The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1888-10-10
BEN HARRISON'S MISTAKES.
Hls HOSTILITY TO woRKINeMEN,
And His Great Love For Corporations and
BOndholders-A Powerful Analysis OF
His Character and Review OF His
Record by Maurice Thompson.


get that his greatness has been very re-
cent discovery. AS rule, true volume
of character is not generated in fort
night. We all remember the undignifed
and, indeed, hysterical remark which Mr..
Harrison made when he characterized the
greenbackers of Indiana as idiots" who
ought to be confined in an asylum. That
was, to make the best of it, very weak
thing and badge OF narrowness and i'll
temper.
At present there is an issue between
Mr. Harrison and the workingmen Of
Indiana. This cannot be denied. The
issue is not confined to the question
whether or not Mr.. Harrison said that q
dollar day was enough tor any work
ingman" to receive 1t goes deeper.
The question is one of fact, of
personal attitude. Was Mr.. Harrison
for or against the laboring man in the day
when the laboring man needed friend
This is the question. The affidavit OF
labOring man may or may not be conclu-
sive; but the attitude or Mr. Harrison Is
an estoppel. II is not impossible that he
may have uttered, when excited, some
phrase equivalent TO saving that dollar
day is enough for wOrklngman. Law
yers do such things for their clients, and
Mr.. Harrison was at that time a corpora
ton lawyer; he had just been doing mil
itary duty in behalf OF those who were
grinding labOring men between the upper
and the neither milestone. What are the
probabilities as to the truth of this mat
ter? 1t would be fair to suspect that the
man who, posing as statesman, would
call whole class OF his fellow-citizens
idiots, would, when in the attitude OF a
railroad lawyer and commandments
OF q militia organized to fight work
ingmen, say some ill-considered things
about the men ne was opposing.
Just what Mr.. Harrison did say is a matter
OF memory, so far as the wage question is
concerned; but that he did use the bad
tempered and rather Anna Dickinsonish
remark about the ''greenbackers" is
matter of record. 1t Is a striking fact land
one that must have its weight with
students of human nature) that the honest
workingmen who took a deep interest in
the strike have from that day 10 this borne
Ia their hearts a very unfavOraOle in
preston OF Mr.. HarrisOn's character. Not
that they deem him bad in the sense of
being without moral standing or good
measure OF worth as a citizen but they
remember him as a cold, calculating, un-
yielding enemy OF the workngmen IN the
very hour when they most needed him as
a friend. The homely proverb "A
friend in need is a friend indeed" Is
worth more to wOrKingmen than
II is to the rich. WorkinSmen need strong
friends sometimes. and there is a man,
here and there, who las did Allen O..
Thurman) proves TO be such friend in
the trying hour. Gov. Porter was such a
friend but Mr.. Harrison was not. Thlsls
matter which sinks deep into the hearts of
many a humble household in the city
where Mr.. Harrison lives. Men and
women, and even children, recollecs
clearly the attitude OF Mr.. Harrison when
the question of wages was deadly and
terrible issue, when bayonets glittered in
the very streets where now Mr.. Harrison
Is making smooth speeches in lattery of
labor.
1t is all well enough for the partisan
friends OF Mr.. Harrison to cry out ISLAM
der, lie, libel" but the massive
and immovable fact remains a very
burden of absolute knowledge
IN the hearts OF workingmen.
This was a mistake made by Mr.. Harrison
and it was a mistake of precisely the same
character az that regarding the citizens of
Indiana who believed in the "greenback"
theory of finance. These mistakes are not
casual, not mere accidents; they search
the mans nature; they are powerfully sig
nihcant OF his bias of character; they are
badges of the form and fiber of his SYM
pathies. 1t has become generally known
that he is a cold man; but this might
mean nothing more than manner If his
"a. i Il
4ntensest self-cOnsciousness, were not so
often conclusive OF constitutional aversion
to broad human sympathy. He has
fifty-fve years Of personal history behind
him and no citizen of Indiana, trust,
would wish to question his purity
IN all the private walks OF life; but
Il is honorable and fair 10 test his public
manners, acts and attitudes. lie should
desire this himself. SingularIy enough
we find hiswhole past life agreeing per-
fectly with the common public impress
sion. He has been the companion, friend,
adviser and counsellor OF corporations; a
cold, dilligent, self-concentrated agent
working for himself through the powerful
syndicates, trusts and combinations Of
capital. He fought labor because it was a
matter of cold dollars and cents to him.
It matters little what were his words and
phrases; his attitude was unmistakable
and characteristic of the man. He placed
himself like a stranded iceberg between
earnest, warm-hearted, sincere laboring
men on the one hand and sOulless cor
porations on the other, and everything be
said and did was for the corporations
and against the workingmen. This is
the obdurate and refractory fact which no
affidavit can strengthen, no circumlocution
evade.
The position of Mr.. Harrison as a
presidential candidate making carefully
worded addresses to delegations of his
political partisans is different from that
when he was fghtingfo corporation. He
Is very warm and ObsequiOus 10 everybody
now; self-interest forces him to be
but even now, when called upon to take
an attitude on a question with capital on
one side and the masses OF the people on
the other, he cannot resist the old habit
he deliberately ranges himself on the side
Of the capitalists, as he did during the
strike Here is a single sentence from
his letter OF acceptance: "The surplus
now in the treasury should be used in
the purchase of bonds"
How characteristics No other public
man in Indiana would have framed that
cold, heartless, sardonic bid for the sup
port Of the bOndholders, without any re-
gard whatever for the effect Of such pol
icy upon the people at large. He knew
when be penned that sentence that New
York syndicate stood ready TO corner"
the bonds and run them up TO a fabulous
price. He knew that the syndicate could
succeed easily, because most of the
bonds cannot be forcibly called in before
1907, point nineteen years in the future.
M