Richmond Palladium (Daily), 2 November 1904 — Page 9

WAGES AND COST OF LIVING

SUPPLEMENT RICHMOND PALLADIUM, Another Glaring Instance of Democratic Juggling with Government Statistics. RICHMOND, IND., NOV. 2, 1904. REVIEW OF THE CAMPAIGN LABOR BULLETIN IGNORED Great Issues at Stake, but There Has Been No Feverish Excitement. la Order to Make Political Capital anJ Also to Misrepresent Conditions and Deceive Voters Campaign Text-Book Trickery. MINDS OF VOTERS MADE UP

Present Conditions Are Satisfactory, and the People Will Elect Fairbanks and Roosevelt and a Republican Congress.

The Presidential campaign which is just closing has Home unique features. '1 here has been, from first to last, an ai'seiwe of spectacular features. The unusual feverish excitement, the election year collapse of business, the general uncertainly and anxiety which used to characterize a national campaign are lucking this year. Yet the issues at stake, with choice to be made between the two great parties, are tremendous. The cause of the general calm, the even carrying on of business, the absence of public excitement, is not the far-famed "apathy" of which so much is said just now. The people are not apathetic. They are only satisfied. They have what they want, they have made up their minds to keep it, and they know they are amply able to keep it by casting their votes on election day. Republican rule, Republican work, Republican prosperity, peace and justice, that is what the people of the United States have, and that Is what they are determined to keep, by the election of Roonevelt and Fairbanks, and a Republican Congress. The two great national parties stand for the two kinds of people into which, bro .? Jly speaking, the whole complicated mass of human beings may be divided. The people who work, the people who live each day for the best that day affords, the people who accomplish things, these are naturally and inevitably Republicans. The other kind of people, the lookers-on. the critics, the fault-finders, the promisers of great things and doers of nothing, these make up the Democratic party. The Republican party acts. The Democratic party protests. Policies of the Party. This programme of the two parties, carried out for many years, has never been so clearly shown as during the discussion of national affairs which has been going on this year. The Republican party came before the country, through President Roosevelt, to give an account of its stewardship from the day when President McKinley took the chair of Chief Executive in 1S07. The first four years of the administration of President McKinley must be considered in connection with the last four years of McKinley and Roosevelt, for the carrying out of Republican policy under Republican principles during those years Is the basis upon which Republicans ask for another term of power. The Republican platform and President Roosevelt's speech and letter of acceptance show how closely the Republican party sticks ' to the practical work of the present, how well it knows what the people want, and how surely it is planning and moving to carry out the desires of the people. Upon the money question the party occupies the same ground where it stood, under attack, in 1S00 and 1000. In its internal policy it stands for protection, the Irrigation of arid lands, the construction of the Panama canal, the regulation of illegal trusts that run counter to the Interstate commerce laws, the payment of just pensions to disabled, honorably discharged veterans of the War for the Union, and other measures and ideas familiar to the people. The hopes and labors of the government have been to bring the Philippines into close relations with the American people, to fit them for self government, and to give them a form of self government so clearly defined as to its future and so well set forth that all may see what has "been done since the fortunes and fate of war threw upon the United States the direct responsibility for millions of fellow-beings in the Asiatic seas. The foreign policy is but a record of peace and good will with all the nations of the earth. Prosperity, industry and hopefulness at home, confidence and respect abroad, such is the brief story of Republican rulo during the past eight years. What has the opposition to offer? Upon the gold standard its platform is ilent. Its candidate, who voted for Bryan in 1S9G and 11)00, now firmly declares his conversion to honest money doctrines. Bryan is on the stump for Mr. Parker, and the mass of Democrats to-day are for free silver, or any kind of money that will serve to call the ignorant to their standard. Upon all the questions of government policy and practice the Democrats are as much at sea as they are upon finance. Their whole plan ot campaign, so far as any plan has been developed, is the world-without-end scheme! of finding fault with everybody and every institution which accomplishes things. Democracy's Weak Protests. There are feeble and more or less intelligent protests against protection. Not daring to oppose the Panama canal, the protestors content with protesting against everything that has been done! so far, to make the Panama canal a real thing. Upon the gigantic trust evil, which menaces individual prosperity, not a word of sincerity has been spoken by a Democrat. The efforts of President Roosevelt to apply the United States laws to infractions of the Interstate commerce laws by the trusts, have been roundly condemned by the Democratic candidate and his followers. The payment of disability pensions to aged veterans of the civil war has been bitterly resented by the same candidate, and by bis political associates. foreign policy, inaugurated and

