Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-07-13

| clusiyely upon contributions from the
manufacturers and Wall street Mr.
James 2. Foster, president ef the Re-
| publican league, in his famous at-frying
circular, said plainly 20 the protected
manufacturers: elf you viii give us
the means to win the victory we will do
| it. He reminded them very truthfully
that the tariff was maintained by the
Republican party for their exclusive
benefit, that they gathered annually
enormous fortunes under its operation +,
at the expense of the whole people, that
they, and they alone of all the citizens
OF the United States, were interested in
resisting the proposed reform, aud that
their enormous profits being at stake,
they should buy the. election for the
party which was pledged TO support
them.
But the post-election confession of
John Wanamaker is probably the most
startling of all the documentary evil
dences of this gigantic boodling con-
spiracy against the peace, honor and
prosperity of the country. As late as
February, 1889, when, for his secret
service to the cause of monopoly, it be-
came apparent that he was about to be
raised, by favor of Mr.. Quay TO a very
high office, he did not hesitate to tell
portion or the shameful story under his
own hand as follows:
''When Quay sent for me was surprised
had no more idea what he wanted with me than
you might have if he telegraphed for you. But
/ knew that he was not the kind of man to send
for me unless he had important business with
me- SO Invent. Then he told me that the
tonaI Republican committee needed money,
and his scheme for my raising 1t. / at first
declined to have anything to do with it. had
very little hope OF defeating Cleveland, and still
less Mrs. Cleveland, who is justly popular with
the whole country, whom admire greatly
myself, and didn It want to get on q sinking
ship. He urged the matter, told me why he felt
sure of carrying the election if he had money.
Even then hesitated, and asked three weeks
for consideration. He agreed, and talked with
our leading manufacturers-men whose names
are the best in the land, such as WaShburn,
and Amos Lawrence's grandson, and dozen
others could name: men who would never have
given dollar for dishonest uses even if I had
been willing to take it-and at the end of three
weeks told Quay I would undertake to raise
the money if he would allow US to establish a
manufacturers bureau and have voice in the
disposition of the money. I don't mean that we
insisted on knowing what was done with every
dollar of it. didn't want to know. When 1
sell suit of clothes don insist upon being told
Just where these clothes are going My respon-
sibiity ceases when 1 furnish good article at a
fair price. What did insist upon was that L
should be able to satisfy the men who trusted me
with their money, that it was used for the pur-
pose for which they subscribed it. and that guar
antee Mr.. Quay gave me. This is how there
came to be manufacturer s bureau. -
Mr.. Quay wanted the money. He as
sured John Wanamaker that he could
rescue the ''sinking ship and that he
could elect even such ticket as Harrison
and Morton if he could only command an
unlimited quantity of money. And then
John Wanamaker went about to raise the
money. He assessed the manufactIs.s
ers and carried over to Mr.. Quay at one
time, it is said, the modest sum of $780,
900. And now John Wanamaker, whose
craftsmanship in all the previous years of
his life had run to store keeping, is
now managing the postoffice department
of the United States as the freshest and
most economical business agency of Wan
amaker & Brown for the sale of ready
made clothing.
The boodIers won, and the boodlers are
showing us what they think the United
States government was made for.