The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1886-08-19
REPUBLICAN PROSPECTS.
What the Secretary, Mcpherson, Has tn
Say About Them-Senator Edmunds In
terviewed.
WASHINGTON sneciof ~ the Chtcago Daily

Say About Them-Senator Edmunds In
terviewed.
Washington special 70 the Chicago Daily
News.
Edward Mcpherson, Secretary of the
Republican Congressional Committee.
said, i'll answer to an inquiry, to-day: The
committee is doing very little as yet. You
can readily see that 1t was very important
for Us TO wait till the Democratic record
was made. 1t is now done, and we shall
begin active operations Immediately. We
might have begun month ago, and il would
have been the easiest thing in the world
for the Democrats TO have made move or
two that would upset all we had done, but
now the record of this first session of the
XLIXth Congress is completed, and it is
bad record, too. What have they done
that they can 60 before the country on? /
confess | do not see. The leaders OF the
party expected to make much ont of the
surplus resolution, and now that is gone.
have carefully studied the various ses-
sions of Congress for the last twenty
years, and l must say that l think this has
the least to commend il to the country and
the most TO condemn il of any l know OF. "
What is the prospect, SO far as you can
judge, of Republican success this fall?"
was asked.
oh, We don't expect to gain much in
South Carolina or Missouri, but there are
localities, even at the South, where Demo-
cratic Congressman have been returned
time ont of mind who will this year find it
difficult to be elected. The people expected
that they were TO be greatly benefited by
Democratic ascendency 10 power. The
leaders of that party have held out the idea
that prosperity depends upon the Govern
ment instead of upon individual effort,
and many of them took the extravagant
utterances about distributing the money in
the Treasury as though it meant some
thing. They began to figure how much
that would come to for each, and many
actually expected wagons TO come around
with United States officials to count out the
money. OF course these people are disap-
pointed and dis3runtled, and the fact that
President Cleveland hasn't distributed the
offices very rapidly has given great dissat-
isfaction. All these things will show in
the coming election. am rot prepared at
present to say how much the gain will be,
but there will be gains"
Senator Edmunds said that he thought
the principal point to be made by the Re-
publicans in the coming campaign would
be the inoompetency of the Democrats to
administer the affairs of the Government.
The principal criticism that should pass
upon the administration itself" said Mr..
Edmunds, "and the one that will be made
by the Republicans in the canvass. is the
veiy poor class of men selected to fill the
Federal offices of the country" The
speaker thought that the Republicans
would be harmonious and victorious in
1885 The Presidents vetoes of the PEN
sion bills were fair subjects for criticism.
The President had signed n great many
weaker bills than those he had rejected, he
thought, and his course was not consistent.
The Senator regarded Secretary Bayard's
foreign appointments as very unfortunate.
Congressman Long, of Massachusetts,
said that he felt certain of Republican
victory in 1888, and that he thought either
Mr.. Blaine or Senator sherman would be
the Republican standard bearer.
The South Carolina Democratic platform
declares in favor of civil-service reform
The civil service needs ref rming now
more than atany time during the past quar-
ter Of a century.