carried on by John Hay, greatest modern diplomats, receives nothing but condemnation from the would-be administrators of the affairs of the nation. The serious, toilsome task of making a new, free people out of the mixed peoples of the Philippine Islands, a labor which must be characterized by deliberation, care and the highest conscience, and which is only at its beginning, has been ignorantly and wantonly assailed and misrepresented. And in connection with this gigantic task, which must try the strength of American statesmen yet unborn, the "bogey man'' of "Imperialism" has been constructed. It is all, literally,, "great cry and little wool." The Democratic candidate, in one of his few public speeches, has given out n childish expression of fear of this amusing bogey man of American Imperialism. "History teaches," he said, "that from Republicanism to imperialism the movement is gradual and unpreceived of the people. Its ominous progress, when discovered, leaves open but two courses submission or resort to violence." A Harailiatinc Cry. ' It is humiliating that an American man who has had the benefit of a common school education should so mistake the philosophy of history as to raise in bis own mind, or that of anyone else, the ancient fear of kings and emperors in a country which has been governed by the people for a hundred years. All the trend of human thought and human destiny is toward the government of the people for the people. Even in the old world the principle works, and is ever advancing. The planet upon which we live may fall into the sun, or it may be snuffed out like a candle by some of the mysterious powers of the universe. But in the epoch of the world's history in which we live no selfgoverned nation of free people will take the road back to subjection. And of all people the Americans are the last to look fearfully forward to such an anti-climax. No one regards these "Imperialistic" warnings seriously, but they show what kind of people make up the Democratic party. "Anything," they say, "for a cry! anything, from a whine to a shriek, anything, to get us a hearing! And, perhaps, such fools these mortals be, we'll howl ourselves into power! Once again, all shriek!" But 1S03 is not far enough back. The black shadow of Democratic rule is still remembered, ruefully, by America voters. The people have made up their minds, and "the shouting of the captains" cannot turn them one point from their source. They will elect Roosevelt, President; Fairbanks, Vice President, and return a Republican Congress. Domestic Manufactures. The exports of domestic manufactures from the United States have grown from $40,345,802 in 1800 to $403,041,401 in 1002. Nearly all of this growth was under Republican administrations. Since 1S00 the exportation of manufactures has averaged over $400,000,000 per annum, being more than twice as much as in any year prior to 1800, four times as much as in any year prior to 1S77, and ten times as much as in any year prior to 18G7. Could there be a stronger argument in favor of Republican policies than that afforded by these figures? Within ttie limits defined bj the National Constitution the National Administration has sonsht to secure to each man the full enjoyment of his right to live his life and dispose of his property and his labor as he deems best, so lonjr as he wrongs no one else. It has shown In effective fashion that, in endeavoring to make good this guarantee, it treats all men, rich or poor, whatever their creed, their color, or their birth-place, as standing alike before the law." Roosevelt's letter of acceptance. Never mind the 'certainties you hear about as to Roosevelt's election. Do your part. Cast your vote, rain or shine, mud, snow or dust, cast your vote!

