The Republican journal., 1888-08-30
A Demagogical Document.

>ear-por, saturday evening, sept lSt
A Pedagogical Document.
Having allowed our fla 10 be in>uIted and
our fishermen robbed and intcrfered with in
their hardy calling. and. through his un-Ameri-
can Secretary of State. negotiated Il treaty en-
hGtiying Il complete surrender to Canada. pre>i-
dent Cleveland has attempted to stay the fast
rising tide of popular Indignation. which threat
ened to en@ulf him and his party. by bur.
comhe message. In this document. sent to Con-
SreS> Friday. he asks authority to suspend the
transmission in bond of goods to and from
Canada through the nited States until Canada
shall allow our fishermen 10 ship fish through
the Dominion in bond to the United States.
This pretended desire for retaliation on Canada
Is, however. nothing more than an attempt at
retaliation on the Senate for rejecting the
treaty, and TO regain lost political ground at
home. This is the Interpretation put upon it
b! the Democratic press. which openly pro-
claims that the message should make the PreSi-
dent solid with the fishermen for whose inilIr-
les he has sought no redress. and whom he has
been ready to deprive Of their means Of liveli-
hood. But neither As Il bluff nor aS an attempt
at hedging will this political film fam prove
elective. Injured people have long memories,
while the people at large are well aware that
the President has been for lone time vested
with ample powers in the direction of retalia-
ton. 50 far from using these powers he has
heretofore shown a disposition to use his intlu-
ence in the interest Of Canada and against our
power. while he already has too much In.
stead of increasing his authority the people of
the United States propose to take from him. by
their votes in November next the power he
now has. and 70 place an American in the
Presidential chair. senator Frye stated the
situation in the fewest words and with abso-
lutte truthfulne>s when he said that the Pre>-
dents message simply means that
''Pre>dent Cleveland wants to play the baby
act in regard to the Retaliation law of March
:. lSS.. just a he played the baby act about
the law which authorized him to buy United
states bonds with surplus revenue. A few
months AGO he wasn't quite sure that he had
the right TO enforce that act. and so he appeal
ed to Congress to tell him whether he had or
willing to do his plain duty and apply the sur
plus to its proper use. would have had any ne
ceSSity to play the baby act i'm that case, Ey-
erybody knows how unwilling he has been all
along TO accept the Retaliation act and carry it
out Loyalty. and now he comes playing the
baby act again. He says he doesn't know what
ii means and wants to be told
In his speech at Lewiston last SATURDAY, even
ing Mr.. Blaine referred to the message As fol-
lows:
Railways of the nited States that annually
transport fifty millions Of Canadian goods in
transit would be deprived of their business and
endure a large loss on account Of sudden
whim of the President. Why should the tram
sit from Detroit TO Buffalo and New York over
both American and Canadian lines of rail be
suspended. when il has no relation whatever to
the fishery question: Why should the large
traffic between Quebec and Montreal on the
one hand, and Portland on the other. by which
Portland becomes the winter port of Canada
be >ummariy stopped at the caprice of the
President when that caprice is founded on cha
grin over the course OF an independents but as
he considers. refractory Senate? Is it the de-
sign of the President TO make the fishery Qles-
ton odiouS by embarrassing commercial rela-
tons and commercial exchange along three
thousand miles of frontier. and intlict upon
American communities needless. a veXatiors,
perilous confusion of trade? Does he not
Pltlt'ii! sly 10 MS supporters, tllat II the Re-
publicans do not Join him in Surrendering our
fishery rights TO England, he will give them
some medicine on the other side and if thew
VIII give him the enactments which he asks
that he will give them retaliation until they cry
Hold. enough and will allow him to settle
the fishery question in the precise manner
which their Senate now cuntemptuollsy re-
lects: Or, after all, fellow citizens. is not the
Presidents position a mere political device to
divert the attention OF the American people
from his free trade message and from the Mills
tariff bill? Is not buster on the fishery ques-
tion TO be the plan of campaign for the Demo-
cratic party? Are not permits for bravado to
be issued by the political agents of the admin
lstratlon marked on the back, Good till after
the first Tuesday of November"
OF this speech the Boston journal well says
The insincerity of the PreSi' .nt's action. an d
its true significance as an electioneering trick
were effectively shown by Mr.. Blaine He put
the case well in Il single phrase when he said
that the country does not desire Il continuance
of the diplomacy which can radically change
the position of the national Administration be-
tween Wednesday afternoon and Thursday
morning. He accurately described the PreS-
dents policy as one marked by "aIternations
of buster and of surrender and wittily sug-
gested that ''permits of bravado We're to be
issued by the political agents of the Admins
traton." marked on the back "Good till after
the first Tuesday of November"
The only effect this message can have will be
to injure business, already seriously affected by
the Mills bill and Democratic free trade talk,
and TO create unfriendliness among the Canadi-
an people. for whom the American people have
no i'll will. Our people only W ant what is right,
and that the Canadian people should willingly
conccde.