The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1888-09-01
EVERY SUBJECT UNDER THE SUN.
Versatile Col. Fellows Talks Until His
Hearers Co Home.

The Democratic rally drew a large aud.
fence to City Hall last evening. 1t was hot
so not in fact that many of the linen busters
OF the noble Putnam Phalanx were discarded
before the evening was over. The stage wa,
occupied by the Glee Club and few other
people, the former commencing the "ser.
vices" by giving a political rendition Of
Climbing up the Golden Stairs, and they
sang it very well. An encore was called for,
and it was fully twenty minutes later when
the speakers came upon the platform.
p. j. Larrabee called the meeting to order
and presentedMr. A. F. Moulton as presiding
officer.
Mr.. Moulton said in commencing, that in
going around the country he had been i'm.
pressed with the fact that there was great
interest in the political issues of the day
They are not paying so much attention to
allegory and fiowery speeches, but are get
ting down to solid argument.
Mr. Moulton then commenced his assault
on the Republican party in the degen.
eracy of the shipping interest, saying that in
1857 the ships of this country did three
fourths OF the carrying trade of the country
and that it. had been reduced from that to
tariff. He then went on to show that the
tariff was for the benefit of the few to the
exclusion of the many. He said the tax on
rice in South Carolina was for the benefit of
few men, and that this principle applied to
many other protected industries but he said
further that 10 out of every 20 laborers are
in the unprotected industries. He closed by
comparing Blaine (and when that name was
mentioned the audience burst into a storm OF
applause) to Disraeli,, saying that he more
nearly resembled hip than Gladstone.
There was great applause when Colonel
Fellows OF New York, was introduced. He
said, in beginning, that these questions
which we discuss In our campaign now were
purely questions Of economics and could not
awaken the interest and enthusiasm of the
issues of the war. He commented on the en-
thusiasm that had just been manifested over
the mention of Blaine's name by saying that
he would prefer that everybody but Repub-
licans should go home as he really had not
need OF saying anything. to Maine Demo-
Gratis. He then proceeded to take up and dis
cuss the Republican platform. He said
that the granting of extensive lands
to railroads in times past had been just in
opposition to the plank which calls for the
distribution Of the public lands to actual
settlers, and that the Democratic party had
taken out Of the hands of these railroad mag
mates so million acres of that land.
Next came the pension plank and he said
that the Democratic party party was better
friend to the soldier because 1t had recog-
nized some $4,000 new claims Mormanism,
he said, had been allowed to grow and in
crease under Republican rule. ana during the
20 years Of their rule they had done nothing
to hinder it.
The navy had also been greatly depleted
during the Republicans rule and yet in the
three and one half years of Democracy there
have been laid the keels of thirteen first class
vessels of war.
Mr.. Fellows then commenced his remarks
upon the tariff question which was really his
important topic. He said the Republicans
had never before enunciated the tariff views
as stated in their platform of 1888 and pro-
ceeded to quote from well known leaders
OF the party who lie believed had at other
times not only been opposed to the present
tariff party as advocated by the Repub-
llcan party but had leaned very for toward
the tariff for revenue only position of the
Democrats. Morrill,, Blaine, Folger, Nc
Collough, John Sherman, Wilson, Gov.
Long and Henry Cabot Lodge were all
quoted from. He prefaced these words by
saying that there is not one representative
Republican alive or dead, James G. Blaine
and Thomas b. Reed included, who has not
over and over denounced the tariff doc
trine.''
Mr.. Fellows had great deal to say about
farming and said that within radius of
five miles around the town of Sydney, Me-.
there were fifty-four farms, twenty-three of
which were un0ccupied, and of course all
this was the result of the tariff. He ridi-
culed the idea that tariff had anything to
do with wages, maintaining that they were
regulated always by supply and demand
Mr. Fellows said great deal more about
almost every subject under the sun and
really hurt the force of his remarks by con-
tinuing so long. as long before he closed
half his audience had gone to rest among
their protected blankets to dream of how
many cents decade they could save by TAX
ing the duty off salt