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Wheelmen And Politics Their Interest In The National Cam=paign Of 1896 Good Roads, Good Money, Good Business And Good Government Interesting Reading For Every Wheelman In The United States

Wheelmen And Politics Their Interest In The National Cam=paign Of 1896 Good Roads, Good Money, Good Business And Good Government Interesting Reading For Every Wheelman In The United States image
Parent Issue
Day
28
Month
October
Year
1896
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

"The wheelnien know as well as any part of mu1 population what good roads mean and how much easier it is to make progresa and time over them thau over poor roads. They know that for three and b half yeara this country has been traveling over a rocky road. ïhey want nn improvement. They want not only better roads for their wheels, but every obstacle removed from the great natioual highway, so that the wheels of industry can start in every faetory and mil] in tlie United States." - Maj. MeKinley to the wheelmen, Cantón, October 3. 1S96. The bicycle is a new development in the political as well as the material world. The question is sometimos asked wliy bicyclists, as bicyclists, take nn especial interest in the present political campaign. That they are doing so is perfectly apparent, and many people who have not given the subject any attention have failed to understand why the citizens interested in this particular feature of everyday life should associate that interest with the political issues of the day. Upon this subject the words of James R. Duun, ex-president of the League . of American Wheelnien, are of interest. Discussing this question in response to inquines and suggestions from wheelmen and others. he says: "While the wheel and its votaries have beon objects of great interest from many points of view, since the early days of cycling until the present, they have been but silent evidences of the general trend of social conditions toward a more independent and vigorous national life. To the wheolmen's organizations rightfully belongs the credit for the vast ment in the streets and highways of the country and the growth of sentiment in that bchalf, but the relation between the wheel and commerce is seldom correctly uuderstood. "One hears much of the inroads upon the trade of jewelers, liveryinen, carriage builders and clothiers, caused by the diversión of the dollars from these lines of merehandise to the bieycle-makers, but it is easy to demónstrate that while these eomplaints may have some slight foundation of fact, in reality the general view is a false one. "Upon the other hand, the claim may be set up that the commerce in bicycles has grown to sueh proportions as to far outweigh the loss to the several lines of trade supposed to be affected. Look. for exaruple. at the vast amount of capital iuvested in the hundreds of mammoth faetones engaged in the construction of whpels, the army of skilled artisans employed, and the idle men put to work in all the ramifications of this new line of trade. Then glance over the commercial reports and learn that hundreds of thousands more have found employment in the sale of bicycles. Look further and you wijl note that when overtaken by the business depression occasioned by the uncertain political eonditions of these three sad years of Democratie misrule, the watchmakers, carriage builders, sewing-maekine manufacturers and various other industrial branches turned their factories over to the cyele trade, and went right on with their business. The mechanics thus employed and the agents and dealers who have prosperad, are but a part of the inany who have been benefited. Add to these the brains and hands of inventors, and sive a moment'a thought to the immeiisi activity during dull times of those employed n the manufacture of rubber, steel and leather. Where can we find a better argument for the beneficent repults of the protective policy under which this new and wonderful branch of commerce has been built np? I .have been asked why should wheelmen.' any more than any other class of citizens, take an interest in politics, and I answer, becanse they are vigorous, energetic, sober, and representative of the best of all classes and elements in the social fabric. Süeh i the stuft' of which good citizena are made, and all good citizens are poiiticians of the better sort. The clubs that are springing into being in every city and hamlet, the rapid eurollment of voters in the National Wlieelmen's McIvinley and Hobart club and the messages of good cheer from every section, attest -the popularity of this new political movemeut. Two millions of voters who use wheels for business and diversion,. . constitute an array against whieh all the arts of the free-silver theonsts cannot prevail. Moreover, these are not the ignorant and untutored, but the