Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1888-08-15
Political Speaking III Loudoun.

Correspondence OF tho Alexandria GAzETrE.l
LEEsBURG, Aug. 13.-August Court was
the occasion of large and enthusiastic
gathering of the democracy of this county.
The court house was crowded, great num-
Der being obliged to stand. All listened
with interest to the eloquent declaration OF
democratic principles and to the instructive
explanations of the democratic position on
the tariff.
The speakers were Judge ]. T. Harris, of
Virginia; Hon. J. q. Russell. member Of
Congress from Massachusetts, ard Hon. W..
II. F. Lee, our representative. They were
successfully introduced in the order given
by State Senator Henry Heatop, Of Loudoun.
Judge Harris, upon rising, was received
by hearty round of applause and began by
complimenting the people of LoudOun as
the most prosperous and intelligent of the
State. He then entered into review of the
political parties since Jefferson. InspeakiDg
of the centrazing tendency OfIhe republican
party he quoted passages from their Chi.
cago platform, anal. z'rg aud dissecting it
with the skill OF q political surgeon. 10 COZ
clusion he predicted q glorious democratic
victory 10 November.
Hon. J. G. Russell, of Massachusetts, spoke
next. He expressed his surprise at seeing
such a beautiful country, far ahead in
agricultural value of the stony inherit
snce of the people of Massachusetts,
and then plunged into the burning question
of the hour the tariff, and gave clear and
business ike statement of facts connected
with it. Upon agriculture rests the founda-
ton of our prosperity. At one time farmers
were elected to the Presidency. Washing
ton, j tferaoD, Monroe add Madison were
farmers Alexis de Toqueville, the great
French political economist, came to the
United States to study the Constitution and
see for himself The workings of it's different
branches of government. He had heard so
much of the great wealth aud prosperity of
our people, but he could not find in our sys-
tenn oil government any reason for this pros
perty. He then went among the people,
and there be discovered the secret That
the wealth Of the United States was attrib.
utable 10 he individual ownership Of the
land This was years ago, be said, but There
can be no real prosperity under the present
condition of affairs, when one class of men
is becoming enormously rich and the other
class falls into decay. The reason why the
tariff duties are selected ss means TO col
lect taxes from the people is because it is
not direct tax (but tar all the samel and
not directly felt by the consumers of the
taxed articles. The secret of collecting a
large tax iu the easiest manner is to
pluck the goose so az to get the most
feathers with the least squealiDg. He
did not Suspect, he said, that there was such
thing as republican paper in tho county, but
glancing over the columns of ore he came across
a statement that the price Of wheat HAD fallen 70
cents bushel on account of the tariff agitation.
he did not think paper would make such abb
surd statements and feed its readers with that
kind of rot. 1t betrayed an ignorance such as he
was not prepared for here. Mr.. Russell was often
interrupted by hearty applause.
General Lee concluded the speaking with an
able address, given in conversational tone,
After thanking the people Of Loudoun for their
staunch support in the last Congressional election
and explaining that this was the first time since
that election that he had had an opportunity Of
addressing them publicly, he explained the civil
service law, saying that the President had no OPP
ton but TO obey the law as he found it. He also
touched upon the tariff as it affects his consttu-
ents in various ways. On account of the latoness
of the hour his speech WAS necessarily cut short,
and amid great enthusiasm the audience dis
parsed. Il. L. ..