DO WE WANT THAT AGAIN? Republican President Harrison had $380,000,000 government receipts in his last fiscal year, 1803; the next year. Democratic President Cleveland was only able to show $208,000,000, a decrease of $88,000,000. Do we want that again? Republican President Harrison had an excess of receipts over expenditures of $2,341,000 in his last fiscal year, 1893; the next year. Democratic President Cleveland had an excess of expenditures over receipts of $00,803,000. Do we want that again? Democratic President Cleveland also had an excess of expenditures over receipts of $42,000,000 in 1894, and of $25,000,000 in 1S05. Do we want that again? Republican President Harrison had $75,800,000 postal receipts in his last fiscal year, 1803; the next year Democratic President Cleveland had nearly a million less. Do we want that again? Democratic President Cleveland, in his four fiscal years, 1804 to 1807, had $1,132,000,000 of railway securities wiped out by receiverships. Do we want that again? Democratic President Cleveland can only show $821,000,000 of manufactures exported in his four fiscal years, 18941807, against $1,072,000,000 so exported in Roosevelt's four fiscal years, 19011004, a shortage of $851,000,000. Do we want that again? Republican President Roosevelt shows $3,300,000,000 on deposit in our savings banks, while Democratic President Cleveland could only show $1,930,000,000 so deposited in his best savings-bank year, 1807. In other words. $1,2(51,000,000 less of such deposits. Do we want that again? Republican President Roosevelt can show $5,748,000,000 total exports in his four fiscal years, 1001-1904: Democratic President Cleveland in his four fiscal vears, ISO 1-1 807, only reached a total export of $3.031, 000.000. or $2.1 17,000,000 less. Do we wtui t that again? Republican President Roosevelt can show a total foreign commerce of $0.400,000,000 in his four fiscal years, 10011904: Democratic President Cleveland for his four fiscal years. 1804-1807. can only show $6,550,000,000, or $2,931,000,000 less.- Do we want that again? Democratic President Cleveland witnessed, in 189(5, 13,730 miles of steam railways sold under foreclosure, an excess over the 1904 foreclosure sales of 13,275 miles. Do we want that again? Democratic President Cleveland, in 1S00. had $1,015,000,000 less money in circulation than Republican President Roosevelt has now. Do we want that again? Democratic President Cleveland in 1890. was paying $10,000,000 more annual interest on our public debt than is now being paid. Do we want that again? Democratic President Cleveland, in 1S0G, had $014.0.000 less gold in the treasury than Republican President Roosevelt now has. Do we want that again? Democratic President Cleveland, in 1S0G, had $4,757,000,000 less total bank deposits than Republican President Roosevelt can now show. Do we want that again? Democratic President Cleveland, in 1S0G, had $5,000,000,000 less life insurance in force, than is now protecting those dependent upon us. Do we want that again? Democratic President Cleveland, in 1800, exported $7S,000,000 more gold than he imported, while Republican President Roosevelt," in 1004, imported $17,000,000 more than he exported, thus making a showing against Cleveland of $95,000,000 in a single year. Do we want that again? Democratic President Cleveland hauled down his country's flag in Honolulu. Judge Parker and his party say they will do the same in the Philippines. Do we want that again? Republican President Harrison's last calendar year, 1892, was one of the most prosperous years the country had enjoyed; Democratic President Cleveland

and his tariff-for-revenue free-trade policy destroyed that prosperity, undoing in a few months the good Republican work of the years since Lincoln's first election. Do we want that again? Democratic President Cleveland's entire second term engagement was played to the accompaniment of weeping women and wailing children, hungry for food. Do we want that again? WALTER J. BALLARD. . Schenectady, N. Y. Sympathy for Parker. Possibly some Democrats may want to vote for Parker, because they would feel very sorry for him in the event of his defeat. Rut it is a matter of common gossip in New York that Parker, if not elected President, is to have a fat job anyaii that in fact he has already been offered by August Belmont the position of counsel of the Interborough Transit Railway at a salary of $50,000 a year, the same salary he would get as President of the United SVttes, and that in this position he may also do outside legal work as member of a law firm to consist of Hill, Sheehan and Parker. In any event Mr. Parker has secured a fine advertisement for himself by his candidacy for President, so that there will be no danger whatever of his not being able to earn a good living in private life by the practice of law. It would seem to be better for Mr. Parker to get $50,000 per year from Mr. Belmont as direct counsel for that gentleman, than to get $5O,0()0 per year from the United States government for official services that may be largely influenced by the suggestions of Mr. Belmont, who is in the trusts neck high, and who once organized a syndicate which got a rake-off of nearly $3,000,000 on bonds issued during the second Cleveland administration to make good the deficits resulting from the Wilson "tariff for revenue only" bill. In the minds of voters the personal prosperity of thousands of Americans who would be adversely affected by Democratic victory should count for more than sympathy for the Democratic candidate; who will doubtless continue to grow personally more prosperous, notwithstanding a disappointment in his Presidential aspirations. Growth of Manu.uctur ing. Manufacturing never attained much growth under the old Democratic regime. Democratic legislation and Democratic administration were not favorable to it. They favored the importation of manufactured products from foreign countries. The real development of our manufacturing industries dates practically from the birth of the Republican party and the establishment of protection. In 1800 there were only 140,433 manufacturing establishments in the United States; in 1900 there were 512,734. In 1800 the value of our manufactures was $1,885.801.000; in 1900 it was $13,030,270,000. The figures show that our present, great manufacturing system dates from the organization of the Republican party. How Is Ihis, Mr. Cleveland? Ex-President Grover Cleveland says in a solemn letter advising young men, that his first vote was cast for "the experienced, undramatic Buchanan." rather than for Fremont, the "Pathfinder." According to the record, Grover Cleveland was born on the 18th day of March, 1S37. He could not have reached the age of twenty-one years in 1S5G. when Buchanan was elected. Not until 1S58 was Grover Cleveland of legal voting age. But, as the Washington Star remarks, "they used to vote early and often" in those days! Overconfidence has lost many political battles. It is well to feel sanguine, but don't be cocksure until the enemy capitulates; and the only way to force capitulation is to overwhelm your opponents with an avalanche of votes. Cast your ballot early on November 8 for Roosevelt md Fairbanks. If you 10 return to the disastrous times that followed the election of Grover Cleveland in 1S02, stay away from the polls or vote for Tarker and Davis.