thinkers as well as the workers Neither are they 'distinguished as a separate class' or 'element.' They represent all classes of society. "If there is any class óf citizens who should at this time bury all feelings of party prejudice and ps.rtisanship, and engage in this battle for the honesty and integnty of our institutions, it is the wheelmen, who have, during seventeen years. shown their fighting qualities and sturdily maintained their rights and privileges under the Iaw. The cvclist has been prominent in local . clections in many parts of the country, where he usuully holds the balance of power but never before has he taken a distinctive ?w ilr na,tlr0lml camPaign. The fact that Maj. McKinley has frequentlv champioued the cause of wheelmen and endorsed their undertakings in behalf of the improvernent of the highways beeides mamtaining close affiliations of a personal character with their leaders has enshrined lum in their hearts and caused wK' niSf t0 Partidpate iD M-Jlñúll S the Amcnca. In his uiaueura addriss delivered in January, 1892, he gave prominent utterance to the great imporlneeTthe improvement of highways, and I bis ac tion had immense influence pon the governors of other states, who, untUthen had been fearful of the consequences of üon.nS aU aCt'Ve Stand Upon ths Tueï "Later on, in January, 1893, in hig annual message to the general' assembly Gov. McKmley took a step further and euggested the creation of a-state h gliwav commission, which he later had thé nleai -iv o appointing. I,s first ,„it attracted widespread attentíon. His cooperation an;l support in fonvarding the proposed legislatíon by Copgrft fof t l appcuntment of a national hfghway com mission were always freely given f transcendent influence. G0T. ñcKinley tendered a reception to the members of the ïv a Uonal Assembly of the League of American AVheelmen, in session at Co. lumbus, in Í892, and was then and there ' decorated with badges, and made an cydingrcluTs"ber f tW f the Chicas MAJ. M'KINLEY TO WHEELMEN. Good American Roadg, Good American Wheels - Good Money and liugy Fatories Are Aeslred. No incident of the campaign, during which thousands of delegations have visited Maj. McKinley at his home at ton, has more interested hito than tba( of Ootober 3, n whieh a large body of wheelinen from all parts of the country called to pay their respects. Not only was the speetacle unique, but the thought which it suggested to Maj, McKinley and which he expressed in his address to his visitors will be read by every bicyclist of the country with interest. Good roads, a subject which interests every bicyclist, were but the beginning of the important questions which this great gathering of wheelmen suggeaietl to this great statesman who has noted with much interest the derelopment in manufactures and the employment for American workmen which has been the direct result of the development of this interest in the United States. The visitors were intr&duced by addresses from Vice-Prcsidont Williams of the National Wheelmen's McKinley snd Hobart club and W. V. Watts of the executive committee of Louisville, Ky. Mr. Williains' Address. "Maj. McKinley: The wheeled hosts of the United States come today to avoW their allegiance to you, the great leader of a great political party in a great :iational crisis. We come from the farm and from the city; from the workshop and from the counting-room; froni the factory and from the store; from the East and from the West; from the North and from the South. "We represent no particular section of country, but all sections; no particular occupation, but all occupations; no particular interest, but all interests; no particular rank in life, but all rauks. Our hond of brotherhood is our wheel- not a mere toy or simple source of pleasure, but a givat commercial auxiliary, the acnie of mechanical skill in the evolution of the vehicle. "The enthusiasm of wheelmen is proverbial. Today there is no diminution, but an increase of that euthusiasm, and every pulsation of that activity is dedicated to a patriotic resolution to work and win under the leadership of William McKinley, the man of the people, the man of ideal home life, the scholar, the patriot, the orator, the statesman, the next President of these United States. "The National Wheelmen's McKinley and Hobart club, conceived in a happy moment by our president. Mr. Walker, and deyeloped by him and the other officers, is today actively and extensively organized in every state in the Union; and the enrollment grows so fast that this movement bids fair to be the banner campaign organizaron of 1896. "The wheelmen are alive to the danKpi-s of the hour, as threatened by that exfraordinary platform .f ramed by Mr Bryan and his party. The assaült on our Suprerne court is the muttering of revolution. The screed against federal interference in the lowering of old glory to