219 16
exceeding 19 per cent.
were bankruptcy prices and labor
willing and anxious he Is to Avork,
CI?an-C(if Analysis
of Present Issties
I'rom a Hont Speech by tx Uovernor Frank S.
lllack, of New York.
o
NI.V KIOIIT YEARS ago, a tlmo bo short
that those then born am hardly yet beond
(heir infancy, this country u reaping the
rkhcbt harvests In the world. Tho policy
uhoso wisdom many jcars had demonstrated
seemed secure, and on every hand appeared the
sign ot contentment and repose. Wc stood then,
S3 how, at tho close of a national administra
tion, Without warning all wai changed. The
people prospering us never before, growing and
acquiring with a rapidity that seemed to other
rations like a dream, threw their prosperity to
tho winds ami gave the order for retreat. None
need have tho story of the next four years retold,
fortunes, gathered by Industry and care, wcro
swept away, business fled from tho streets and
highways, and no community in all tho land
escaped the whirlwind as it passed along. From
such a blow a weak pcoplo would scarcely have
recovered, but no calamity seems able to chock
tho American people in their Invincible career.
When the fall of 'Wt came round and reason had
regsiued her seat, capital, emerging from its
cover, and labor, returning from its long stroll,
vied with each other to restore that policy in
whose overthrow they had acquttsctd. With the
restoration of that policy camo tho return of
business and the whole country resumed its work
with tha vigor ot a rebuilt city. From the day
ot that resumption until now the flood of bull-
Bcs ha paiscd all previous bound. Labor Is
engaged, money hu left the bank and Joining
hands with Industry tho two hue advmccd to
gether Into every territory known to man. Tim
idity has given way to confidence. The se.l and
fund arc covered with the symbols of awakened
enterprise, an'd wealth and Industry, In har
monious compact, havo day by day pushed far
ther out the boundaries of activity. To satlsly
his dally need no loncr satisfies the American's
ambition, but schools and churches, libraries and
halls ol art are rising everywhere as monuments
to his genius and prosperity. Never, even In
this country's marvelous history, have the bene
fits of peace been more general and abundant.
But not atone In the fruits of peace do the
glories of the present time appear. tYUJiln the
last two jears we have encountered the perils
of war, and through that supreme and fiery test
we marched with such strength and courage
that, tho praises ot American arms arc ringing
round the world.
And at this momentous point In their cireer
the American people arc now standing. They
have reached tho time when tha commission Is
sued four years ago to tho Republlcm party
Is about to expire, and they must determine
whether It shall be extended or revoked. In
their deliberations they must not forget that
all the grand results I have described did not
como about by chance; neither were they fore
ordained. The benefits of society and govern
ment do nof descend from the clouds like rain,
but rather like the products of the earth, they
spring and grow by toll and thoughtful purpose.
There was nothing here In '00 that was not here
In '01, and yet the last administration was to
this like the desert to the fertile plain. What
made the change? It did not come by accident.
It came through tho restoration ot that policy
which lifted men from their backs and put them
on their feet. It came through that confidence
which aroused and inspired the whole country
when It saw one man enter Washington who be
lieved and acted ami expressed the highest pur
poses of his countrymen, nnd another man retire
who knew not what he thought, hut blundered
as he went It camo through the deep convic
tion that while McKlnley was president, no mat
ter who might be second, America would be
first. And sine that flay no reasonable hope
which then sprung up, no honest enterprise em
barked upou, has failed to 'feel the steady, help
ful influence of the national policy. '
But there is a kind of human disposition which
seems, when it Is prosperous, to forget when
It was not: to sec in the things It has a smaller
value than In the things it covets; to seek and J
magnity small misfortunes, even though the
searcher be loaded with advantages for which
he never dared to hope. This disposition is now
abroad with four complaints against the national
administration; the Philippine war, tho Ameri
can trust, the limited coinage of silver and the
undue power of the courts. IJut before he In
flicts a penalty or withdraws his support, he
should first fl the responsibility, and a glance
at tho recent past will show that for the origin
of the war now In progress the present adminis
tration is not to blame. In the spring of IMS
the war feeling In this country was well nigh
universal. It spread through all the' cities,
through alt the villages and out to the remote
and quiet farms, and no class or condition was
free from its impetuous fire. The flag had been
defied, the Maine bad been sunk, and the cry
went through the country, like the flash ot light
ning, to avenge the American sailors who slept
in the harbor of Havana. In the midst of tint
memorable excitement there was hardly one who
reckoned up the cost of the revenge which he
demanded, or followed through to the end the
frightful possibilities of the war. There is no In
fluence that sobers the judgment and restrains
the ardor like the knowledge of responsibility.
