Morris tribune., 1886-01-13
2Q9t A FRIENDLY CRITICISM.
WATTERSON MAKES, SOME REMARKS
i FOR clEyELAN0'S BENEFIT.
What Should IL Done Abeuts One Or Two
! nIatters--A Defnition Eof the Demo-
cratic Press-Talk ON st.
Jaskson's Day. egs ysil

- sk. vapsfNTN1ss.T SGE3 AIA
COLUMBUS, Ohio, JAM a The Jackson
club Of Columbus, the leading Democratic
organization of central Ohio ngave its sast
nual banquet Friday evening" There were
500 guests, including number of Ohio con-
gressmen, members Of the legislature, and
state officials The arrangement and service
were completes. The Hon II. j. Booth,
president of the club, was master of -eere-
monies and the Hon. T. E. Rowell master
of toasts, The following telegram was read
from the Hon s. j. Tflden: ~@>'
Cordially concurring with ysu in, the
homage which you proposeStoSpa the mem
DRY of the illustrious soldier-statesman on
the anniversary of the victory of New
Orleans, | regret to say that ] can snotsbe
personally present at your3 bananetA TO-
night"
The Hon Joseph E. Mcdonald, of Indi-
ana, responded to the toast ANDREW Jack
SON" He reviewed the history of the old
hero, and added that he closed hisSofficial
life without rival in the affections of the
people. Ex-Governor Hoadly responded
to 'sThe State of Ohio" and Allen e. Thur
man in very short speech to 1.-The Consti-
tuition and the Democracy .A.-~v so
The principal speech of the evening was
made by Henry Watterson, of The Courier
Journal The toast was The Democratic
Press" He characterized it as the friend
Of civil liberty and, progress, the poor
against the oppressors, and the law against
usurpers, but said he was forced to admit
that the heavy artillery OF journalism was
yet with the Republicans g 49, A=--=ar
Referring to President Cleveland Mr..
Watterson continued: = ~raa s5tT
''f l shall before am done say some
things of the administration, which, it
seems to me friend ought to say, must
not be misunderstood l am its personal
supporter in all thugs personal, and its
public partisan also as far as l can agree
with it. Fer the president l have a very
strong feeling of partiality and confiden e.
But reject the milk-soppery that because
our Democratic administration is the first
we have had for a quarter of a century
Democrats and the Democratic press must
not freely and fairly discuss it
II think the president has been seriously
misjudged for his alleged hardness in turn
ing the rascals out" If ever an occupant
of tie executive mansion worked eonscient-
iously over the appointments, he has done
so Instead of going too fast, he wouid have
escaped some admitted mistakes if he had
gone still slower" ..--r.. E. vsosx srgl
He thought, however, that the president
had not learned that there is part of the
United States west of the Alleghanies:
''That he has not learned this / gather
from his message to congress. Upon the
three great questions which the west and
south are concerned in he is either silent,
evasive or opposed to us / mean the Mis-
sissippi river, the tariff and the fiscal policy
of the treasury.
fThere has never bean pretense among
any class of Democrats that the war tariff
was TO outlast the election of a Democratic
president, just as there has never been pre-
tense of free trade among any class of Dem
ocratic revenue refcrmers. All of us were
agreed that, if we got the power to origin
ate concurrent policies OF administration and
legislation, our first use of it should be a
measure of revenue revision which should
reduce the taxes and reform the abuses of
the tariff. I have no fault to find with any
thing the president says upon this subject in
his message 1t is what he fails to say that,
considering the case from all its bearings,
gives me more or less concern, and can not
help regretting that he leaves it just where
he found it, and nas no views of his own. q,
~ think that, after the show Of hands
which was had last winter ON his silver
letter to the New York bankers, the presi-
dent was unwise to throw the weight of his
message so dead against the predictions Of
such a majority of his party in congress
I think that touching the unlimited coinage
Of silver, he is right. The weak place in
the presidents position, it seems to me, is
his continuation in the treasury department
of the very policy which the democratic
party has for years condemned in republi-
can adninistr the refusal to obey the
laws ef congress in their letter and spirit,
as they stand upon the statute book Good
or bad, they ought to be executed. Now
one of these laws provides a certain method
of getting silver into circulation. Another
provides for the Representatives of silver be-
fore the Bimetal oraLatir. Union, as it is
called. The frsts.of these statutes has re-
manned, substantially a dead letter. TIE see
ond has always been inadequatelg; and:
there is reason to believe sometimes treaeh-
erously, administered by the treasury de-
partment. The failure Of the president to
reverse Republican precedents and methods
in this regard has raised in the west and
south genuine scare and Storm, bringing
to the front all the passions and anxieties of
an organic question IN human experience,
that of debts and credits, including, of
course, the national debt and our national
banking SYSTEM As matters stand, the
presidents suggestions viii be overwhelmed
in both houses of congress, and this we
ought to avert if we can"
Several other short speeches were made
before the assembly adjourned
r...mx- nu.,t r,.,..,s