Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1888-06-28
SENATOR KENNA
Pumct,res ne RepWbliea" Pla1'O''"'

From de Wheeling Register.
est. Louis was ratification" said the
Senator at the Mcclure House last evening
"The people had nominated Cleveland for
President. The people had nominated
Thurman for Vice President, and the Peo-
ple-the great American peOple-by con-
yention and mass meeting, and general ex-
preston, both public and private, had
adopted the platform. It thus appears that
the St. Louis Convention, more than any
other representative political body ever as
sembled in the country, illustrated by Its
action precisely the result which would
have come If the Democracy Of the Union
had been gathered together in single mass
meeting"
"But how about Chicago" queried the
Register.
"Just ike st. Louis" said the Senator,
oin at least one point of analogy. St. Louis
represented the Democracy as &c is-harmo-
nious. united and trusting in its great lead
ers. Chicago represents the Republican
party as & Is, afraid Of its record, jealous OF
itself divided into factions and ready to re-
pudiate its idols. If the Republican party
were true TO itself, willing to stand by Its
record ON silver, on finance, on the Chinese
question. on contract foreign labor, on the
revenues. on land grants and on all the
deviltries its Southern bloody-shirt policies
included of which it has been guilty, 1t
would nominate John Sherman, and with
or without a platform, it would go forth to
the assured defeat which under any other
name" viii be as complete and deserved.
But fits chief object is to defeat and dodge
the men who have constituted its approved
agencies. 'Take the tariff, said the Sena-
tor "aud the first declaration of the Repub-
ican platform asserts that the Republican
party fvors the American system Of pro-
lection Why, said he, the American sys-
tenn of protection is the system which orig
mated with Mr.. Clay The great compro-
mise of 1888. led 10y Henry Clay, and which
has been accepted as the American System,
provided fog a gradual reduction of duties
% an average Of TWENTY PER CENT. The
present rates average FORTY. SEVEN PER
CENT The Mills Bill reduces them to about
rHRrY-sEvIN per cent. SO that the grand
ola party. so-called, deuounces THIRTY
SEVEN per cent. protection under the Mills
Bill and declares its advocacy of TWENTY
per cent. protection under the AMERICAN
SYSTEM
Glow DO you account for such a dcclara-
ton @" asked the Register scribe
"Just as they account for an they say,
said the Senator "Why not? They sluan-
dered the public lands-they now congrat-
ulate the country that large boundaries
have been reclaimed They drove our ship
ping from the sea-they now complain that
Cleveland has not had time TO resurrect the
ghost of our departed marine. They or
gained the gang that robbed us of our ma
yy-,ley now complain that the Democrat
&C. party has not rebuilt it i'm a day. They
passed the only law that ever authorized the
importation of contract labor-they now
declare it was q crime. They admitted
every Cinnamon who waves his pig tail in
triumph over our workmen-they now adj
NIT that it was a shame and a disgrace.
They turned the public treasury and the
legislation Of the country into agencies of
monopoly and oppression-they now de-
n0unce the trusts which their own exac-
tiou- from the people have feasted and fat
tened and on .7 said the Senator, "itis too
fruitful subject for casual exemplifcation,
but the chief function of the Chicago plat
form seems To- be to deuounce everything
the Republican party ever did, to promise
everything it never did, and worst, and, if
YOU win pardon me, meanest Of all to inn
press upon the quarter of million of idle
ajorars of the country whose places are
filed by Huugarians, aud Italians and Chi
uamen. full consciousness of the blessings
of Republican protection
The Republican Convention at Chicago
concluded its work on Monday night, and
presents as its candidates Hon. Benjamin
Harrison. OF Indiana, for President, and
Hon. Levi p. Morton, Of New York, for
Vice President. Gen. Harrison is an ext.
S Seuat0rand grandsouofex-PresidentWm VIM.
Henry Harrison. Mr. Morton is an ex-
Minister 90 France and has q 'barl'-the
latter his strong point aud most important
distinction. The ticket is not regarded as
o strong one. However that may be, it be-
hooy,s the Democratic party to be wide
awake. energetic and untiring until sun
down ON the day of election.
~ II. De Young, representing Blaine
interests, made the statement that If Har-
risou was nominated it would be utterly inn
possible to elect him. He could not posi-
bly, carry the Pacific Coast, nor would he
be able 90 carry any of the larger States
where the labor element predomiuated, be-
cause he had voted against the Chinese bin
and treaty and every phase of it, and he
had committed a still greater crime in yo-