Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1889-08-02
FRIDAY MORNING. AUG. 2, 1889
g MR., RANDALL FALLING IN


This is the caption that our esteemed CO.
temporary, the Norfolk Varginidn, uses
editorially in announcing that Samuel ).
Randall has said in an interview that he
could and would stand on President Polk S
tariff letter of 1914. If our contemporary
read Mr.. Randall S tariff bill which he offer
ed in competition with the Mills Bill, as
doubtless it did at the time, it will remem-
Der that the difference between the two was
not marked enough to keep the supporters Of
one from supporting the other. In, as we
now remember, about four items the Ran
dali bill was less acceptable to us than the
Mills bill-and Heaven knows the Mills
bill had Protection enough in it to satisfy
the most ardent desirer of protection to
American labor and productions. The
VINDICAToR is a Protection paper.
but 1t found in the Mills bill scores
of articles protected far more highly than
the interest of the people required. In
some particulars Nh. Randall s bill offered
less protection than did the Mills bill. The
only trouble at the time was not in the diff
ference between the two bills, nor the dis
crepancy in the views of those who prepared
them, but in the shallow but natural ambi-
ton of the members of the Ways and
Means Committee to maintain their eXclu-
sive title to the credit of preparing the first
far-reaching step to tariff-reform that had
been made. Our contemporary may not re-
member the fact, but in the various confer
ences of Democratic members on the tariff
Mr.. Randall showed a disposition to con-
cede which was far greater than was tC
have been expected of him. At no time did
he shoW an Mqlc0mprOm5slng attitude
This assertion coming from the VINDI-
GATOR, political friend of Mr.. Randall,
may be attributed to its friendship for him,
but when we refer our contemporary to the
statement of the Washington correspOn-
dent of the Baltimore Sun, a very vigilant
and active critic of MI. Randall, made
in that paper Of July 22d. to the same effect
we have the right to ask a more ready
credence. That correspondent says:
The 'might have BEEN is strikingly illus
trated in an incident which has just become
concerned, and which will be surprising to
those who have attributed to Mr. Randall an
nncompromising attitude on the tariff. 1t is
said that early in the last presidential cam
paign overtureS were conveyed from MI. Ran
dali to those representing the revenue reform
ers indicating not only his Willingness but
his anxiety to make some common ground on
the tariff upon which all Democrats could
stand 1t is understood that as a result OF
this various conferences were held, and MI
Randall eyinced a disposition to concede
which was not expected from him. At one
time there was strong hope that an agreement
might be effected, and the object was finally
defeated because members of the ways and
means committee stood on their dignity and
refused to yield points which all others CON
sidered merely sentimental. Had an agree
ment been reached possibly the election would
have resulted differently. 1t was we'll known
of course, at the time that frequent conferen
ces on the tariff took place, but Mr. Ran
dall's position has not heretofore been dis
closed.
Few public men in the Democratic party
have suffered SO much injustice as Samue
J. Randall, and none have borne it Sc
patiently. If 1.-The Unity of the Demo
cratic party on the tariff question will bt
secured before the next Presidential con
test, "as our contemporary predicts, and as
we fully believe, a very large share of that
unity will be due to the hearty cooperation
of MI. Randall and those who entertain his
views.