The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1889-01-11

Senator Faulkner, like a great many
Democratic statesmen in West Virginia,
is gifted with a peculiar sense Of hind.
sight. 1t has been but a few short weeks
sipco he was going over this State max
ing Free Trade speeches, He ably and
eloquently argued for free raw materials
and upheld the Presidents message and
the Mills bill as models Of craftsmanship.
He declared that what this country in
general and West Virginia in particular
needed was theadoption Of the economic
system advocated by the Democratic adj
ministration and tho Democratic ma.
iority in Congress. Those who heard
his speech in Wheeling will remember
the extreme grounds he took upon the
great issue before the people and that
they were impressed with theideathathe
was not merely tariff eformer, buta Free
Trader out and out. His speech was an
echo Of the speeches OF all the Demo
cratic leaders during the campaign, In
GLIDING those Of Mi. Mills, Mr.. Carlisle,
Mr.. Wilson and Others, and an unequlvo'
cal endorsement OF the position and acts
Of the Democratic party.
But OH the 9th day Of November Sen
ator Faulkner heard something drop,
To his acute hearing 1t seemed TO drop
with "a dull, sickonlng thud." West
yirglnia's verdict was rendered. She
said, by her virtual turning over to the
Republican column, that the Democratic
policy was wrong. She wanted no free
raw materials in hers. She was for the
great American system Of Protection
with a big p, and served notice to her
Democratic leaders that their doctrines
were against her best interests, and that
they must take another course OF he
left. Senator Faulkner, II anything, Is O
shrowd politician. He was quick to re-
alizo tho situation and profit by the les
son 1t taught him. He saw that he and
his brethren had been guilty OF a Seri'
Gus mistake. II not too late, II must be
corrected ut the first opportunity.
A supposed opportunity arrived when
on Wednesday ofthis week, in his placcin
the United States Senate, he joined with
Senator German, Of Maryland, in the
hopeless task Of calling tho Democratic
party to It's senses. The way hc and bis
Maryland colleague spoke ont In favor
Protection surprised OverybodY. II will
create a sensation In West Virginia
among tho brethren who still hold on to
tho lost Free Trade cause.
tall came about when Senator Vest
Of Missouri Democrat moved to place
coal, blluminous and Shale, ON tho free
iist, and argued that coal as we'll as lum.
her should 10 free, This brought our
" Senator, to his ioOt. Here was the
opportunity TO redeem himself with his
constituency and perchancC cause them
10 erase the handwriting on the wall,
He spoke enthusiastically against Mir.
Vests proposition, Tic Senator from
Missouri, said both Senator Faulkner
and Senator German almost in tho same
breath, proposed to put coal on tile free
list and strike down all the bltuminous
coal interests West Ottho AllCRhOniCS,
The Senator from Missouri would find
The lesson Of tho past repeated, and that
was that wherever the old declarations
Of the Democratic party were departed
from, 80 long that party would remain
In tho minority, The tine toud nettr
come Ii The bea Oiaaa, bordering on ts 10.