Those who believe their own duty is discharged
when a task Is begun will act with greatei
haste than those who must carry tint task to
its completion. The President of the United
States, standing at the spot where all the tor.
rents gathered, resisting greater pressure than
any piesldent, save one, had ever done before;
exhibited a power of self-command, a clear and
accurate conception of his duty, which will
phce and hold him among the great presidents
of the republic.
o
Tho denunciations heaped upon him then for
Tiot beginning unprepared a war with Spain were
no leas terrific than those which shower upon
him now for not receding from the complications
which that war entailed. He would have been
guilty had he yielded then; he would be no less
guilty If he yielded now. The policies of govern
ment must be determined, not at the curbstone,
but at the council table. The war with Spain
was the beginning; the war with the Philippines
is the end, but both are inseparable parts of
that policy to which the American people have
pledged their sacred honor, and the president
of the United States will keep the pledge. Then
has been no step in all the struggle that has not
been, as far .13 safety would allow, submitted
to the knowledge of the people, and the present
conduct of the war 'Is In complete accord with
the people's latest manifesto, delivered through
their representatives in congress, when the treaty
of peace with Spain was ratified. That treaty
said; "Spain cedes to the United States the
archipelago known as the Philippine Islands,"
and it also said: "Tho United States will pay
to Spain the sum of twenty million dollars" and
tliat treaty was ratified by the senate, anil that
twenty millions was voted by the Ifouse and
paid, and those islands then became and are
the property of the United States. Was It in
tended by that treaty that this government
should then withdraw from the islands it had
acquired and leave them In chaos and insurrec
tion? No one so construed it then, no ono sn
construes it now, and whatever you may think
of your present complications, you are bound by
every step in the controversy to staml jour
ground. War is not a holiday to be begun and
ended ns fancy or convenience may decide. It
contains the gravest possibilities known in hu
man affairs. Those who enter it must be pre
pared cither for defeat or victory, for loss or
conquest, and as they must bear the humiliation
of defeat and loss, so must they also bear the
responsibilities of victory. We aro in our pres
ent position because our own performances and
the uncontrollable tide of human events have
swept us there. Wc shall deal with that position
in a spirit of fairness and liberality, but there
will be nowhere in it the clement of cowardice
or evasion, Wc havo clothed tho president with
the power to carry out our desires, nnd lie has
so far acted vvithln the spirit ot his commis
sion. The pmposo of the president is the pur
pose of the American people. These Islands have
tome to us by the rights and fortunes of war.
They aro ours by every creed known to tho
civilized nitlons of tho world, and jet the
American people are gicat enough to know that
although there is physical power in conquest,
there is moral grandeur in justice.
o
What has been and is the attitude of the
Pemocratlu party upon this Impoitant question?