WHAT DO YOU WANT ?

If You Desire the Country's Welfare Vote for Roosevelt. Vote for Roosevelt and Fairbanks and elct a Republican Consrress If you want the honor and dignity of the country upheld; If you want present prosperous conditions continued; If you want the affairs of government administered intelligently and economically; If you want the books kept open and dishonesty punished wherever found; If you want grasping monopolies repressed and forced to obey the law; If you want justice administered to all. rich and poor alike; If you want a hungry horde of Democratic looters kept out of office; If you want such tricksters as D. B. Hill given no place in the cabinet: If yon want illegal trusts rebuked for contributing to the Democratic campaign fund; If you want corrupt Tammany not to be given a chance to raid the national treasury; If you want the Tammany grafting system not to fasten its clutch on every branch of the federal government; If you want a manly man retained in the White House; If you want a Democratic nonetity, a weak tool of tricky politicians, kept out of the Presidential chair; If you want the nation to retain its lead among the world powers as a peace promoter; If you want firmnessdisplayed when firmness will protect American lives and property interests; In short, if you want everything that a good, patriotic citizen should want, vote for Roosevelt and Fairbanks and elect a. Republican Congress. Republican Policies Promote Foreign Trade. The official figures of foreign commerce during September show that the gain was $1,070,000 a day, a record which has been equaled only once in the September exports in a number of years, and which is $370,000 a day more than the average gain of the preceding six years. This is shown by the following table: Excess Gain September of exports. per day. 1898 $42,180,000 $1,400,000 1S99 39.174,000 1.300,000 1000 50,333,000 1,800.000 1901 40.103.000 1,333.000 1902 27,702.000 023.000 1003 28.385.000 940,000 Aver, of G years 38.991,000 1,300.000 1904 50,135,000 1.070.000 It is evident from these figures that Republican policies cannot be unwholesome for this country in any particular. Thus notwithstanding we preserve our home markets under the protective tariff, yet we are able to increase our business in foreign markets as well. The "trade follows the flag" doctrine and the "open door" help accomplish this result. An Kxtravasrant Outlay. Talking about the alleged extravagance of the war department under Republican rule. Judge Taft reminds the Atlan-, tic seaboard that one item in the increase of recent expenditures has been the guns to effectually protect the great harbors of the East. In Mr. Cleveland's day there was just one gun mounted along the whole line of the Atlantic coast from Maine to the Florida keys. "It is a strikins: evidence of our op ponents insincerity in this matter protection of Americans abroad that with their demand for radical action by the State Department they couple a demand for n reduction in our small military establishment. Yet they must know that the heed paid to our protests azainst ill-treatment of our citizens will be exactly proportionate to the belief in our ability to make these protests effective should the need arise." Roosevelt's letter of acceptance. Get out and vote on election day. That's the only way you can help elect the Republican ticket, now.

