The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1888-10-11
A DEFENSIVE CAMPAiGN.
The Republican Policy Such That II Pu,
Them on the Defensive.

The Republican Policy Such That II Put
Them on tho Defensive.
On the 18th Of June, 1876, the day after
Mr. Blanc's defeat in the Cincinnati con-
vcntion, the New York Tribune, in leading
editorial. after rcinarking that Mr. Blaine
has made a magnificent fight, and has de-
vclopcd qualities Of leadership OF which no
other candidate has shown o sign.n and
that lie evidently controlled not merely
the support but the sympathics Of a very
large section Of the Republican party"
said: But his most ardent friends must
now admit, first, that he had bitter enemies
in his own party; and secondly, that his
campaign. ii be had been nominated, would
of necessity be a defensive one" The cam
paign Of 1854 showed that the editor OF the
Tribune had been right in 1916 The cam.
paign was "a defensive one" from the day
of Mr.. Blaincs nomination, and it ended in
the defeat which such campaign always
invites.
The death-blow to Mr.. Blainc's candidacy
in 1SSS was dealt by the Illinois Republican
State convention Of May 2, when it de.
mandcd the selection of candidate whose
courage, character and record command
universal confidence" and declared that
1--WE must have an aggressive, not defcns-
i've campaign" The movement for Judge
Gresham was, from the very nature Of the
case. forcdoomed to defeat, SO far as his
personality was concerned, but it succeeded
in thwarting the conspiracy TO impose again
upon the party the discredited candidate OF
1851, and in securing q nominee who is an
honest man.
But, says the New York Evening Post,
there is more than one kind of defensive
campaign. The Tribune twelve years ago
was contemplating the sort where a party
has TO defend its candidate, as tho Repub-
licans had to do in 1854, from charges Of per-
sonal dishonesty and unfitncss for Office. 1t
was this sort also which the Illinois Kcpub-
leans had in mind when they adopted their
platform last month. But as party with a
good platform may be put upon the dcfcns-
i've by nominating bad man upon it,
SO party with good candidate
may be put upon the defensive il
he stands upon bad platform. 1t is
already evident that this is the fate Of the
Republicans this year. General Harrison
personally commands universal conf
fence but he represents policy which
makes his campaign as truly Il defensive
one as Mr.. Blainc's four years ago.
Heretofore the Republican party has
always profcssed to bo the champion Of
economy, the foe of extravaganza, the
advocate Of cheap necessities and dear
whisky, the friend of the taxpayer. So re-
Gently as four years ago it maintained this
traditional attitude, and pledged itself to re-
duce the surplus "by such methods Us will
reduce the taxpayer" But this year the
party has deliberately turned its back upon
its whole record. Itno longer makes even
IA pretcIse Of favoring economy, but openly
advocates extravagant appropriations as
the best method Of reducing the surplus. II
there finally remains more money than is
needed. the party would not "relieve the
taxpayer" by making his food and cloth
ing cheaper, but would abolish the whole
internal revenue system, SO as to mako
whisky cheap while keeping wool dear.
Instead Of making an aggressive cam
paign, therefore, the party is thrown upon
the defensive at the very start. 1t has to
admit that its present policy is diamctrical-
Is opposed to its whole past record. and then
try to give some reason why it has made
this change of base. Whenever the qucs-
ton has been referred to in National plat
forms before, the party has declared in IA
vor of retaining the tax on liquors, on the
ground that the vices OF the community
should carry as large part as possible OF
the expense Of government, to the relief Of
industry and temperance; but now it advo-
Gates the entire removal Of the tax on
whisky, and the consequent chcapcnlng OF
its price, rather than any Tightening Of tho
load on the industrious and temperate labor.
inc man.
Tic free-whisky plank in the Republican
platform serves to show in the most vivid
light what the policy of protection for pro-
tection's sake really means. 1t makes it
easy forevcry voter to understand the differ
cnce between the policies advocated by tho
two parties. The Democrats say to tho
country: I've favor cheaper wool, cheaper
salt and cheaper lumber" The Republic
ans say: I'VE favor cheaper whisky
rather than cheaper WOOL or salt or lum-
ber"
From this time until election day tho
whe!c Republican press Of the country, from
the New York Tribune down, the whole
army CT Republican stump-spcakcrs, from
"thc Plulnea Knight down, must devote
their energies entirely to defense, and what
Is worse still, to defending what is indie
feasible. They address party which
used with pride as well as with justice,
10 call itself .',ac party Of moral ideas" end
they ask people OF such ideas to indorsc tho
immortality Of free whisky. The Republic
Oil press only last December indorscd the
sound position taken by Mr.. Blaine in his
PARIS message that there is moral
sidei to the question Of the whisky tax;
that ITO cheaper the price Of whisky Is to
increase its consumption enormously and
that the removal Of the whisky tax would
destroy high license at once in oil the
Statcs.' Now they have got to ridicule the
idea that there is any ''noral side" to the
issue, and TO defend the notion that it will
promote the prosperity Of the Nation much
more to make whisky cheap than to lower
the prices Of the necessities OF life,
A defensive campaign" Of this sort
must inevitably lose the Republican party
the vote of very many thousands Of its best
members. 1t is already evident that the re-
volt of the intelligence and morality of tho
party vii! assume great proportions. Brook
Ign has long been tho stronghold Of the H.
dependent voter Inquiry shows that III.
most every leading Independent who sup
ported Cleveland in 1854 on the personal
Issue will support him In 1888 on the issue
of thc party platforms, and that they will
be joined by u great number OF Republicans
who supported Blaine in 1854. EN- Mayor
Low, tho most influential man Of the
younger generation, announces that no
must abandon his party and support tho
Democrats in this campaign. Rev. DR..
Storrs protests against the assumption that
he Is high protcctionist, and leaves 1t to
be inferred that he can not vote for the TO
publican ticket In New England tho
Providence Journal announces its belief
that upon the vital question "thc Dem
pcratic policy and platform are right, and
the Republican policy and platform arc
wrong" and it will live up to its coEvic-
tons. In the West the Chicago Tribune,
the Omaha Bee and other Republican pa
pers which believe il tariff reform, give
the ticket only a half-hcarted support,
which is lhout as bad US open opposition,
and while other papers u stn,ilar record
may cat their own words, the effect Of their
former teachings VIII not be lost upon their
readers. The defensive campaign Of 1858
already promises TO DO even more d.s-
astrous than that Of 1854.