The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-09-03

fact alone has caused the Democratic party to
put him at the head of their national ticket.
He is now posing before the American people
as Democratic reformer upon platform that
charges that the moral character and
political capacity of the Republican
party has steadily decayed ever since its ac
cession to power. The sentiments, tendencies,
sympathies and craftsmanship of Mr.. Cleveland
must be measured by his acts and manifesto
lions of principle since he became Governor. No
other standard is offered. Measured by this
gauge, he has proved to be an aristocrat, devoid
of sympathy with the toiling masses. mon
opolist, ready and willing to grind the faces of
the poor, and statesman of the narrowest pat
tern. Five deliberate executive acts stamp the
man. Il. } The Legislature of New York passed
a bill to prevent charitable and reformatory in
situations from hiring out children under thlr-
teen years of age, intrusted to their care, to
task masters whose sole interest in these chill
dren is to coin their very hearts blood into
money. What possible objection could there be
to SO humane lawl Every dictate of humanity
and mercy calls for just such law One would
think just and true man would eagerly APP
prove and strictly enforce such law. But what
does Cleveland care about the happi-
ness or misery Of a. few thou,
sand poor defenseless, friendless children?
The contractors who want to hire these children
and reap the profits of their mercess bondage
have political influence the children have none,
and Governor Cleveland vetoed the bill u
The same Legislature passed bill fixing the
rate of fare on the elevated railroads of New
York city at five cents This bill was passed IN the
interest of the laboring men, who cannot afford
to pay ten cents per head for taking their faml-
lies to the suburbs of the city on Sunday that
they may get breath of fresh, pure air. But
what does Cleveland care for the laboring man
or his family The elevated railroads are rich
corporations and WELD vast political influence.
And Governor Cleveland vetoed this bill This
veto he attempted to base upon constitutional
grounds, but there were many better lawyers i'll
the Legislature that passed the bill than ever
Cleveland was Would it not have been far bet
ter to have given the laboring men the benefit
the law and left the courts to
decide that question. The veto power is not
vested in a Governor for the purpose of consti-
tuting him a Supreme Count to pass upon the
constitutionality of laws properly passed BY the
Legislature That power is given to the execu
tive to enable him to check and prevent sudden
and what he may deem to be hurtful changes in
governmental policy. And its exercise should
ordinarily be limited to such exigencies. q. The
New York Legislature passed bill providing
that the hours of labor of street-car drivers in
New York city should be limited to twelve hours
per day-they are now required to work sixteen
hours per day. Here, again, was an opportunity
to show sympathy with weary toilers. and
tighten heavy burdens But Governor Cleve-
land vetoed the bill. a. Tho Legislature
passed mechanics lien law. to secure to the
mechanic payment for his labor and to the fur
nisher of materials payment for them You all
all the States have such statute. But
the daylaborer for wages, the mechanic, the
bricklayer, the carpenter, the roofer. the
lumber-man, and the furnisher OF materials are
but speeks on the horizon of the New York
Governor. And Governor Cleveland vetoed the
bill To- Once more: the Legislature passed a
bill designed to prevent infection and disease
from spreading through the community The
bill prohibited the manufacture of cigars. and the
carrying on Of like noxous and noisome vocat,ons,
IN densely populated tenement houses, particular
ly forbidding the carrying on of such occupations
IN any room used as an eating. sleeping and
work room combined. Is not that proper and
worthy subject of legislation Philanthropists
and statesmen have expended their best ener
gies in devising and executing plans to prevent
infection and disease, and protect the physical
and moral health of that class of community
least able to protect itself, because doomed to
alife of ceaseless toll and great progress has
been made in that direction but not under such
executives the Governor of New York.
1t is a matter of indifference to him what be-
comes of jewellers in tenement houses. Nor is it
matter of concern to him if cheap cigar manu-
featured in a tenement where persons
stricken with infectious disease are poisoning
the air as thcy waste away, does carry In its
folded leaves infection and death to the one who
smokes it. He does not smoke cheap cigars.
What does he care? And so Governor Cleveland
vetoed the bill. 1t is charged by those who are
in a position to know the facts, that pecuniary
interests and political jobbery prompted some of
kind. If that be true it would add another ele-
ment to his unftness for President
Cleveland reformer2 What element of char
acter essential to a reformer does he possesss Is
he the laborer's friendl The over-worked child,
the car-driver, the mechanic and the laborer
have lasting proof that he has no sympathy with
them, no care for their interests. One word
more Has Grover Cleveland moral charac
teri Is il good or badl
THOMAS A. HENDRICKS
Mr.. Hendricks is not a new and unknown
man. He is an old man and has record. For
over thirty years he has been in active political
life, much Of that time holding prominent poti-
cal position. These thirty years have been his
toric in this country. They reach back to the
time when the Democratic party at the dictation
of the slave power, began to violate solemn com
promises and break pledged compacts. Mr..
Hendricks has been Democrat all these years.
The record Of the Democratic party is dark
record. Mr.. Hendricks helped to make it AS
United States Senator he opposed and
voted against the tariff and internal
revenue acts of 1864, the two great
measures adopted to raise means
to prosecute the war. He also bitterly opposed
the supplementary draft act passed in February,
1864 He opposed the thirteenth. fourteenth
and fifteenth amendments to the Constitution of
the United States. He was not the Union sol
diers' friend. Every vote cast by him on polit.
ical questions while United States Senator was
cast just as Jefferson Davis would have voted if
he had been a member of the Senate.
He has been on the wrong side Of every ques-
ton vital to the life or well being of the Nation
To recount his record would be simply to review
the record of the Democratic party. He was as
bad as his party both in war and in peace. and
who will say there is anything good in the rec
ord Of the Democratic partyl But Mr.. Hendricks
now assumes sort of dual attitude. He seeks
to appear as the live, flesh blood candidate
for Vice president in this present campaign, and
at the same time pose before the people as the
ghostly "reminiscences of the campaign of 1876
If Mr.. Hendricks wants to enter himself in this
race as the remnant of what the Democratic
party calls the fraud ISSUE the Republican
party is at all times ready to meet that issue.
In 1880 the Democratic party declared in its
platform; This issue precedes and dwarfs
every other and with the alleged fraud issue
at the masthead they went through the cam
paignI and were Overwhelmingly defeated And