the red flag of anarchy. Free silveY at 16 to 1 is repudiation'and national dishonor. To these un-American doctrines we cannot subscribe, and against them we patriotically enroll ourselves. "In marked contrast to these revolntionary measures proposed is the platform of the party you so ably lead, and of all crystalizations of the questions at stake, none, in my humble judgment, has been so clear and perfect as your statement that it is a good deal bètter to open the milis of the United States to the labor of America than to open the mmts of the United States to the silver of the world. That is the issue. Not the exploiting of one industry for the benefit of the few, but the reviving of our numberless prostrated industries for the benefit of the many. Not the work ot prospectmg, but the prospe,ct of workïng. .Not the labor of development, but the development of labor. Not the dislodging of silver ore by blast or piek, to debase our currency, but the dislodgïng of the competition of cheap foreignmade goods by the dynamic force of an equitable tariff which fully protects Amencan labor. Not the transporting ot silver bullion to hungry maw of a free mint, but the carrying of our goods and produce to the great home market of a free people at work. Not the fumes of the smelter, but the smoke ot the factory. Not the clank of the maehinery that mints the dollar, but the whu-r of the spindle and loom that créate the nation's wealth. Not the free and unliniited coinage of the precious metal but the free and unlimited outW)}.ot tho work of a precious people. As wheelmen, then, but more than tnat, as patnotic Amerieans, we here and now dedícate ourselves, our untirinü activity our influence and our votes to ou and the mighty cause vou so fitlv represent, confident that thè battle we are waging under your leadership will be for'"thrl-Uh "e' because we are öghting Address of W. W. Watt of Kentucky. "Maj. McKinley: A Republican all my hfe, at times when to be such withm my state seemed idle so f ar aa results were concerned, it gives me the greatest pleasure to come before you today as the representative of thousandsof wheelmen, Republican and Democratie alike, in the home of the Star-eyed Goddess of Reform, and bring their ereetorofisSvs.0 the great aiosti6 "Not alone do the wheelmen of Kentucky greet you, but in this greeting come the voices of many thousands of riders in tnat vast territory surrounding the state, the beautiful, the sunny South And just as in Kentucky, it comes i iírom Demcrats as Hepublican, and without regard to party affiliation It may well be asked why is it that these members of an opposing party, an pld enemy, are today wishing and workmg: for your success-your election to the reontCplainWhlCh yU aSpire' but the "As wheelmen they remember your courtesy as governor of the state of Ohio to the National Assembly of the League of American Wheelmen that grand organization in control of cyclins tn ai2 A3,erica' meeting at Columbuf in 1S9 They remember that as eovernor of the state you espoused that cause, so dear to the hearts of all wheelmen'u ood roads crusade. They remember that, hke that great statesmaiT Honry Clay, who labored so diligently for tlie coustruction of the nationalhigh. ways, in all your official positions vou Siven the cause such aid as was iu rom p,,wer. They know that vou are an enemy to anarehy, an enemy to revoution, an enemy to repudiation; they know that you are for building up the industries of this, the greatest country on friend' 7 knW that you th" , "And being good citizens, and knowmg these things, already organiza tkTn the South. A most remarkable fact developed at Louisville, Kentucky in the enrollment of members in the Ñation a Wheelmen's McKinley and Hobart eiUb5-v, Theure the riders of our mddVrn stood have been asked to enlist wkhout regard to party affiliation. After ino had been asked a report of progress was made Of that l6o about two-Llrdl of wnom had been Democrats, but one refused, and the other ninety-nine had sigiied and agreed to do what work they could for you. "This work continúes, pens cannot be gotten quickly enough for signatures, and by November 3 the wheelruen ot the South, with puncture-proof tires, riding over thorns, no cross to them then, will be presentid to the enemy in solid phalanx, McKinley and Hobart flags floating fn the breezes, and above the din and roar of the battle then taking place, there will be heard their voices giviug the passwords, McKinley, our frieud: McKinley, our homes; McKinley, our country." Maj. McKinley's Response. Maj. McKinley responded as follows: "Mr. Chairman and my fellow citizens: You are very welcome to my home. I am glad, thrice glad. to have the wheelmeu representing more than a dozen states of the American Union, cali to give me not only the assurance of their individual support, but of the support ef the