If that attitude is to be determined bv its acts,
that party should now approve the policy of the
administration. When the Spanish treaty was
before the scnato In February of last jcar, It
was voted for by eighteen Democrats and Popu
lists, without who4o aid it could never have
been passed, This aid was rendered under the
advice ol Mr. Itrjan, who then publicly gavo It,
and has since publicly proclaimed it. And jet
at the very time that that advice wjs given nnd
those Democratic votes were cast, tho war In
the Philippines was already begun, And when
the twenty millions, which tho treaty bail pin
vlded should bo paid to Spain, was voted by the
House of Representatives, with tho aid of flftv
Uran votes, that war was open and, deftint, and
has continued to this day. What was the mean
ing of Mr. Uryan's aid and tho votes of his
friends? Did they mean to acquire laud ami flee
from It under fire? Did they mean to grant in
dependence to American possesions which were
in open rebellion against the American Hag? Did
thev- mean to nurcha.se an Insiiricitlou In order
that they might yield to It? There Is no such
intention among the reasonable Inferences to bo
drawn from what they did. They saw ami knew
tho crisis, and their patriotism then had lint
wilted under the political needs of a presidential
year. I prefer to trust the conduct of this war
to those who, realizing the solemnity of national
obligations, will stand by them every year,
rather than to thoso who, for political advan
tage, will run from the difficulties they have
helped to create and repudiate the obligations
they have helped to establish.
-o
Rut there is another problem in the foie
ground this year, brought time In the Demo
cratic hope that by violent denunciation of
others tho people may be led to adopt this new
prophet from Nebraska as the Savior ot all the
states. That problem is commonly known as the
question of trusts. The dllfcrcncc between tho
positions of The two parties seems to be largely
one of btatement, It springs, I fancy, from the
Republican habit of saying only what Is meant,
and from the Democratic habit of sajlng moic.
If this wcro the first time the two parties had
ever appeared in tills country there might be
danger that tfie people would be misled, because
when a new man or a new party arises the people
are too apt to accept a great promise as a great
deed, and to regard the loudest man as the one
most likely to be right. Rut that danger doe
, not now exist. Tho two chief political parties
ALWAYS BUSY.
iiii2Si2liCrSLijjj&K
I.adlM know, all sdmlt they know, how much
they save when they cm buy Kdwln C. Burt's
Shoe at $.1 SO pr pair, In turns and wells,
patent leather and kid tips, button and lace.
Styles they all admire
Lewis&Reilly
Established 1SSS.
Shoes tor all tha walks ot life.
have been In thU country many yeari. Their
platforms have been stated in many forums, and
each has had its turn fn the direction of public
affairs. Their past history Is known and well re
membered, and from it the people have learned
to believe that the Republicans will carry out
their pledges, and to hope that the Democrats
will not.
It Is true that many now desiring the election
of Mr. Bryan are his apologists rather than his
advocates, lhey profess to believe that he would
not do the things he claims he would, aud that
if in fact lie made the attempt some way would
be found to prevent him. This kind of support
springs from those who would rather do a thing
poorly themselves than to have it done well by
others. We now have tho spectacle of a great
political party struggling to regain power by
some of its members declaring that tho otheis
are not as untrustworthy as they claim to be.
Before this plea will succeed the memory of the
Inst fifty years must be obliterated. There is a
deep conviction in the public mind that the
Democratic party is even worse than it formerly
was. It used to be consistent, but that trait
Is no longer on the list; it used to he cour
ageous, but that word has been rubbed out and
expedient written in Its place. It used to go
wrong, believing itself to be right, hut now
it needs no other reason for being wrong except
that it always has been. It claims to be against
monopolies and combinations to restrict trade
and raise prices. I hope It is, for then it would
be right upon at least one important proposition.
Surh a position would not only make the two
parties united in that respect, but It might lead
the Democratic party, having once been right,
to try some time the experience again. But
why should that parly in declaring its own view
misrepresent the position of Its adversaries upon
tho same question? The Republican policy in
this regard was adopted year ago, and placed
that party in open hostility to this dangerous
evil. In 1800 a Republican congress passed, and
a Republican president signed an anti-trust law,
the only effective legislation ever passed by
congress to that end. Different states with Re
publican legislatures following that lead have
passed statutes with a similar purpose. In the
last session of congress a joint resolution was
offered to the house providing for a constitutional
amendment giving congress authority over trusts.
