By EARL KERR

The Post contributor

Wayne County Republicans celebrated their 80th Annual Lincoln Day Dinner Feb. 16. The event was held at the Greenbriar Party and Conference Center in Wooster. Party Chairman Jim Smail was master of ceremonies and, after dinner, introduced the featured speaker, Bill Batchelder. Rep. Batchelder is the Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives.

Batchelder opened by saying that one of the things he is most proud to have been a part of was helping the party capture control of the House of Representatives. He said that in the last election cycle, the number of Republicans in the house went from 46 to 59 in the 99 member chamber. He told of travelling the state recruiting candidates.

In Scioto County, he stopped to talk to the party chairman. The house district there had not elected a Republican since 1946. He looked at the diplomas and awards on the walls and discovered that the chairman was a decorated veteran and a doctor of some renown. Batchelder asked him why he didn't run. The chairman agreed on the spot and that fall won 61 percent of the vote. More success stories followed.

Then he turned to the matter of Governor Kasich and told the story of how a handful of Republicans had been trying to get legislation passed to control "pill mills" in Ohio. Governor Strickland and the Democrats wouldn't let the bill out of committee, but once Republicans took control, the legislation came to life. Kasich was so impressed with how quickly the legislators got it up for a vote that he made the unprecedented step of coming to the House to watch the vote.

Batchelder contrasted the performance of Strickland and Kasich with two examples. American Greetings was threatening to leave Cleveland for Illinois and Bob Evans Restaurants were planning a headquarters move to Texas. Strickland made no progress stopping those moves. As soon as Kasich took office, he personally stepped in to keep those jobs in Ohio.

The Speaker made it a point to thank Wayne County for sending Ron Amstutz to Columbus. He lauded Amstutz' mastery of the budget and credited him with finding a way to eliminate an eight billion dollar deficit without raising taxes or cutting services. He said he knows he has the right man in the job of chairman of finance and appropriations.

As he closed his speech, Batchelder quoted Arnold Toynbee who said that most republics only last a couple generations. Then he referred to the famous question posed to Benjamin Franklin at the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention when he was asked: "Mr. Franklin, what government has the convention created?" Franklin's answer: "A republic, if you can keep it." Franklin knew how fragile is a republic.

Batchelder warned that "the people in power in Washington hold this republic in peril. We must protect and preserve this republic when we vote this fall." He concluded: "I wish for each of us to meet Mr. Franklin someday and tell him, face to face, that by God's grace, we have kept it.