How corrupt GOP brought about the Great Depression

[MissWaverly]

Bedford Gazette 11/14/1902

The result of last weeks election, wholly disappointing is not wholly disappointing
to the friends of good government. The returns show that the machine politicians
throughout the country received some pretty hard jolts...The shameful violation
of the law are what defeated the Democratic candidates. The voters of the country
districts did their part like men but the corrupt vote in the metropolitan strongholds
of the gang was too great to overcome...

Although they did not win a complete victory there are many features of last weeks
election which will inspire those who are opposed to bossism and tyranny and
corruption to continue the warfare with renewed zeal determined to do or die...
But will never give up until the state is rescued from the political pirates who are
plundering her.

In these days of political boncome, when the Republicans are boasting of the
marvelous job their party has done for the country...In his friendship for the
moneyed men of the Metropolis “Sec. Shaw, acting perhaps on the principle
that the end justifies the means actually went beyond the law to protect
the plutocrats. It is gratifying to know all Republican papers do not condone
the offences of Republican officials...”Secretary Shaw decides that in the absence
of direct prohibition, he may abolish the reserve clause as it applies to government
deposits. No sooner thought than done-done illegally, done by riding roughshod over
the act of congress, done in such a manner to constitute an assault upon the integrity
and stability of our national banking system.”

This was copied from a scanned copy of the Bedford Gazette, (Pennsylvania, 1902 copy
of the newspaper). I never learned this in the history books, that the corrupt republican
machine controlled the vote in the early 1900s and brought about the dropping of
the reserve for government deposits and hence the Great Depression of the 1930s. If this
was in the history books, I missed it.

[GrumpyGreg]

1. Who wrote this article?

[MissWaverly]

2. There was no author that I could see

All complaints, concerns were to be taken up with Bedford Publishing, and you could get
a free sample from the druggist for a medicine that would cure anything, year
subscription the Bedford Gazette was $2.00

[hootinholler]

3. Is the original yours?

Otherwise a link to the article would be great. I tried to rec it, but it's too old.

Thanks for posting this.

-Hoot

[MissWaverly]

4. Hoot, I got it from Ancestry.com

I fell over it while I was researching my family. I can try to save it to my desktop,
don't know it will work, will try this weekend.

[Reaction]

5. There was a "minor" piece of legislation

passed between '02 (the year of the article) and the crash of '29 and that was the Federal Reserve Act. The liquidity provided by the Fed acted like gasoline on a fire when it came to inflating the stock market bubble that led to the Great Depression. Who was president when the Federal Reserve Act was passed? None other than Mr. "make the world safe for democracy" himself - Democrat Woodrow Wilson. Sorry, but those are the facts, folks. And history has shown that it can and will repeat itself. Prepare yourselves.

[MissWaverly]

6. Well, sorry but the Sec. Shaw served under Teddy Roosevelt

this was slipped in under a republican administration, and as the writer clearly states it
was done with the stroke of a pen by a cabinet member who was secretary of the treasury.
Cabinet members overriding congress, hmmmn where have I heard that before. Cabinet members
favoring monied specai interests over the needs of the country. Hmmmm, oh well, not to
worry Bush DOES not know Jack Abramoff. Oh, but Karl Rove and Ken Mehlman do, oh well,
not to worry.

Leslie M. Shaw, served as Sec. to Treasury, 1902-1907 under Teddy Roosevelt, returned
to banking after he left office.

:-)