many thousands whom they represent. I am pleased with the assuring message given to me by your eloquent spokesnian. You not only ride well, but you speak well. (Laughter and npplause.) I can only say in return for those generous and eloqient message that I thank you most sineerely. (Applause.) Political clubs on wheels are novel in political contests and are truly and originally American. Their presence marks a new era in campaign work, and I cannot forbear to congratúlate you upon the inauguration of this mighty force in American politics. The bicycle is entirely a development of the Nineteenth i century. and in no age in the history of I :he world would its benefits and utility ïave been so quickly and generally accnowledged. In the category of inventions, I doubt if any vehicle, or means of locomotion, was ever so favorably received. Indeed, its growth in public favor and general use is little less than marvelous. We all remember as boys how we wondered if it would be possible that such rapid locomotion would ever be invented as would transport us in a single night from one side of our state to the other. And yet Yankee ingenuity and American invention has made t possible or us to cross almost a half dozen states n a single night. (Applause.) Eapid transit in this novel condition- good roads (great cheering and ringing of bicycle bells), and 1 believe in them (great ipplause), and I can not help but reeall as the eloquent Kentuckian, your spokesuan, has said, that Henry Clay is the statesman to whom the country is most argeljr indebted for the greatest national ■oad, in all proba bil ity- that was ever built. (Applause.) Good roads are progressing, with remarkable advancement, n every part of our wonderful country. t is a matter of congratulation that nost of the states. inffuenced almost enirely by your efforts, have pressed the subject home upon the people with gratiying results. An Italian once called the ricycle "a poem in metal," but its use is ong since out of the realm of romance nnd song and belongs to one of the greatest and most wonderful inventions of the ïme; to the rank of steamboat, railroad elegraph and telephone. (Great cheerng.) "The Americans are eminently practical people, and were quick to see both he convenience and utility of this beauïrul machine, so simple and perfect in every part, and well designed as a whole, hat prejudice could not avail against it nor pride, or prudishness, or fear prevent its widest use by men, women and hildren everywhere. (Applause and inging of bells.) Such a scène as I witness before me today would not be possi)le in any other country of the world t is a spectacle long to be rememberedand it is at once an inspiration and eduation. Bicycle riding is useful, not only or health and reereation, but in business and in almost every department f human exertion. The bicyele delivers our mail; it carries messages with swiftless and reliability, it is ín use for courer service in the army, pólice and health departments of our cities, and it is emiloyed in many other forms of delivery vork, and with the application of power ts usefulness will practically have no imit. "No one should attempt the statistics f the bicycle industry. In 1870 there wa5o"i?5 ? blcycle industry in the world. n 1880 there were but three iu America nd those only experimenting in the most vague and indifferent manner. In 1805 fifteen years later, there were 300 bicycle actories with a product of 500.000 mahines at a cost of $37,500,000, while hec?,lAtRÍ!Á Predieted for this year. 1806, s 800,000. (Applause.) 'To describe lie modern bicycle,' says a recent writr, 'is to follow a bullet in its flight ' Laughter and applause.) The eyelist believe, has beaten the best time ever made by a horse and has almost surassed in speed the fastest engines in the Trd;, (.Cornrtnue(i cheering and tingling f bells.) The speed of the wheelmen would be extremely useful for a political jarty if mere distance were the test of ts running qualities. (Great laughter nd cheering.) The size of a political arty, however, is in the strength of its ause. (Applause and cries of 'Hear ear.') lts running qualities rest upon ts principios, and how far those priniples shall command the oonscience, the onfidence and the intelligence of' the American people. These principies were ever stronger and never appealed to he interest of the American voter as ow, and never within your knowledge r mine, exoept in tEe days of the war ïas the Republican cause so absorbed ublie tbought and commanded earnest ffort-,Oc,J;he„?art of the 13eP'e as this ear, 1806. Never were there so many wnds willing to help on that cause S'ever were so many willing hearts lovng that cause as now- never in all our lietory. (Applause.) "Xever was so much individual effort part from the work of the campaijrñ ommittee, performed by Demócrata and iepublic-ans