An examination of the files of the Democratic newspapers for the past few weeks and of the recently issued Democratic Campaign Text Rook discloses a disposition on the part of the managers

of the Democratic campaign to discredit the report on wages and cost of living made by the Bureau of Iabor in its July Bulletin (No. 53). In view of the reputation of Commissioner Wright for absolute fairness in the collection and presentation of statistics it is of some interest at this time to review hi report in the light of the indignant criticismwhich it has brought forth, and it may be said at the outset that a careful examination of the roiort reveals the somewhat remarkable fact that practicall every criticism made has been answered in the Bulletin itself. Indeed, it would almost appear that the compilers of the Text Book either did not make use of the Bulletin or had no desire to be convinced of the truth of the figures published therein, and that their insinuations and clumpy misstatements of fact were made for the purpose of misleading the public mind. Iet us proceed to the most specific of the somewhat vague charges that are made. It is first charged that the report published in the Bulletin was (quoting the Text Book) "prepared ostensibly as an official document, but in reality, it seems, for the special use of the Republican Campaign Committee." The "well-nigh conclusive' evidence submitted in support of this charge consists of a statement by Secretary Shaw in.. Tune last that such a report would be published. As a matter of fact, it had been kuow-i to the public for several years that the Bureau of Labor was engaged in collecting data for such a report and the portion of the report relating to cost of living was actually published in Bulletin 40 as early as November, 1003 nearly eight mouths previous to Secretary Shaw's statement. Not What Democrats Wanted. It is clearly stated in the Bulletin itself that the investigation was begun in the winter of 1000-1001, and without doubt the records of the bureau and the testimony of hundreds of manufacturers whose pay rolls were examined ' would have proved the truth of the statement, had the truth been desired in Democratic quarters. But 110 for political reasons, the facts disclosed were not pleasing, and ' it seemed necessary to adopt some method, apparently any method that would detract from an exhibit of a remarkable condition of industrial depression was desired. Conclusive evidence is at hand that the gathering ot these statistic was begun in the winter of 1000-1001, and that they were not "cooked up" for the occasion as charged, but it is not to be expected that this absurd charge will be withdrawn, although as a matter of fact the figures as to wages and cost of living referred to have been corroborated by independent investigations which have been concluded by the State bureaus of several important States. It is charged also that by giviug equal weight to unimportant articles of consumption and articles of prime necessity an unduly small increase in cost of living is secured. It is gravely asserted that nutmegs, pepper, alum, etc., are given equal, weight with such important articles as lard, beef, eggs, flour, etc. This charge might, indeed, be convincing if it contained even a slight element of truth. Unfortunately for the criticism, however, the Bulletin itself states that all articles of food are weighed exactly according to the amount consumed in the average workingruan's family. In this Bulletin the exact quantities arc given and the method clearly explained, so that the charge can only be construed a a deliberate attempt to mislead the voters of the country and not as an error on the part of the compiler of the text book. As a matter of fact the most careful search of Bulletin 53 shows that the unimportant articles referred to, such as putty, nutmegs, alum, pepper, etc., are not even mentioned therein. These articles are found, however, among the 200 articles entering into an index of wholesale prices which has been puBlished annually by the bureau for the past three years, but this index has no connection whatever with the report on cost of living. One pauses to wonder at the fact that .the Democratic managers are so lacking in resource as to adopt the clumsy trick of injecting figures from another report into a discussion of the report on cost of living, and pretend that they were a part of the latter report. It must be assumed that in this section there was the studied intention to misrepresent and convey an impression to the public utterly contrary to the truth and entirely unwarranted by the facts. The entire portion of the Text Book under the caption "Absurdity of Republican Averages" (pages 124 and 125), and much that follows on pags 120 and 127, is of the character just mentioned. A Lrudicrons Complaint. The further complaint that the figures for cost of living are based on retail prices instead of wholesale can only be understood by assuming that the use of the latter would have given the Democratic campaign managers a little less discomfort. Bulletin 53 clearly explains the reasons for the use of retail prices as a basis for cost of living in preference to the wholesale. It is true that wholesale prices have been nsed at times to indicate the trend of cost of living, bat they are considered by economists as unreliable for the purpose of indicating the extent of the increase or decrease. Until the present day investigation by the Btrrean of Labor no records of retail prices covering any considerable period had ever been collected, owing to the very great expense of making