Justin R. Whiting

     Hon.Justin R. Whiting, the democratic candidate for governor, spoke at the court house Wednesday evening and made an exceedingly favorable impression. He will poll a good vote here. M. J. Cavanaugh presided at the meeting and introduced Chas. H. Manley as the first speaker, who referred to the numerous promises of just legislation which bad in the past been made by the republicans, which has not been fulfilled. He referred to Pingree's special session of the legislature and its failure to accomplish anything and to the governor's charge made at the republican convention in this city that legislators were bought. He said "I don't care how Andrew J. Sawyer voted. I don't believe Andrew J. Sawyer can be bought. I don't care how Andrew Campbell voted. I don't believe Andrew Campbell can be bought." He closed with a reference to Mr. Whiting's support of the per diem bill while in congress and appealed to the old soldiers.

    Mr. Whiting asked to be excused for his personal references to his previous campaigns. In 1882 ho was nominated for state senator in a district strongly republican and was elected. Ia 1886 he was elected to congress by a 1,000 majority. In 1888 he was re-elected by 466, although the district gave Harrison over 1,000 majority. He was re-elected to congress in 1890 and 1892. He bad been asked how he had succeeded in his past campaigns and illustrated it by a good Lincoln story and continued. "I never try to get the people on my side. I always try to get on the side of the people. Ours is a country of laws of the people, not the edicts of emperors or of kings. Therefore political thought is important. You often hear it said that the best citizens decline to take any part in politics. This is wrong. I think it true that the man who fails to take any part in politics is a political coward. The caucus law is imperfect. I think that we should have a caucus law by which every citizen should have the privilege of exercising bis choice without any undue strife. The polls at the caucuses ought to be kept open as long as they are at an election.'

     His only experience in political life, he said, excepting a short time in the state senate, had been along national issues. It was not his purpose to discuss national issues this evening. Sometimes he discussed them and sometimes not. But he wished to refer to one or two planks in the national platform and one of the most important planks is that we are opposed to the further issue of interest bearing bonds. The debt is large enough He believed it had been unnecessarily increased for there was today $300,000,000 of idle money in the national treasury. The American people were today in debt $60,000,000,000 of dollars, a sum so large we cannot conceive of it. The debt amounts to more than three fourths the assessed valuation of real and personal property in the country. Interest on it at 5 per cent would amount to $3,000,000,000 a year or over $8,000,000 a day, or $40 per capita per year. For a family of five the interest would average $200 a year. Labor paid every dollar of this interest.

    When he first entered the campaign he had been advised to promise the people rigid economy. But before doing so he thought he had better visit some of the state institutions. He had visited the Kalamazoo asylum and found 1,100 patents well oared for at the light cost of $2.40 per week. He described the scenes witnessed in a touching manner and said he didn't believe a single taxpayer would want to cripple this institution a dollar. He then visited the state prison at Jackson and found the same number of inmates there. The institution was economically managed but he found 300 men making shirts at the contract price of 33 cents a day and made up bis mind that it was not wise to have this prison labor come into competition with honest outside labor and that better justice would be done if we put our prisoners at work on the stone piles and built better highways. He visited the Agricultural college at Lansing and found the freshman class so large that they couldn't provide quarters for it and found that they got a practical education fitting them for life on a farm and in his judgement agriculture was the most important pursuit Agriculture is first and commerce is its hand maid. He visited other institutions and found them economically administered and wanted to see them kept up to the standard.

    He had not thought it necessary to visit the university for 35 years ago he had come here as a student. He said "I know it is the pride of the people of the state. I know it is the pride of the northwest and I believe the people of the state are willing to support it. Neither do we want to raise its cost to the pupils and lessen their numbers. This institution has always been one of the common people, where the poorest can come and get their education.

    Mr. Whiting then went into a series of interesting reminiscences concerning his college life and continued "I have always been thankful for the years spent here and hope the classical course will never be lessened in the university. I say here tonight, if I am  honored with an election as governor, this institution will have my fullest and most earnest consideration at all times.

    He was glad he did not make any claim that he would pursue a cheese paring policy. But some would say, are you in favor of equal and just taxation. If you could find a man who wasn't in favor of this you could put him in a glass case and exhibit him.

   The constitution provides for three co-ordinate branches of government, the executive, the legislative and the judicial and eacb acts as a check on the other. He didn't believe any one man should dictate to all the branches. He thought it especially bad taste to say that four men appointed by the executive were less liable to be bought than six judges of the supreme court elected by the people. His judgment on the taxation of railroads would be that it would be wiser to leave it to the supervisors of the various townships in which the property is located. They assess all other property, why are they not qualified to assess this.

   While in Lansing he found some unnecessary expenditure in bis judgment. In 1892 there were 44 extra clerks employed in the auditor general's office at an average salary of $63 a month. Last year there were 110 extra clerks in this office at an average salary of $79 a month. Why were these salaries raised? He wondered if some of these clerks had not been unnecessarily appointed and have become part of a great political machine. He promised that if be was elected not one dollar of the funds of the people would be appropriated to build up a political machine.

   The speech continued for some time after our extracts from it ended and grew even more eloquent towards its close but space forbids giving it in full.

    The above, however. is a sample of the candid, straightforward talking that should assist in  electing Justin K. Whiting governor of Michigan.