Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1883-12-08

production, industry and labor, 9OithOln
producing or fostering nsonopolies.-
Ne'0 Jersey Democratic platform, Sept.
18Th.
THE RESULT or THE ELECTION FOR
SPEAKER.
John Griffin Carlisle was born Sep
TENDER 5, 1885, in Kenton county, KY,
just across the river from Cincinnati,
After receiving a good academic ed
ucation he studied law with Hon. Jno.
w. Stevenson and Judge VIM. B.
Kinkead, and began the practice in
1857. He was elected TO the legisla-
ture in 1859, to the state senate in 1866
and again in 1869, resigning in 1871
to make the race for lieutenant gov
ernOr, and was successful. in 1876 he
was elected to congress, and has been
reelected at each succeeding election
since, and last Monday begun his
fourth term in that body. He is thor
oughly posted on all the great politi-
cal questions of the day, and will make
Il safe, conservative, and able presiding
officer.
The CHRONICLE has all along openly
favored the election of Carlisle to the
Speakership, and we are therefore
gratified at his being chosen for the
position. We deprecated the factional
tone that was thrown into the strug-
gle, because we believed it detrimental
to the interest of the Democracy and
we hope that it has kindled no flame
that will work the party's ruin in the
coming presidential contest. Mr.. Car
isles election cannot be construed as
triumph of free trade ideas; he is
not an exponent of such views and
there were many ballots cast for him
on purely personal grounds. Randall
was supposed to be the embodiment
of high tariff principles and opposed
to all tariff reform, though he had
several times declared the contrary.
And then, too, his administration of
the Office of Speaker during the two
terms, he held it was imperious and
unpopular and those facts, alone,
would have prevented his reelection.
Mr.. Carlisle is a Southern man and
secured many Southern votes on that
account. The Southern representatives
are not blindly sectional, but in such
a contest as that over the speakership,
it was only natural that their inclina-
ton should have been towards the
Southern candidate. This was notably
true of the Georgia delegation and that
from Louisiana.
But cOnceding it as a fact that Car
isles election signifies a ponderance
OF free trade or tariff for revenue on
ly" views in the Democratic party, the
result of the contest has proven that it
will not do to introduce such an issue
into the presidentiol election. If the
supporters of Carlisle are all free
traders, then the opposition to him is
solidly arrayed against such notions,
and the opposition constituted a large
portion of the vote cast. Certainly if
so considerable part of the Democ-
racy be forced to oppose the party
platform there can be but little hope
for the success OF its candidates. If
the vote for and against Carlisle indi-
Gates the division on the tariff issue
within the party, then there is indeed
an alarming division on that subject, |
and the policy of the party would be
to let the tariff issue go to the DENIM
ton bow-wOws. 1t is sufficiently sig |
nifcant that Carlisle never received a |
single vote from New York and only |
two from Ohio. Those are pivotal |
states, and without the former Dem
Ocratic President is an impOssibility.
If the major portion of the Demo
cratic party favors a tariff for revenue
only, which we do not believe, then
that all powerful majority can deter
mine whether or not it is willing to |
wreck the prospects of the party for |
the sake of advocating such principle.
If the vote for Carlisle indicates the |
full strength of the free trade element, |
then it is evident enough that plat
form embodying such principles will |
lose us New York and Ohio, which is |
equivalent to saying that it will lose
us the Presidency. With forty per cent.
of the party in favor of protection it
would certainly be suicidal to put a free |
trade plank in the platform.
But we have been speaking hypoth-
etically. We believe that the Demo-
cratic expression on the tariff, to be |
made by the next national con-
yention, will be a re-utterance of |
the Ohio plank. The tariff must be |
reduced to a revenue basis the rights |
of the taxpayer demand it, but the
manufacturing interest of the country |
must not be threatened with over
throw. The CHRONICLE will support |
the Democratic nominee for the Pres |
idcncy on any platform, us opposed to |
the Republican candidate, but while a
decision of the majority may command !
our silent acquiesencei it cannot change |
our honest opinion.
THE democratic party is stalking |
resolutely forward to make an infer |
nal fool of itself 1t hardly escapes |
one ENHANCEMENT until it shrOuds it.