Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1890-10-09
DEMOCRATIC BIC GUNS.
The Campaign Opened Here
With Speeches by Roach
and Benton.
Benton Talks Nearly Two Hours
About the Tariff Being
u Tax.
Program for tho Presbyterian
Synod Which Meets To-
Night.
lfOach and Benton Talk.

lioach and Benton Talk.
One good sized audience was divided
Tuesday night between Lew Johnson's s
minstrels at the rink, and the Roach
Benton democratic rally at the court
house. The democrats did not give their
nominees the audience they deserved or
would have had but for the end men at
the rink. Quite a number of republicans
and about a dozen ladies helped to make
up the court house crowd. The James
town band made things lively with pat.
riotic music before the speaking began.
a Hon. Andrew Blewett presided and
Hon. Les H. Lowe, nominee for railroad
commissioner, occapied seat oa the
platform. Mr.. Rlewett introduced Hon.
w. n. Roach Of Larimore, the nominee
for governor, who made the first speech.
He is plain, everyday appearing gentle
man with saxon exterior and Il conver-
sational style of talking. He did not say
very much The executives influence in
shaping legislation was referred to and
he told in a general way what he would
suggest il he should be elected He
paid high compliment to Col. Benton s
traitf erudition and concluded his speech
with few remarks on that question.
Col John ID. Benton. whose name ap-
pears at the head OF the democratic
ticket as their candidate for con gress, was
fhn r,rsp po1pul ot troo >f Io
and made the principal address. Mr..
Benton has been heralded abroad as an
eloquent speaker. who has exhausted the
tariff question. There Was considerable 6
curiosity to hear him and considerable
disappointment after lie had been heard
Mr.. Benton is a gentlemen OF preposesslns
appearance. Heavy black halr. worn
rather long, and shaggy whiskers of al
falfa lIxuriousness, give Gorce and just
shade @f ferocity to his expression. His
clothes fit HIM, and he is what the boys
call a "'smooth article" His talk was
also smooth and plausible. He talked
nearly two hours and what time was not
devoted to explaining about the joint
debate and why Mr.. johnson was not
present, was given to a consideration of
the expansive tariff question. Although
Mr.. Benton devoted his opening and
closing remarks to Mr.. johnson he neg
lected to state that the reason that gentle
man was not in jamestown last night
was because he was at Fargo. alling a
speaking appointment made for him by
the republican state committee. He un-
dulated along in his argument, Skipping
over weak points and dwell,ag tediously
on what he considered his strong ones.
The central thought of his address was
that the tariff Is a lax and that the con-
sumer pays it; that while it raises the
price OF what we buy it does not affect
the price of what we sell. He did not
advocate tariff for revenue only. He did
not argue for immediate free trade. He
stated his position in this wise: He
believed in reducing the tariff as low as
Is consistent with protection to American
manufacturers and would lower it to the
minimum on the necessaries which the
poor man must have. He denounced the
Mckinley bill and stated that since it
went into effect (Monday) the price of
many articles in jamestown had been
advanced % per cent. The tariff, he
SAID, is a tax; the Mckinley tariff is an
unreasonable tax and unreasonable tax
IS robbery. This robbery. he main tanned,
was aG the expense of the consumer. He
argued that the tariff is no protection to
the laborer; that it raises the price of what
be buys and thus equalizes his higher
wages He claimed that 1t operated to
make the rich richer and held the system
responsible for accumulation of large
fortunes. Mr.. Benton held with Gen.
Hancock that the tariff is a local issue
He said that while high tariff was all
right for Pennsylvania it was all wrong
for North Dakota He said the issue was
not whether johnson or Benton should
go to congress-, but whether North Da-
kota should send to congress man who
would vote with Mckinley and Quay to
further increase the tariff or man who
would endeavor to reduce the tariff. Mr..
Benton concluded With neat little
eulogy Of Mr.. Roach and chivalrous
mention Of Mrs. Esenhuth.