Tho Republicans voted almost solidly for it, and
the Democrats almost solidly against it, nnd it
was defeated. And this policy has liecn steadily
pursued by the Republican psrty up to its last
distinct arid unequivocal declaration in tho Phil
adelphia platform. And upon these records, the
public property of all who read, Mr. Bryan's
parly makes the claim that It alone is tho re
lentless enemy of the unholy trust, and the
watchful champion of the people's rights. I
shall not be accused of language unbecoming or
severo if 1 say that with the Democratic party
sincerity is a long lost art.
o
I shall not discuss at length the two remaining
icflKAa nf unlimited silver colnacc and the as
sault upon the courts. If Mr. Bryan should honor
this commonwealth with the wild toinado of his
rhetoric, lie will pay these subjects hardly the
"cold respect of a passing glance." He knows
that unlimited coinage at 10 to 1 is desired only
by those who have silver to sell, and by those
who would convert their dreams instead of their
labor, into current money. These classes in tills
state are small, while the vast majority know
that the basis of value Is labor, and that when
ever any commodity is exalted above Us due,
labor in its struggle with that commodity always
Ins the short end of the beam. And they know,
too, that wherever that commodity is so eraltcd
there will it gather from every quarter, because
ever) tiling in the world seeks the place where
most Is to be had for the levst to be given. This
country has not the power to overcome the
natural order, and to miintaln values which
ever)- leading nation In tho world repudiates.
It refused to mike the trial in 189fl, and I be
lieve its purpose has not changed. And If the
people will not degrade their money, they will
not degrade their courts, for they know that
while a cheap and shifting currency would de
stroy their business and their credit, a success
ful assault upon the tribunals of Justice would
destroy the government Itself.
o
In the general survey 111 which the people are
now engaged they will not lose sight of the
central figures in tho controversy. The princi
ples which underlie n cause are not alone to be
considered, but the men who havo been chosen
as the leading exponents of those principles nre
themselves the objects of public scrutiny. When
the candidates come forward the discriminating
sense of the American people w ill not be misled.
They will see at tho lipid ot ono party a char
acter rounded and developed by )cars of study
ami experience, thoughtful even in times of ex
citement, resolute of purpose, tho willing servant
of the people, but the mister of lilnwlt and his
surroundings. They will see in William McKin
ley a figure worthy to lepnwnt a parly of de
termined purpose and consistent, tplcndhl past;
worthy to carry forward the vast enterprises
of a people whose courage, Intelligence and hu
manity aro raising them steadily In the estimation
of the world. They will see at the head of the
other party a new and untrained leader, the
advocate of policies already tried and rejected,
or too dangrious to be tried at all. They will
sec In William .T. Bryan the eager representative
of that party which at this minute Is shifting Its
sails to catch the wind, and whose supremacy
in national affairs bos alvva)3 been preceded by
glowing promises and followed by disaster.
fl
it lias been tho custom, when guva Issues ors
at ktake, to address somo special appeal to
these sounder cltliens about to embark upon
their r'oMUul careers. 1 have observed that that
custom ftill prevails, and that a few t!a)s ago
a dlstli'gulsheil Democrat delivered a short ad
dress to )oung Americans, setting forili their
duties in tho pending controversy. That appeal
was based on the Democratic platform. No
Eollcitule ran exceed my own that tho joimg
khill select at the beginning ' their careers
. , i i .11 l..1 Jl.otti in Ii livlil tltlt
that path mat siiju k u..,., ... ,.,.,...--,
emoluments and honor. But I confess hat I
embrace lu my solicitude n laigcr portion ol
tho human iau than Is represented bv the
voung, It Is not yvuth alono that impiesscs me,
lior do 1 believe that all tho bcnehls ot the
woihl wcro Inltnded for that Joyful uciiod.
