Omaha daily bee., 1888-08-26
RUIN IN ITS WAKE.
Mr.. Depew Makes Reply to Judge
Van Brunt's Criticisms.
THE DANGERS OF FREE TRADE
Chauncey Prophesies the General
Prostration of Our Commerce
IF CLEVELAND HAS HIS WAY.
Why the Letter Of Acceptance is So
Long Delayed.
CLEVELAND HAS HIS WAY.
HIS VIEWS WE'RE TOO RADICAL
And the Executive is Now Hacking
His Brain to Reconcile Them
With Those of His Poi
itical Advisers.


PARIS, August 25.-[ New York Herald
Cable-Special to THE BEE. I'm an inter-
view, which appeared in last Sundays Her
aid, Van Brunt, of the supreme court, char
acterized certain remarks on American poll
tics made by Depew in a previous interview
as nonsense. Yesterday morning Herald
representative called on Mr.. Depew, who re-
Gently returned from Hamburg, with a view
to hearing the other side. He had heard also
that Van Brunt had been pitching into HIM.
Said Mr.. Depew: "Oh, that's all right.
1t wouldn't do to have all thinking the same
way, would it.n
But how about his argument, did you say"
answered MIR. Depew with a mischievous
laugh. "Why surely you don't expect Judge
Van Brunt to indulge in arguments. At
least couldn't discover any and l read the
article carefully"
Now look here" continued the speaker
smiling benignly, and running his fingers
down the column containing the Van Brunt
interview, 'there is his first point where he
says that many republican leaders in 1884
were in favor of reducing our protective
taxes 20 per cent. That is an
assertion for which 1 should like to have
proofs. Certainly we find no fault with the
democrats for wishing to reduce the surplus,
but do object very decidedly to the means
they have selected for so doing. We con-
slider their plan about as sensible as the in
falible cure for corns, which consists in am
putating a persops feet. We are not anxious
to see the country hobbling about on stumps.
If Mr.. Cleveland IN his mes
sage had proposed reducing duties
on certain carefully chosen articles for
the simple purpose of doing away with the
surplus, we republicans would have been
left without an issue, but Mr.. Cleveland did
nothing of the kind. He declared himself
in favor Of an indscriminate reduction of
the tariff. This is cutting into the very body
of our industrial prosperity. He defined
protection as the robbery of the many for
the benefit of the few and in general showed
his sympathies to be strongly in the direction
of free trade.''
"And that is precisely what the democrats
deny, is it not!"
Deny it, OF course they do, but the fact
remains all the same. Cleveland's bold
stand cast dismay among his followers. BY
this unexpected act they saw the cup of vic
tory dashed from their lips and the presi-
dent was informed very plainly that if he
persisted in his free trade tendencies he
might as well throw up the sponge. The re-
suit is that for two months past Mr.. Cleve-
land has been sitting up nights and tearing
his hairs out one by one in vain attempt to
concoct a letter of acceptance in which shall
be considered the things which he really
believes and thinks and what his party says
he believes. All this would be most anus
ing were it not so terribly serious. Think of
the incalculable Importance Of the interests
at stake. They calmly propose with a stroke
of the pen to reorganize or rather disorga-
nize, our great Industries in iron, wool apd
other vital products. Take iron alone and
think what it means. l know something
about steel rails. / know that even with our
present duty foreign steel companies can
afford to put their rails on our markets at the
| rate charged by MIR. Carnegie. Why is thiss
Simply because iron workers in Ireland and
Germany earn 60 and 80 cents day in
stead Of 81 or more which Pittsburg men re-
| ceive. What, then, Is the result Of lowering
our tariff! Simply to lower our workmen's
wages or drive them into other fields OF
| labor, thus closing foundres and iron
mills all over the country. That
means hundreds of thousands of men
thrown out of employment and millions
| of capital rendered unproductive. Is that a
| slight matter! And have cited only a single
| instance"
"But,' says Mr.. Cleveland, let the few
suffer if the many are benefited Who, 1
ask, would be benefteda Certainly not the
farmers about Pittsburg, who, no longer
| finding markets for their products in the
| city, which is killed when its iron
| interests die, are forced to trans
| port their produce to distant centers
at the most serious sacrifices. This is but a
concrete illustration of general truth. No,
sir, free trade principles will never do in the
United States. We want to retain our COM
mercial as well as political Independence.
We do notwant TO be left at the mercy Of for.
eign combinations and trusts, particularly in
view of the present troubled state Of Europa.
We do not want our laboring class to
sink to the level Of their continental
brothers. We Do not. want to abandon
the prestige in manufactures which wise
Il d y -~H .
protection policy has. assured US and, in short,
we do not want free trade either open or DIS
guised. And four months from now when
Judge Van Brunt and his ovsr-sanguine fel-
lows are busily explaining why the German