Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1882-11-22
ALPENA WEEKLY ARGUS.
The Political Earthquake.

gressional jobberies, rings, monopo
lies and high and increasing taxes
This, however, is the real reason why
so many persons voted against the
Republican party. The people be-
gan to realize that reforms were Inn
possible as long as the Republican
party was kept in power, and that II
was for the best interests of the coun
try to place the power in the hands
of the Democratic party. The result
has been that many thousands Of Re
publicans have voted against the fur
thor continuance in power Of the
party they have supported for SC
many years.
The conduct Of the Republican
party has long been a source of dis
satisfaction to great numbers of its
followers. They would gladly have
voted against their party before, but
for the doubts they entertained re-
garding Democracy, which party they
distrusted, and so they had kept on
voting their old ticket in the hopes
that the Republican party would re-
form itself.
But instead of reforming itself, the
thousands of voters who had kept the
Republican party in power, saw that
it was getting worse; that it was
really under the control of political
bosses who used the power given to
them by the people for their own sell
fish and personal interests. They
saw that its principal object was to
squander the taxes wrung from the
laborers of America; that its acts
were corrupt, and it had no real in
tention of tightening the burdens OF
the people.
The result of the jobberies and cor
ruptions of the Congressional jobbers
was that in order to pay the debts
they had created, it would require n
tax on the people of about one mil
lion dollars a day. There was no
prospect of this burdcnsome tax be-
ing lessoned while the Republican
party had control-the tendency of
that party, as seen by the actions of
the present Republican Congress, was
to still further increase the burdens.
Monopolies were increasing alarm
ingly. Unconstitutional tariff laws
were levied merely for the purpose of
assisting corporations to fleece and
rob the people. The general govern
ment began to interfere in local af-
fairs, and to dictate what State Off
GERS should be nominated. Immense
sums Of money were forced from the
government employees in order that
u corruption fund could be obtained.
Is it then any wonder that the
thoughtful voter became uneasy as he
pondcred over the political situation
He could see that elections were be-
coming farce; that, although the
country as whole was prosperous,
yet the great majority of the labor
ing people had hard time to get a
decent living; that strikes were nu-
merous that the wealth Of the coun-
try was accumulating in few hands,
and that the happiness and content
ment of the masses were being rapid
ly destroyed, their lives made bur-
den to them, and their future gloomy
and uninviting. They could see that
excessive war taxes were levied in
time of peace, and enormous sums ac-
cumulated in the national treasury for
no other purpose except to attract
thieves and public plunderers. The
life blood of the nation was being
absorbed by the Congressional leeches
the people made miserable and hope
less, and even liberty itself was in
danger from the INSCRIPTIONS men
who controlled the political machine.
Is it then strange that men began
to view the Republican party with
suspicion? Was it not time for the
citizen to come to the conclusion that
he owed more allegiance to his coun-
try than he did to a party whose USE
fullncss had gone, and which was a
danger to the people and to the free
institutions of the countrya
The citizen became aroused from
his long sleep. The alarm was sound
ed throughout this great country, and
what was first remonstrance became
n revolt, and then revolution, and
when the battle was over, the people
were victorious, and bossism, monop-
oily and Fedral interference received
rebuke that it is not likely to forget.
Democracy was the instrument used
by the people to effect a publication
of the political atmosphere, and the
acts of the Democratic members in
Congress, next year, will be closely OBJ
served to sec if they faithfully do the
duty for which they are chosen. If
the next Congress does its honest
duty, the many thousand Republicans
who voted the Democratic ticket this