When strength ami vigor and hopefulness
abound, they miku all other attributes attend
their way, Aud rnly that society Is Just, and
only that government Is girat which throws an
equal i-hlehl over cveiy age aud tlrcuimtance.
Youth is a peiiod ol accumulation, but old age
is a poind ot need, and he who his gathered
by industry aim care tuouiu nave me wine i
tectlon ac'eouled him that shulteis thuse Jiht
slatting in the race. 'I he loncaoincst hour aud
the longest shadows are at sundown. And sn
In human life the most dependent hour is not
when tliu springs ol )outh aie full, but lather
when old age, beielt ot youth's associations,
still moves slowly forward unattended. You
must not tear the. dollar ol old age in two,
even though voutli is to receive the separated
half. The man who earned a hundred cents fill)
years ago should not be lobbed of half ol it
today.
o
Your courts ot Justice, thoso Impartial aibltert,
wklvh neither youth nor age can swerve, should
not bo overthrown by passions' ignorant assault,
nor made the servants of ambition. The Judge's
seat hai been the place where power has been
INLEY'S
k
Ml ami!
Vn
erwear
For lea,
men mi Children
Our lines are com'
plete in all the stand
ard and celebrated
makes usually car
ried by us, and whioli
have stood the test
of years, as to fit,
quality and general
excellence.
Recent advances
in this class of goods
put the prices up
but our purchases
were made in antici
pation of this so that
our prices will com
pare favorably with
prices when goods
were at their lowesc.
Early buying will
mean a saving of 25
per cent, and it will
pay you to anticipate
your wants in any
thing you are likely
to need in the line of
Underwear.
510-512
IACEAWATOA AYENUB
"Oora't
Swear"
If you haven't the proper office sup
plies. Como In and give us a trial.
We have the largest and most com
plete line of office supplies in North
eastern Pennsylvania.
If It's a good thing, we have It. W
make a specialty of visiting cards antt
monogram stationery.
ReymiolldsBros
Stationers and Engravers,
Hotel Jermyn Buildinp.
flercereana
& CooneM
Now open for business at
our mew store, 132 Wyo
ming avenue.
We are proud of our store
now, aud feel justified in
doing a little talking, but we
prefer to have our friends do
the talking for us,
A cordial invitation is ex
tended to all to call and see us.
MEMERMHJ & CORNELL
Jewelers and Silversmiths
safely lodged and universal confidence bestowed,
nnd bo It should iruuln, 'Iho jemiiR men nf thii
eiountr.v will not ahvas rttuiii their youth, but
lei in hoio their honoi will never ilep.ul, and n
appeal to tlie.ni. based upon the belrjjal til
their coimtrj's pledA's, the- violation of the
rights of piopeity and an niault upon the nn.
sullied jioncr ot the bciuli, should wale the
resentment ol every American joulh nnd ihnwcr
upon tho heads of thoe .o wickedly nullljnini:
him, tho the ol Indliirullon and rebuke, Thii
Is not a land wlieiei mith and oppoitunily shall
pass away together, for If they do, a tlilul
companion, hope, will move silently by their
sldf, and with th;v three nofi i'""' wealth,
although remaining, will be m vain as the vc
panslvo sea when jeiur ships and nuiincie have
pone elovvii. 'll.ls U not a laud where outli
shall profit at tho expense of ace, but rather
whero both with equal lights, In mutual re
spect and helpfulness, tlull eae.ll enjoy tho;
bounty ha lias earned.
0
The Aineilcan people will never forget In the
rntliuslatiii of today that it was jesterday that
nude them gieut. 'lhey will never under any
foim of madness saerilue the rights ot tho.e
who have, to tho elclie either eld or jouug,
of those who strugch to acquire. Tho ltepublt.
can uartv anneals to every diss and every age, I
extending not only to the jouug the highest;
possibilities of wealth and honor, nut picoginiji
to maturer yeira the enjojmeni 01 mcir nuj
gains In Just ana permanent security,
COO 8LIS5 V
Tfll&i-- HOME I
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