Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-09-30
TO HELP OUT GEsT.

Excuses 60 be Made for HIS Failure
and Mr. OgIesby's Presence TO Make
nm Explanation.
Arepublicaa exchange says that Nc
Kinley could not meet the wishes of
everybody in his tariff till. Perhaps not,
but he took particular care not to meet
the wishes of the consumers. but instead
to play into the hands of the trusts and
combinations. During the whole pro-
gress of the bill the wishes of the con-
sumer were never even thought of By its
advocates. The question uppermost in
the minds of all was. how much can he
afford to let the manufacturer haveY And
the question that strikes us forcibly here
is, was Mr.. Gest wheeded into voting for
such an Infamous measure by which every
one OF his constituents las been grew
ously injured? But Mr.. Gest was not
wheedled into it, He acted of his own
free will The bosses were first to be
thought of; the people in his district last.
Did he struggle in congress to give the
farmers in his district chance? Not he
Did he make fight on the taxation of
sugar, so that the poor man might have a
chanceH Not he. Did he make fight
on anything in the interest of the people?
Did he even show that the passage of
such measures was not agreeable to hin?
Did he lift his voice in anyway for the
benefit Of anyone? Not he He was and
is for the party and not for the masses.
II that party. or rather that party's bosses,
should lead him and his constituents to
destruction tomorrow he would not have
the manly individuality or independence
about him to say no.
The question recurs again, how will he
answer these questions when he reaches
homer What will he say to the merchant.
the farmer, the workman, the consumer
generally? VIII he offer the old childish
excuse that he couldn't help it-that 9th
ers had charge of the bill and he was not
7hO"Nh W opNhhs Ills tlIHt ndun come
and it never came. Others more capable
than he voted in favor of the bill and why
should not be? And perhaps it is all for
the best. The country is rich and can
stand q thing like that. The farmers
will be able to pay off their mortgages
after while and if not it don't matter
much. The principle of the party is for
high taxes and he couldn't think of op-
posing anything it might do or say or
suggest.
These are samples OF what Mr.. Gest
will offer as excuses for his conduct and
he expects the people to accept them. Or
does he really expect the people
to accept them? Hardly. If he did
Mr.. Oglesby would not have been
invited to come into the district
and fight for him his battles. Carr
paign speakers like:Ogiesby, armed with
plausible theories and misleading argu-
ments, would have found pressing de-
mands upon their time in other portions
of the state. But the people of the Elev-
enth district had become tired of Gest
and his lack of force and ability and they
were demanding change, so the ex-
governor was sent for to give helping
hand. And it matters not what specious
arguments he may use he cannot dis
guise the fact that Gest voted against the
interests of the people who sent him to
congress. He may attempt to gid the
facts as much as he pleases but that will
not alter the matter His fne-spun
theories and theatrical defamation will
not set aside the truth. The political
grave OF Mr.. Gest has been made He
himself handled the spade for the pur-
pose.