Morris tribune., 1884-07-30
A SARCASTIC BOURBON.
He Discusses the Political Situation
With the Republican "Inde-
pendentS.

William J. Fowler. a prominent
Democratic farmer, and ex-President
of the Western New Y York Agricultur-
al Association has addressed letter
to Mr.. Bacon, Chairman of the ROches-
ter delegation of Independent Repub-
icans of which we make the following
extracts:
In nominating Mr.. Cleveland the
Democratic convention has made it
impossible for several hundred thou
sand anti-monopoly voters to support it's
ticket. These constitute a large body
of your Independent Republican voters
in this and Western States. Whatever
your conference may decide on, these
are votes which under no consideration
can be given to Governor Cleveland.
We voted for him once on model anti
monopoly platform which he said he
accepted without mental reservation.
Within six months he threw himself
squarely under the control of corpora
tiOns in his veto of the Five-C -Cent-Fare
bill for elevated railroads.
A FRIEND OF CORPORATIONS.
This is an important matter. wish
you to examine this veto closely to see
on what grounds it is based: You will
find that he takes the position in def
highest courts, that the Legislature in
granting franchises to corporations ex-
hausts its powers, that it makes a
contract" with them which no succeed
ing Legislature has right to change.
This is more extreme view than any
other public man has ever taken. If
correct, the people of this State and the
United States have no rights which the
corporations they have created arc
bound to respect. Governor Cleveland
has given away all grounds on which
the people can make a stand in oppos
ing corporate monopolies. Undoubted-
| ly this unpopular veto will lose for Mr..
Cleveland many thousand Democratic
votes in New York City. Mr. Blaine is
shrewd, and his campaign will no
doubt be shrewdly managed. Before
election I do not doubt that large pla-
cards will be posted in all parts Of New
| York and adjacent territory calling on
men who use the elevated railroads to
calculate how many extra five cents
them pay. 1t is very possible that this
argument to the pocket may nearly or
quite give New York City and Brook
| lyn to Mr.. Blaine. How many votes
will this veto lose for Cleveland among
the New Y Yorkers who live and vote
across the river in New Jersey9 The
man who thinks Grover Cleveland has
any chance for carrying either New
| York State or New Jersey must be
very blind to evident opposition to his
candidacy among large bodies of work
| ing men who have heretofore been
among the most reliable Democratic
voters. This opposition will not die
down, because it ought not to. 1t is
urged that Governor Cleveland was
honest in this fve-cent fare veto, and
that he is friend of the workingmen.
To be sure, there never was or never
will be candidate for President who
will not be a friend of wOrkingmen
and all other men who control votes.
AS Governor, Mr.. Cleveland has been
the most extreme corporation platform
in his veto of the FiYe-C -Cent-Fare bill,
and outbids any other nominee as the
candidate of the monopolists. 1 do not
hesitate to say that I regard Mr..
Blaine's election a smaller evil than
the triumph of the Democracy with
Mr.. Cleveland as it's candidate. That
Mr.. Cleveland was honest in his veto
will not help him much. It is only the
poor excuse of those miserable fools
who, after they have killed somebody,
ruefully explain that they didn't know
it was loaded" l presume Mr. Cleve-
land was honest in his veto. Some
New York corporation attorney doubt
less went up to Albany, dined and
wined with the Governor, and in due
time impressed their ideas on his faclle
mind. Between the sherry and cham
pagne this fourth-class Buffalo lawyer
was led to imagine that he had made a
wonderful discovery in constitutional
law--that no State can pass any law
impairing the obligations of contract.
Having imbibed this idea when his
mind was fuddled, Governor Cleveland
has not been able to get rid OF it since.
If he still thinks that a franchise
granted to a corporation relinquishes
the sovereignty of the people who grant
it, he is likely to know better after
next November.
TALKING TO THE BOLTERS.
Independent Republican voters, you
owe it to yourselves not to make your
movement ridiculous by such mistake
as the Endorsement of Mr.. Cleveland
would prove. Of course if he were
making a manful fight for your princi-
Piles support him by all means, but he
isn't. Once before, in 1872, Republican
boilers found themselves supporting a
candidate whom the great mass OF
Democrats could only vote for with
difficulty. The Democratic detection
against Cleveland now is larger than II