Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1888-06-06
That Appeal for Soap"

The soap" circular, to which W
referred Tuesday, is exciting a goo
deal Of CONNIE mt, most Of it, we ar
glad TO say, Of an unfavorable charac
ter. One Of the best known and il
the past most prominent of Detroi
Republicans said of it yesterday: 81
party ought to be beaten that confde
the management Of its interests t
such Internal imbeciles as the issuer
of that circular" and we do not be
lieve any shrewd Republican can ex
anime the document without echoin,
the sentiment.
A few extracts will make this clear
ut may not be Of your persona
knowledge" the circular says. "tba
the manufacturer Of the United
States, who are most benefited by oul
tariff laws, have been the least will
ing TO contribute to the success of TIL,
party which gave them protection"
This is just what the opponents o.
the war tariff have constantly charg
ed-that the manufacturers "are most
benefited by our tariff laws" and that
it was to give them protection that
the tariff was enacted. The manu-
facturers have persistently denied this
and so have the Republican leaders
They have declared most solemnly
that the tariff was laid to protect the
workingman from the "pauper labor
of Europe" and that'he is the party
most benefited by il. But here come,
the President of the Republican
League of the United States and gives
the whole thing away. He knows
whom the party intended to benefit
and who really were ,"most benefited
by the tariff laws. And in so doing
he corroborates in every particular
the charge which tariff reform has
brought against the party
This frank President Of the Repub-
lican League is not content with a
single statement Of the fact as to the
party purpose in the tariff enactment
and the party success in carrying out
that purpose. He repeats it again
aud again in his effort to unloose the
purse strings of the manufacturer and
make him pay for the benefits show
cred upon him. "Tbe campaign on
which we are about to enter" he says,
"Will concern more than anybody else
the manufacturers Of this country
not the workingmen hut the manufac-
turers. Later on he refers to "the
manufacturers of Pennsylvania, who
are more highly protected than any
body else, aud who make large for
tunes every year when times are pros.
perous:" and after raking these man
ufacturers over the Goals for their in
gratitude to the party that has so en-
ricbed them, he says: These are
strong word and bitter. but they are
true"
There is not the slightest doubt that
they are true, so far as they protray
the obligations of the manufacturers
to the Republican party, whatever
may be the fact AS to the ipgraiitude
Of the former. We judge, however,
that in that respect also they are true.
If they we're not the Ayers and
stockbridges would not be chipping
in their $500 and 5000 contributions
so meekiy.
President Foster, Of the Republic
can League, will probably be discip-
lined, not for mistating the facts, but
for letting them out. From the par
ty standpoint he PROFESSIONALLY de-
serves discipline. It was. as the De-
troit Republican said, an INTERNALLY
imbecile" thing to do--to give the
party away so completely, even in
circular marked CONFIDENTIAL" But
no amount Of discipline will help the
party out of the predicamcnt in which
il has been placed by the League
Presidents indiscretion. Out of its
own mouth Il stands convicted of rank
in It's pretenso of friendship
to the workingman and Of a deliber-
ate criminal sacrifice Of the consumers
Ito which class the workingmeu be.
long-to tho interests Of the manufac-
turers "who make large fortunes every
year" by reason of the protection the
Republican party has given them
Free Press