The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1881-12-31
------v------------
POST OFFICE REPUBLICANS.

The Dubuque Tines suggests that Dsyen-
| port will soon need republican paper. it
| the protective tariff is to be the leading
| question of the future, the Gazette having
gone over to the democracy on that issue.
| -Burtangton Haaokeye,
| The above Is a very innocent looking
| item, but it was enough to arouse the
| Davenport Gazette up to the widest alarm.
Frank Hatton is editor of the Burlington
| Hasoksye and also first assistant Postmaster
General, also stalwart and in the sugges-
| ton that the Gazette is not sound repub-
ican paper Mr.. Edward Russell sees danger
to that postoffice in Davenport the emolu-
ments whereof he has enjoyed for twenty
years; hence the Gazette at once in col
umn article defends itself from the charge
therein contained, aud attempts to prove
that free trade is and always has been the
doctrine of the republican party and that
a tariff for revenue has been always the
darling desire of the republican heart-in
this attempt by the way it is not success
full 1t is cruel of the Ha,okeys TO spring
this new charge on the Gazette for that pa
per has had hard enough time of it late
ly trying to prove that it is and has al
ways been stalwart, another attempt
in which it is far from successful
for while it is easy to believe that it is stall
wart now, the safety of the post Office
demands that, while Garfield was alive said
post office required it to be half breed and
half breed it was.
The Gazette is just now free trade
paper and will continue to be so until it
sees that in the advocacy of free trade
there lies danger to its post office and
then will come q change of heart and it
will perceive, what its leading republican
contemporaries throughout the state is now
telling it, that in order to be good repub-
lican one must also be a high tariff protec-
tionist and it will cry protection with the
leudest
The Des Moines State Register is a trile
cruel but yet true in this comparison,
'.The Davenport Gazette. which has been
hunting in couple with the Chicago Inter
Ocean for some time in common malice,
has come to the forks of the road The
Inter Ocean has turned to abusing President
Arthur The Gazette will not be able to
follow its twin in this line of blackguard-
ism, because it would do nothing on earth
that would endanger its post office. 1t
loves the Iate' Ocean greatly, on the prin
ciple of two mean-souled papers with
common hate. But when the Inter
Ocean expects it to do anything that will
put the Davenport post office in jeop |
ardy, the Gazette will desert it. The |
post office is the one thing the Gazette is /
faithful tor rather the possession of it !
S the only thing it never sways from. 1t
s the rankest free trader in Iowa, be-
cause its editor is an sEnglishman, and |
'olts its party on that question, although
n the presidential election of 1880, when
hat was the main issue, it went dumb on
hat question, and stopped it's free-trade
lacque for fear it might lose the post
'ffice. 1T steadily always abused and NAL
gned Arthur. till he became president and
hen it suddenly turned to be his defen-
er-to make sure of the postoffice 1t
bused Frank Hatton vIllainously for
ears, and for several days after he was
ppointed assistant postmaster general
s editor being away from home. But as
Don as he got home he set his paper to
raising Hatton, and has kept it up ever .
to hang on to the postoffice. II
nd now it viii part company even with
he inter Ocean, if to follow 1t longer will :
ndanger in the least that blessed post =
flee