Exhibition—Annual Addresses. 
97 
to the ballot box; and deposit his votes for true and honest raen 
only, I would warn all to adopt as quickly as possible, other and 
more reliable measurers. 
Long and fiercely had raged the battle of the Wilderness, and 
in the opinion of many of the soldiers and officers, the Union Ar¬ 
my was well-nigh whipped ; but, when in the opening light of 
the morning, a column of thirty thousand strong was seen moving 
toward Richmond, patriots took new courage, the rebels said the 
Union has a general now, and trailing their banners, beat a re¬ 
treat. 
Press on the discussion, watch the caucus, the ballot-box and 
the law-making bodies, and while you develop the forces neces¬ 
sary to confront the enemy —flank him. 
I do not assert, nor do I believe, that all, or a majority of the 
evils of which laborers now complain come from the injustice and 
oppression of the men of wealth. The mammoth monopolies of 
our age are made possible only through the supineness of the ma¬ 
jority of our laborers. In an hour when questions of profound 
interest excite the public mind, and a war of classes is threatened, 
men should endeavor to comprehend the whole field of contro¬ 
versy, and hasten to adopt measures which, while they directly 
check aggression, shall lift the burdened party to such a position 
of power as to remove the liability to oppression. 
In the hope of aiding to solve the problem which now com¬ 
mands almost universal thought, I shall briefly discuss the follow¬ 
ing topic : 
A VARIETY OF INDUSTRIES — THE SOURCE OF FINANCIAL AND 
SOCIAL PROSPERITY. 
I discuss this subject with special reference to the state of Wis¬ 
consin. Our principal misfortune is that we are only partial pro¬ 
ducers of the necessaries and ordinary luxuries of life, and hence 
are compelled to purchase in distant markets, and pay not unfre- 
quently the cost of a double transportation. Our deficiency in 
manufactures is the cause of great financial embarrassment. I 
think I fully comprehend the situation of our state as one of the 
youngest in this sisterhood of republics, and I speak of deficien 
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