The Portland daily press., 1888-10-26
A CABINET OFFICER
o,ves e1e Administrators Opinion
of New England.
[From the Chicago Herald, Dem

n fTODl tllc NulCdSO lCLdiuJ oCh'l
4 WASHINGTON, Sept 23.-The Heral corre-
spondent called on Don M. Dickinson, the
Postmaster General, yesterday, at his private
office, and found him willing to talk on the
political issues of the day.
what do you think of the action of GER
tain Republican senators in regard to the re-
taliation message and billp"
81 think the Republican senators are ami
mated by one object only, and that is, as one
of them expressed it, to put the President in
hole The retaliation law Of 1887 was a
law that did not retaliate. 1t would have
injured the West far more than 1t would ever
have injured Canada. What would have
happened to New England? Nothing. She
would have got rich. New England has al
ways grown rich off the rest of the country.
The West pays tribute and tax to New Eng
land and gets nothing in return for 1t. Ihey
don't buy pound of Western produce. They
buy neither our -four nor our provisions.
Talk about the manufacturing States afford
ing home marketv They buy nothing
from the West, but only sell their products
to us. The South buys from us, and takes
our -four and provisions. The surplus we
sell to England at her prices.
"New England controls and has controlled
for years the legislation of this country and
has always protected her own selfish inter-
ests at the expense of the remainder OF the
States, Twelveisenators represent in the
United States senate a population not as
great as the State Of New York, ,and In extent
Of territory not as great as the State of Illi-
nois. And they talk to us in the great West
of the duty of patriotism, and how we must
go in for high protective tariff for the sake
of the workingman and TO build up the coun-
try. They are glib with their appeals to oul
generosity and their patriotism, and yet thal
political party that controls New England
and has II senators in the United States
Congress never drew generous or patriotic
breath. This country was never engaged II
foreign war that the old Federal and WING
parties did not oppose, and the present he
publican party is lineal descendant OF thos'
parties. The Republicans Of New England
went into the war for the Union, not from
motives of patriotism. but because the,
thought they cou,d make money and inJur'
the South. The State Of Missouri sent more
troops to the Union armies than all OF New
England, outside of Massachusetts. Ant
yet they talk about patriotism and try b
Induce our Western farmers, from whom the,
never buy pound of anything, to keep Of
voting into their pockets: They. have tn
money, and have waxed fat and rich off th
toll OF the, West, and the Western farmer
are growing poorer all the time. In 1880 tn
farming lands and products of the West, tn
farms, the horses, cattle, sheep and product
were not worth as much by millions Of dol
lars as they were in 1870, 10 years befor'
Ten years of the highest protection this cou
try has known has made the western farme
poorer than he ever was before. And yet b
is asked to vote again for the enormous TIA
iff taxation in order that the Eastern manr
facturers may receive more tribute and gro
still richer. 1t astonishes me, ii dumfounC
to think our people can be so blind.
1.-THE empire of this country belongs to I'll
West, where there is great, generous an
patriotic people. If our people choose the
can throw off this tribute to New Englar
that has been defrauded from them so lon
But they cannot do it so long as they suppo
ali the monstrous features Of the presel
tariff. Low taxation and tariff retoImbrll
about time of prosperity such as we W
never known before"