The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1886-08-13

and labor are harder pushed today than ever.
Mr.. Hale said that beyond these questions
of detail, on all the great subjects which in
| volve the prosperity and self respect and
honor of the United States, the Democratic
administration and the Democratic House of
| Representatives are hopelessly in the wrong.
In our relations with foreign governments
| the administration is found today, seeking
to bully Mexico and parleying and delaying
with Canada, backed by the powerful empire
| of Great Britain.
The Senator said he should leave this sub
| ject and the discussion of the fisheries to
| Governor Dingley, who was thoroughly in
| formed upon the matter and would follow
| him.
| In every measure undertaken for self de-
| fence and protection the Democratic party
had been found in an unpatriotic attitude,
| and the burden OF sustaining and carrying
these measures had been thrown upon the
| Republican party. This unpatriotic attitude
was especially illustrated upon the forfiica-
| tionS bill. Our entire coast, both upon the
| Atlantic and Pacific, is today defenceless
| against the armament of even third class
| powers. A Chilian or Brazilian ship, to say
| nothing of European nations, could lay any
| American city under contribution, or could
| lombard and destroy it. Realizing this, the
| Republican Senate passed bill apprOpriatlng
| money for the purpose OF encouraging the
manufacture, by American labor, of forgings
| for guns and armor, to be used upon
| forts and war ships for our coast protection.
| The Democratic House not only refused these
appropriations, but killed the entire bill. For
| the last six years Republican administrations
had been trying to rebuild the American
navy. The old wooden ships OF that estab-
llShment had become comparatively useless,
and we possessed no war vessels formidable
either for the defence of our coasts or fef in-
fiicting injury upon the commerce of nations
with whom we might become involved in war.
The last Republican administration set it
self earnestly to the task of rebuilding the
navy. Public opinion sustained it, and mea-
sures looking to the construction of new and
formidable cruisers were matured in the
navy department under Secretary Chandler,
and received the sanction of the Republican
Senate. The Democratic House of Repre-
sentatives obstructed and opposed the
measure in every way, and it was
only after a determined struggle that the
provision for new ships became law. The
contracts for building these ships were given
out to American mechanics, after full adver-
tisement and to the lowest bidder, and, thus,
one of the last features of Republican admin
istration was the beginning OF the great work
of rehabilitating the United States navy.
When the new Democratic administration
came into power the work upon these ships
was interfered with, the honest contractor
was broken down and put into bankruptcy
and the work upon the new ships so long de-
layed that they have not yet all been launch
ed, yet, the administration of the navy de-
partment upon further investigation, found
that it must proceed almost entirely in the
Congress assembled in December, appealed
to its Democratic followers in Congress for
further appropriations to build more ships.
The appeal was neglected and derided by the
Democratic House of Representatives. The
measure was postponed till the last ten days
of the session and then, against the united
action of the Republicans of the House who
in the work took precisely the opposite
course pursued by the Democratic party,
when they were in the minority and advo-
Gated liberal appropriation, the amount CIV
en- was reduced by one-half, and, contraryto
the precedent set by the Republicans in the
last administration, provisions were adopted
authorizing the Secretary to purchase mate
rials for the ships in foreign markets, there
by discriminating against American manu-
facturers and American labor.
When the bill reached the Senate the naval
committee of that body struck out these Of
fensive provisions and provided that the
work should be given to American establish
ments run by American proDrietors and sus-
tanned by American labor. When the Repub-
licans sought, by its legislation, to open
market for over production of American labor
with our sister republics of Central and
South America by encouraging and helping
to build up lines of communication between
our ports and theirs, the Democratic admin
istration and the Democratic House of Rep
resentatives arrayed all their force against
| the measures and defeated them.
On all questions touching commerce be-
tween the States, the protection OF the set
ll6T WHO HAS uOu6Slly lUCdt6u upU4 bLc pun
lie land, the punishment and ultimate sup
preston of polygamy in Utah and the adj
mission of new States, with ample p0pula-
tion and Republican constitution into the
American Union, the Republican party, dur
ing the last session of Congress, has been
upon the popular and progressive side, but
the Democratic party has stood in its place
to thwart and defeat all such measures on
the old but still greatest of all questions, that
of the suffrage and the right of the Ameri-
can voter to a free ballot and fair count.
Not one lword has escaped from thelips of
| the President, and not one motion has been
| made by the Democratic party in either
House of Congress except in the direction of
maintaining the present condition in the
| South
When the Democratic party makes up its
| platform and passes its resolutions it never
| fails to indulge in strong expressions of SYM
| pathy for tha soldier of the armies of the re-
| public who fought to suppress the rebellion;
| but the present administration has charac-
| teriZed itself by an assault upon pension
bills unprecedented in our history, and while
| the whole party, including President, Cabi-
| net and the Representatives in Congress raj
/, lied to restore Fitz John Porter to his place
in the army, and voted to pension the surviv
| ors OF the Mexican war, nearly all OF Wh ON
| live in the South, scarcely day pas sed
| during the last three months of the SeS sion
| when some poor soldiers bill was not vetoed.
Mr.. Hale said that whoever grew despond-
ent about the future of the Republican party
| OT ltdI6u tudL lIS lllSSlOll lldu UOCh dCCOlll-
plished need only watch its course since the
present administration came in, and con-
| trast it with President Cleveland and his
party. Most of the great questions, he said,
| which he had referred to are still open and
| unsettled, and upon them the Republican
| party will keep up the fight, and, whether in
| minority or majority, will constantly press
| their consideration before the American
| people, firm in the belief that, lin the end,
| they will be established, like all other great
and benefcent acts which have characterized
| the history of the party.
Senator Hale here discussed the attitude of
| the Republican party upon the labor ques-
| tion and showed that, from the beginning,
| the organization had been identified with the
| interests of American labor and its ad-
| vancement and emolument, while the Demo-
| cratic party had for the last forty years been
drifting in the other direction.
| He spoke of the candidates of the two
| parties for the Governorship of the State,
| and drew picture of the old Democratic
| leaders of the State training under the cap
| taincy of Chairman Brown of the State steal
memory, and described some of his perform
| ances in laying assessments upon men for
whom he had obtained appointments in
| Washington
He closed by appealing to the audience to
| give the time between now and the State
| election to the cause of the country, and pre-
dicted that if this was done the Republican
| victory would be of the same kind that elec-
| triied our friends in former years in other
| States.