and men of other parties as now; never were men of all races and ationalities, employmenta and profeslons so earnest for the succesa of the Republican causa as today. The women are alike interested; they want goód lawa and good politics and good government and hold them quite as necessary tor their welfare and happiness as for ihcir husbands, or brothers, or fathers. (Applanse.) I taay be wrong, but I do not recall that the wheelmen of this country represen ting as they do the homes, ti resides and professions of the country, were ever interested in a national politica] campaign before. What but a mighty cause would bring 5000 wheelmen from different sections of the country to Cantón to pay a visit to ann-sidential candidate of a political arty? Your visit demonstra tes the earnest fceling of the people, the deep solicitude of the people in the outeome of a political contest. The wheelmen know as well as any part of our population what good roads mean, and how much easier it is to make progress and time over them than over poor roads. They know, too, that for three and a half years this country has been traveling over a rocky road. (Tremendous applause and ringing of bells.) Full of ruts and quagmires rnd covered with obstructions, and as a result the American people have had 'a very hard road to travel.' laughter and applause.) They want an improvement. They not only want better roads for their wheels, but they want every obstruction removed from the great national highway so that the wheels of industry will' start in ;very factory and mili in the United States. (Vociferous cheering.) They would rather have American wheels running in our factories, giving employment to American labor and supplying us with American goods, than to have foreign wheels supplying us with goods. Good roads are indispensable to the comfort of the wheelmen, and good money is indispensable to the progress and integrity nf the United States. (Applause.) I ain glad to know that the wheelmen in such vast mimbers are enlisted in the cause of an honest dollar, an honest observation of Iaw, honest payment of the public debt, honesty in the execution of private eontracts, a protective tariff that will defend honest American citizens from the cheap labor of other countries and which at the same time will preserve a got)d home market to the honest farmers of the United States. (Great applause.) Your visit will inspire higher and greater activity for the triumph of the cause in November, and will cheer the hearts of the friends of the cause everywhere. (Great applause.)" "THE VALUE OF A DOLLAR." That Mach Criticised Article in tlio t. A. W. Bulletin. An editorial in the L. A. W. Bulletin of August 14, 1896, in which. the money question was discussed, bas been the subject of some criticism by those who apparently could not see that the Bulletin ' had any interest in the oountry's prosperity or any right to express an opinión about it. So much interest has been awakened in the article by this criticism that its most important features are herewith reproduced: At a time when everybody else is talking, and a few are thinking, about the money question, it would seem "lonesome like" for the L. A. W. Bulletin to keep still. What is a dollar? What is it for? Why has it value? Money is a memorandum, nothing more. You have it beeause you have rendered a service to some one, and you part with it beeause you want something that is possessed by another. (This refers, of eourse, to the honest and legitímate use of money.)) If there were but two men in the world, money of some sort would still be necessary, but for no other reason than that it would be more convenient than book-keeping. The volume of money should be proportioned to the number of people and the arnount of business done, for most obvious reasons, but the . purchasing power of a dollar Bhould remain the i same, if possible, eo as to maintain the basis upon which the present and past business is and has been conducted. No change either way in the value of money can be made without working a serious injustie to large aumbers of people. If the mere issuance of money by the government could add to the general prosperity, then ws could all be made wealthy in a week. The effect of money on business is wholly in the mind, purely imaginary, but the effect is there, neverthelcss. Business is made by the supplying of human wants. Wheu people get scared they stop buying, and there is a "panic," "hard times," "commercial depression," etc, etc. When people are confident a.nd hopeful they indulge themselves in many more of the comforts and luxuries of life, and then business "booms." Who is to blame? Most emphatically it is the cheap politicians and calamityists, who care for nothing beyond what fodder they can get out of the public manger, and who would be willing to precipítate any sort of a panic