Los Angeles daily herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1884-1890, 1886-04-20

The IOulSNlile tOtf tti 7"V'' 'N''
of the ablest newspapers IN the
United States, and which ought TO DC
Democratic to the core, belongs 10
the rule or ruin order OF journals
It's distinguished editor, Mr.. Henry
I Watterson, Is a conspicuous mem
Der OF the rule or ruin order oil pol-
iicians. Together with much that IL
wise, he is in the habit OF putting
- lie H.. Nchant
much
just
Engaged in a wild Dervish
dance in the interest Of Tree trace
He shakes the scimetar over the
heads Of the devoted protection Dem
ocratic members OF Congress and
tells them that unless they shall pass
Mr.. Morrison's revenue bill, reduc-
ing the existing tariff, the Demo
cratic party will fail to elect ma
jority of the next House OF Repre-
sentatives. He makes the alpha ana
omega OF Democracy to consist III
free trade, although he has no war
rant for any such bald presumption
Abstractly free trade is an admiraple
sb;ng. inst as the Arcadia OF sir
Thomas More was. But practical
,,oliticians look to the attainable'
The millennium, political as well as
religious, is still a long ways OIL
sagacious politicians are careful not
to bite off bigger piece than they
can chaw, and Mr.. Watterson
has neglected this homely WIS
dom. He talks about the ma
bility OF the Democrats to elect
a majority of the next House oil Kep-
resentatives if Mr.. Morrison's bill Is
not passed this year. Yet MIR. wat
terson probably remembers the late
Of Mr.. Morrison's former tariii meas
ure, known as the horizontal tariii
bill. The astute editor OF the Courier
Journal cannot fail to recollect that
.<iiis measure was decisively defeated
and through the aid OF Democratic
votes. II he will exercise his Gus
tomary sagacity, he will come to see
that these Democratic members voted
against Morrisons first bill because
thew knew that the measure was OPP
posed to the interests OF their con-
stituents, and they knew, iurthef'
that thew themselves could not be re-
elected il they should vote otherwise
A man of Mr.. Watterson's ordinary
acuteness ought to be able to see that
the true way to make it impossible to
elect Democratic majority IN the
next House of Representatives IL to
throw over these observation-disclosures
to the Republicans. Upon the part
Of the Democratic party such an ACT
woald be the modern equivalent oil
Samson delivering himself into the
hands Of Delilah. When a Demo-
cratic member of Congress feels him.
self constrained to vote in particular
way on tariff measures he undoubt-
edly understands the sentiment OF his
immediate constituency, and question
less much better than Mr.. Waite rson
does, This able and versatile gentle
man is never tired OF referring to the
tariff plank of the Democratic National
Convention which nominated Mr., |
Cleveland for President. The fact is
that the tariff declaration was simply |
a miracle of skilliul conservatism,
and il was written by Mr.. Randall
and his neutrality-suspicious. whom
the Courier Journal is fond of de-
nouncing without measure. But per-
haps the most eccentric performance
of this journal, which assumes to be
Democratic, is that in which it threat
ems the Democratic party with disso-
luton and with the formation oil
free trade organization if its leaders
in Congress fail to accept the vagarles
of Mr.. Henry ]. Watterson. When
n Democrat strikes such an attitude
he simply puts himself outside of the
pale of the party and burns his
bridges behind him. Considering |
his utter inability to disrupt party |
which is just now engaged in admin
istering the affairs OF the country |
quite acceptably, he recalls the phrase !
GLOW we apples swim ?" He is like
the fly on the chariot wheel, which |
ascribed all the binding dust to its |
presence. The Democratic party has
been indebted to Mr.. Watterson for
much able and trcnchant advocacyin
the past, but when that gentle
man undertakes to set himself mp as
the Deus er machiad he will be
awakened from something very like
n IrnoIiu Daro1iqn