Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-06-23
SATURDAY, JUNE go, 1883.
ipa,,er,ng with the People.

q. Paitering with the People,
Perhaps no piece OF humor in the
memory Of the oldest politician surpasses
in downright juiciness the resolutions Of
the Chicago Republican National plat
form which are devoted to our merchant
marine, navy and coast delences. There
is positive richness in these deliveries
which is worthy Of all praise, il they are
30 be considered strictly from the comedy
standpoint From 1860 to 1884 the Re-
publican party was in absolute posses
sion OF all departments of the Govern
ment of the United States. During that
period the foreign merchant marine Of
this country has shrunk from a rank
next behind and close to that OF Great
Britain to comparatively nothing. Alb
sorbed in its work OF fleeing the con-
sumer, and interested only in building
mp monopoles and protecting favored in
tercsts, the Republican party cared
nothing for our foreign commerce.
Everything that entered into the con-
struction of ship was so heavily
taxed that our shipwrights were
compelled to surrender tine COM
petition to the ship builders of the Clyde
II anything was done during that long
period, lacking only year of quarter
of century, to build up American ship
ping, it has escaped our attention, and
we think it will be exceedingly difficult
for any Republican to point it out. For
awhile the decsdence of American ship
ping was explained by Republican ora
tors and editors on the ground that the
Alabama had been very active on the
high seas, and that the other Confeder-
ate cruisers had made it very difficult for
the American merchant marine to carry
on its heretofore profitable work. This
argument served very well until 1865 !;
but after that date; it became positively
silly. The repressive policy of the Re-
publican party after 1865, proved to be
far more restrictive than the utmost eff
forts of the Alabama and her consorts
had been. The painful shrinkage in
American commerce became even more
remarkable after the close than during
the continuance Of the war.
Then, as to our armaments and fortifi-
cations, we do not see that anything
prevented the Republican party during
that long period from putting New York,
San Francisco, Boston, aud other import
ant coast cities, in condition OF defence.
There was nothing to estop them from
using the highly protected ironworks at
D,tt.hrrr,l, nd al -, L.
iacture OF ordnance of the modern
standard. If our memory serves us
right, they did not even make the effort
TO supply the "plants" needed to cast
the guns of long range and large caliber
which the present status of offensive and
defensive warfare absolutely requires.
Ii such efforts have been made, let the
Republican bloviators cite them. Let
them give time, place and circumstance
as to any patriotic efforts made by their
party, during that long and melancholy
saturnalia OF iobbery, to redeem from
unblushing eilrontery this specially men,
dAcious clause of their platform.
AS to the navy of the Unitad States.
the record is still more melancholy.
While hundreds OF millions OF dollars
have teen spent on our navy since 1865
the closing year of the war-what is
there to show for it? The government
oi the United States seems to have been.
under Republican auspices, the veriest
tool of Republican jobbers like Roach,
who reveled in millions, largely appro-
pria,ed to Republican campaign expenses.
until the advent Of a Democratic ad-
minstration, with its honest methods of
accountability and reform, forced him
into bankruptcy. The shameful record
of Robson and other Republican Secre-
faries OF the Navy, piled upon the second
administration of Gen. Grant a load of
obloquy from which the Hero OF Apo
mattox never recovered. One of the
sensational episodes Of the later era OF
Republican misrule was the sinking of
one OF these Republican-built men of
war with the Secretary of the Navy on
board, that official having been rescued
with great difficulty from watery grave
on that memorable occasion.
To-day the only vessels in the United
States Navy that meet any OF the require
ments of modern ship OF war have been
built under the honest Democratic adj
ministration OF Grover Cleveland. A
good beginning has been made to rescue
the United States from its position of
ignominious helplessness, and the people
will see to ii hat this auspicous start is
not made Of no avail by return to the
old, corrupt and wasteful methods Of the
Republican party.
Truly there is something worthy of ad-
miration in the hardihood of men who |
are not afraid to face the American peo-
pie with such unblushing mendacity. 1t |
was a noted Republican politician who |
acquitted himself of the aphorsm that a |
lie well stuck to is as good as the truth. |
There was time in the history OF the |