Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-10-25
The Attack OF Cabinet Officer on New
England.-Ths Kind OF Man Grover
Cleveland Retains As Postmaster
C3anaral
from the Chicago Herald, DEM


From the Chicago Herald, dem.
The Herald correspondent called on Don
M. Dickinson, the Postmaster General, yes
terday, at his private office, and found him
willing to talk OH 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 bill?"
II think the Republican senators are ami
mated by one object only, and that is, as one
of them expressedit, 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 it 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
and gets nothing in return for it. They don't
buy pound of Western produce. They
buy neither our flour nor our provisions.
Talk about the manufacturing states afford
ing home market! They buy nothing
from the West, but only sell their products
to us. The South buys from US, and takes
our flour 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 interests
at the expense of the remainder of the States
Twelve senators represent in the United
States senate population not as great as the
State of New York. and in extent of territory
not as great as the State of Illinois. And
they talk to us in the great West of the duty
of patriotism, and how we must go in for a
high protective tariff for the sake of the
working-man and to build up the country.
They are glib with their appeals to
our generosity and our patriotism,
and yet that political party that con-
trolls New England and has IL senators in the
United States Congress never drew gener-
Gus or a patriotic breath This country was
never engaged in foreign war that the old
Federal and Wing parties did not oppose,
and the present Republican party in New
England is the lineal descendant of those
parties. The Republicans of New England
went into the war for the Union, not from
motives of patriotism, but because they
thought they could make money and injure
the South. The State of Missouri sent more
troops to the Union armies than all of New
England, outside of Massachusetts. And yet
they talk about patriotism and try to induce
our Western farmers, from whom they never
buy pound of anything, to keep on voting
riches into their pockets. They have the
money and have waxed fat and rich off the
toll of the West, and the Western farmers
are growing poorer all the time. In 1880 the
farming lands and products of the West, the
farms, the horses, cattle, sheep and products
were not worth as much by millions of dol
lars as they were in 1870, 10 years before.
Ten years of the highest protection this conn
try has known has made the Western farmer
poorer than he ever was before. And vet he
is asked to vote again for this enormous
tariff taxation in order that the Eastern man.
ufacturers may receive more tribute and
grow still richer. 1t astonishes me, it dunn
POUNDS me, to think our people can be so
blind.
The empire Of this country belongs to
the West, where there is great, generous
and patriotic people. If our people choose
they can throw off this tribute to New Eng
land that has been demanded from them so
long. But they cannot do it so long as they
support all the monstrous features of the
present tariff. Low taxation and tariff re-
form will free the entire Western country
and bring about time of prosperity such as
we have never known before"
The above insulting language of Don
Dickinson is in the same spirit and with
the same intent as the old pro-slavery talk
of South Carolina secessionists in the
years prior to the war. Retaining this in
solent demagogue in office Cleveland in
suits all the citizens of New England, and
if they prove themselves worthy of their
ancestry, they will show by their votes
on the 9th of November how they appre-
ciate their calumniators.