The Portland daily press., 1886-05-07
THE DEMOCRATS AND TIE COOP


The Democratic members of the Ways and
Means committee are getting some pretty
cGustic lectures from their constituents for
their refusal to reduce the tariff on sugar in
hogsheads, and thus revive an industry
which has heretofore given remuneratiye
employment TO large number of laboring
men in half a dozen or more States Of the
Union. The request of the coopers was a
very reasonable one. They simply asked
that discrimination be made against Eng
lish bags and In favor of American hogs
heads. There is no reason to suppose that
such discrimination would have increased
the cost of sugar to the consumer mill,
1t would have slightly decreased the revenue,
but this reduction would have been much
more than compensated for by the revival of
the cooperage industry, which has in the
past amounted to $S,o0o,oOo yearly, and which
is now virtually dead The Democratic mem
bers Of the Ways and Means comnittee,
however. opposed it to man.
1t is gratifying to see that the Democrats
of such Bourbon Estate as Virginia are not
inclined to let the occasion pass without de-
delivering some sharp reprimands to their
congressman, one sof whom, Mr. j. Ran
dolph Tucker, is a member Of the Ways and
Means committee.
In an editorial on the subject in one of the
Alexandria Democratic papers we find the
following:
coOperage interests be restored if II can be by
the yotss and influence Of the States representa-
tives in Congress- and il they cannot be prevailed
on to do their duty it will be the peoples business
to send men there who will. II this trade is lost
through the neglect or opposition Of the Demo
Sfse on he eleeton Of Sa 3 con
gresham in this district this fall. The
Interest At stake in this cooperage. trade which
has been lost but may be restored is too great to
be trifed with, and there are enough interested
in it to defeat the party whose representatives are
responsible for Its loss. 1t will be found that
there are interests pending greater than party
loyalty.
Again the same paper referring to the de-
feat Of the measure in committee says:
The utter imbeciity of the Democratic leaders of
Virginia was shown when our Representatives ID
gressexhibited either an unwillingness or in
| capacity to advocate measure, which, ifadopted,
would have restored to this State trade that was
worth about S3,otOO00 per annum TO our people.
Is it not about time that the masses of the DEM
ocratc party in Virginia were cutting loose from
the fosslzed remains of Bourbonlsm and Sentl-
mentalism, and make politics subservient to their
material interests.
Another Democratic paper OF the same
State after referring to the indifference OF
the committee, says the people of Virginia
interested in this matter ''are more interest
ed in their own individual welfare than in
the success of the Democratic party, especial
ly as that party is now run, and as they hear
that all the Republican members of the Com
mittee are in favor of the bill, they look upon
Republicans with more favor than formerly,
and are already speaking of voting the Re-
publican ticket at the next election"
1t should be borne in mind that the cooper
age industry is of even more Importance to
Maine than to Virginia. There are no Dem
ocratic Congressman from this State to re-
Duke but there is Democratic party.