for the sake of winning paying political positions. Gold is of less value intrinsically than iron is, but owing to its limited quantity and the fact that the supply cannot increase suddenly, bout twenty-six grains of it bas been takf n to represent a dollar and for the last twenty years the prices of goods which hUve an intrinsic value beeause they are i'iseful, have been fixed with relation to taat Standard gold dollar. Whether wages are higher or lower, or Tfhether the pnce of wheat is higher or lower than at some time in the past taking the dollar as a standard, is of no consequenee. It is only the relative values of things that should be considered and these cannot be permanently affected' by the supply of money. The only condition that can for a term of years modify the pnce of any Standard article of commerce is the supply of that article and its lelation to the demand. t COL. POPE ON SILVER. He Tliinks Bryan's Electlon Would Uring Distress to All- Will Vote for M'Kinley. The following letter from Col. Albert A. Pope, recently addressed to the editor of the Referee, wil! interest all bicyclists: "Hartford, Conn., Oct. ].- The currency question of today is, it seetns to me, the most important national issue that has arisen since the close of our Civil war. The question squarely put is, 'Shall we have good or bad ïnoney?' though, through the sophistry of skillful agitators, it has been so twlsted as to read, 'Shall we have a gold standard or free eoiuage of silver?' I want a dollar that, even when melted into bullion, will buy a dollar's worth of produce in the open markets of the world, and this is the only way we can have a nonchangeable unit of vahie, just as the yard is a standard and not an elastic measure. "Experience is always the best teacher, and experience has demonstrated the fact that all monetary values have beeu referred to gold as a Standard, whether in gold countries or in regions where the free eoinage of silver has been legally established. Fifty-three cents' worth of the white metal stamped at the mints of the United States is nothing more or less than a United States demand note to pay to the bearer 47 cents plus the market value of the coin. No decree of any nation on earth can créate value. No decree of any nation on earth can créate value. A man in business ïife is worth what hls assets will bring and not the face value of the notes he may have circulated in the market. "If. with the limited coinage of silver, its value, relative to gold, has constantly decreased, it is certainly logical to conclude that under the free coinage of silver there would be a still greater disparity of values. "The unlimited use of silver as a coin would, in my judgment, bring about the greatest financia! calamity that bas ever visited the United States, and would be followed by distress among all classes such as we have never seen. It would bear very heavily upon the workingman, and cause a gradual rise in the price of necessities; nor would it nnake a proportional advance in the pay of the wageearner. [The italic are ours. - Éd.] "We are running our factories, and have on our payroll over 2000 men, because we believe that the common sense of the American people will bring about the right solution of this question, and that the poll of uext November will demónstrate this fact. If I thought Bryan would be elected on the free silrer platform I should feel it my duty to close down our factories tomorrow, thus throwing out of employment hundreds of worthy men by a step which would be neeessary to protect ourselves, for we believe that, with the free silver party in power, we have enough stock made up to last a long time. . Personally I am an independent and have voted three times for Grover Cleveland, but this fall my ballot will be cast for the Republican ticket because I believe in honest money." PUNCTURES FOR SILVER TIRES. It is probable that when the most enthusiastic free silver eyclists reach the golden streets above they will refuse to ride over them, demanding that their yellow glare be replaced by the reflection of the sun upon pavements of the pure white metal. A cyclist can coast down a bad hill without feeling the effects of the trip thereafter. Not so with a great nation. A coast down the fiuancial steeps from the plains of the monetary soundness to the swamps of uncertain values means national stagnation and panie, and the paralysls of confidence and credit- the first essentials of prosperity. The deluging of the United States mints with Niagaras of metal at a legal price nearly doublé its value in the markets of the world would find a splendid equivalent in the building of a bicycle weighing fifty pounds, of inferior tubing, instead of a twenty-five pound machine of superior steel and of equal strength and rigidity.

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Ann Arbor Courier