Middletown transcript., 1870-11-26
THE TARIFF AND REVENUE REFoR-
MERa.


The New York Post, republican jour
nal, but strong advocate of revenue
reform, argues that the protection
lists" have bcen signally defeated in the
elections for members of the next United
States House of Representatives. As a
matter of general interest we copy its re.
marks and conclusions:
According to our count, the revenue re-
formers will have in the next House 122
votes, the protectionists will have 76 votes,
and there are As members whose opinions
we do not know well enough to designate
them. OF these, however, it is probable
that at least as many will vote for revenue
reform as for protection. There is no
doubt that the House, when it divides on
the question, will show handsome ma
jority for revenue reform
How has this been accomplished
Shortly after the Indiana election, in Oc-
tober, Vice President Colfax made public
what he believed to be the causes of the
defeat Of the republicans there. He showed
by curious array of figures, that the re-
publicans were beaten, first, because many
republican voters stayed away from the
polls; second, because :. it was positive
year of political disafection, of ticket
splitting, as well as of not voting tickets
at all" As examples, he showed that in
seven districts republican candidates for
the Legislature were beaten, while the re-
publican State ticket had majority in
them all. 6 The only congressional dis
trict where, by republican disaffection, a
Congressman was lost, the republican
State ticket has majority"
Now ticket-splitting probably appears
to Mr.. Colfax the gravcst of political
crimes; though to others it is one of the
best signs that the American citizen thinks
for himself, and is not mere machine,
1t is the discrimination exercised by voters
and mostly by republican voters, which
has put majority of revenue reformers
into the next Congress. The Evening
Post during the summer faithfully warned
the republican politicians that if they
wished success they must not nominate
monopolists, or land-grabbcrs, or men of
bad character; that their only way to
success was to take up civil service and
revene reform, and nominate their best
men. The result has shown the wisdom
of this warning. In almost every instance
IN which a civil service and revenue re-
former was nominated by the republicans,
he was elected by the people; bat multi
tude Of cases, where they nominated pro-
tectionists and hack politicians, they we're
beaten.
We have before called attention to the
peoples verdict in the October elections
upon some of the monopolists. No less
than six of the Pennsylvanians who voted
to keep up the high price of salt, steel,
and coal we're rejected in the caucus or at
the polls: Dennis Mccarthy, Martin We'll
ker and Eliakim II Moore were sum
marily rejected by their party Schenck,
O'Neill, Morrell, Donley, Cessna, Stewart,
Armstrong, Gilillan, the most pronounced
monopolists, were defeated at the polls in
districts which before uniformly supported
their party; in several districts where
revenue reformers had been nominated
for example, the first, second, seventh and
fourteenth of Ohio-handsome gains were
made.
The November elections present similar
results.
In the first Alabama district Buck, one
of the most intense monopolists, is left at
home, and Norris, another, is defeated by
democrat in the third district. In the
sixth Michigan district, Strickland. who
has voted for every scheme of the mono
polists, was defeated in the convention by
briggs, who was in turn defeated by a
revenue reform democrat. The devotion
of Gen. Paine to monopoly has given the
first Wisconsin district to the democrats.
who elected Alexander MITCHELL good
man. by over four thousand majority
The first Virginia district has been lost
in the same way. Brown and Hoge were
defeated in South Carolina No less than
Eve pronounced protectionists lost their
districts in Tennessee, while Butler and
Maynard were nominated and elected
with greatly reduced majorities, only by
the corrupt use of power in two of the
strongest republican districts in the coun-
try.
Of special significance was the result in
Arkansas and West Virginia. The first
and third districts of Arkansas are repre-
sented by Roots and Boles, two of the
worst monopolists in the House they have
both been defeated. the former by ma
jority of nearly seven thousand. On the
contrary, in the second district of Arkan-
sas the republicans nominated liberal
man. and the people elected him, although
the district gave large democratic ma
jority in 1868.
West Virginia is now represented by
three monopolists, who were elected by
large majorities. In the next Congress
the first and third districts will be repre-
sented by democrats, while McGrew's ma
jority in the second district is reduced
from 2,63O to less than one thousaed.
In the eighth Illinois district direct
issue was made on the tariff, and the
democratic candidate, James G. Robinson,
spoke 10 almost every town in favor Of
revenue reform. He over-came the yerv