Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1884-07-17

Gen. Butler was a source of great
trouble at Chicago. A majority Of
the delegates at the convention, who
were old enough, had at one time or
another abused him in public speech
as cock-eyed spoon thief and insult
er of women. To the southern dele
CATION he was simply loathsOme, and
to the northern delegates he was an
affection. but he was there. an accred-
tied delegates from Massachusetts,. land
there was rs getting rid of him, and
being there, he had his say, and there
was nobody bold enough TO cry him
down. He was put on the committee
on platform; he watched the commit
tee shivering and chattering for thir-
ty-six hours in an endeavor to crawl
around the tariff issue, and when he
got back into the convention this is
what he said about the pusillanimous
result of the committees delibera-
dOns: -
."Think of il amomerf. The Demo-
cratic party refusing, when they must
raise taxes, TO raise them in such a
manner as best to sustain their own
laboring men. Will that do? Arey you
ready to go into contest with our OPP
ponents with such platform! leone
here as no mendicant-no beggar. 1
come here representing more than /,
500 600 labOring men. have brought
their condition before this convention.
| demand, not that you should give
them anything. but when you are TAX
ing from the People that you take il
only where IL will hurt them least Is
that an unreasonable demand! DO
you think you can get along with
out them? do not, and therefore
l. brought them here as
your allies, if you receive them, and
they will see me go away Borrowing if
you do not receive them. object to
the tariff plank of your platform
adopted by the committee, for it took
them thirty-siX hours to frame il. and
if it took these able gentlemen that
time to frame it and get it in form,
there must be some reason for it; and
iftfey could not find out what they
meant in thirty-six hours, how is Il la
boring man to find out what il means!
The tariff plank of the platform should
be SO that he who runs may read. The
difficulty was that there was radical
difference between us-a difference of
principle. The very able chairman of
the committee, Col. Morrison, for whom
| have the very highest respect be-
cause he believes that there should be
no such thing as protection of Ameri-
can labor by revenue taxation-in-
deed, think he believes it cannot be
done; and believe there should be
that protcction-sneh fOstering, such
cherishing. lie could not yield To his
convictions. | could yield 10 mine
And therefore our associates on the
committee had 10 spend all their time
TO say something which would mean
one thing one way and another thing
another. And now read the platform
Read the tariff plank, and see il you
can find out exactly what it does
mean. II does not mean protection.
II il did, Colonel Morrison is too hon
est TO bring it here. And yet it is
twisted so that it is supposed
that it might mean protection.
Democrats in the convention, YOU
passed Il tariff plank in 1876, tariff
for revenue only,-only for revenue
and You had II statesman on il that
could carry very poor platform on
his back and yet win. In 1880 YOU
had tariff for revenue only, and il
broke the back of the most gallant
soldier in the country. And YOU lost. |
And now you have got a tariff for
public purposes exclusively. What is
the difference? Exclusively" means
"only," and "only" means exclusive
ly." Think il over. am here
about no boys play. The
success of this campaign in my
judgment, before God depends
upon the question this night to
be settled here and now. II YOU
would say TO the workingmen of New
York, New Jersey, Connecticut, New
Hampshire and Massachusetts, that You
mean protection to their interest,
where you cannot say it for certain,
God help yon, for cannot. Your
platform sa, S that you won't cut down
taxation so that but what you can pro-
tect wOrkingmen. And you say it !
must not be cut down below that. |
Well, what are you going to do if you |
do not cut il down! You say nowhere |
in your platform that you will not dis
criminatc in favor of the workingmen
and women of tn is country, who are
the true Democracy of the country.
Mark IT. You may say my very good
friend Col. Morrison will tell YOU he
does not believe in protecting labor,
or fostering and cherishing labor do
not use the word ''protection," because
| do not want TO tlaunt the red flag TO
a bull. If he does not believe that for
more than fifty years the Democratic |
party has told the wOrkingmen of the
country-ever since Andrew Jackson
in 1852 declared in favor Of Jude
ious tarfl-that tariff did afford
protection to them. And they be-
lieve il. And they have Taught it TO
their children and their children's
children, and they are to vote, not
you. You cannot unteach them that
in single campaign unless you get
the chairman of the subcommittee,
who drew the platform, the gentleman
from New York, to go into every
school district in lhis country and ex-
In the closing moments of the time
permitted to me, | want to call your
attention back TO the main thing. be-
cause ali of these other matters of very
slight consequence in the comparison
Bring your minds once more back 10
the tariff platforms. Tel them this to-
working men and women
Of this country to-night-whether we
will or will not protect them; no,
n OF protect, but cherish and foster
like y mother her child, the laboring
men and women of this country tell
them that and you will sweep the
country. Refuse to tell them that aud
they, sorrowful that the Democratic
party has deserted them, will 90 their
way sadly TO the workshop and re.
main there on election day
The amendment offered BY Mr.. But
Ter was not accepted, and the namby-
PANTY platform, he denounced has
gone forth to the country as the plat
form of the Democratic party OF the
country. Ey-f 10
Governor Cleveland. the Democrat
ic nominee for president, has never
been even state legislator The only
public place he eyer filed WAS Sheriff
Of Eric ceunty. New York, and for
nine months mayor of Buffalo