The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-10-05
HIS LIGHTNING ROD UP.
Reed is Abroad in the Land Pre-
pared For the Presiden-
tial Shock.
He is to Be Exposed to the Voters
in Many Doubtful
Places.

Places.
Many Congressmen in Favor OF tho Cxar OF
tho House-He VIII Seek
vindlcation.
WARRINGTON, Oct. 4.-Thomas B. Reed
will in few days inaugurate his national
campaign for the presidency. He will take
the stump Immediately, and the arrange
ments are to present him to enthusiastic
audiences in all the doubtful states and in
such other places as the interest in the man
and his future may make it desirable for
him to appear. The programme shows the
touch of trained fnishers, and if success
fully carried out will unquestionably place
Mr.. Reed in position OF commanding in-
fuence before the next national convention
of his party. The new leader is enthusias-
tic over the prospects and will exert him
self to the utmost to improve the occasion.
There would appear to be excellent justifl-
cation for his spirits. The field is undoubt-
edly we'll chosen for him. His talents for
stumpinR, while confined in the east to
limited territory, are yet of superior
order and we'll calculated to increase
his popularity with his party. He
is q ready and entertaining talker.
He has way of his own which
brings the average listener close to him.
He scorns the set speech and the present
style of its delivery, and adopts instead
pointed and epigrammatic treatment of
questions. He tells a story we'll and has
Rarnered great many Of them. Az able as
he is, however, and as widely recognized
now as one of the strong forces of republi.
canism, he is personally stranger in many
of the republican strongholds throughout
the country. And this very fact will tend
to increase the size of ovations to him.
The people are curious to see and hear him,
and everything points to the probability of
his being the one star of the whole republi-
can campaign. The only man who could in
any measure divide popular interest and
appreciation with him will be detained at
home lighting =: lis existence against
democratic odis. So with Mr.. Mckinley
kept bowling around the wicket at the now
district in Ohio aud Mr.. Heed . rover, the
latter is certain to have best Of -. pular
party xeosptionr.
Mr.. Reeds campaign will be based on
one issue, Of wdich the new tariff bill and
the principal OF reciprocity will be but cub
ordinate factors. He will probably not ad-
vert to reciprocity at all. He ce. tainly does
not believe in it ard thoroughly sympa.
thized with the ways and means committee
when Mr.. Blaine. in advocating it's adop-
tion, WAS snubbed outright. Neither will
he dwell upon the tar if bill, except as ono
of the important measures placed upon .he
statute books through the instrulpentality
of his new stvle of conducting public bust
ness. He approves CT the bill. of course,
and will tell his hearers that it was what
they had every reason to expect when the
republican congress assembled. But his
appeal for the election of another republi-
can house will be of the nature of demand
that the party endorse at the polls his meth
cd OF counting quorums, and his interpre-
tatiOn of what he calls the responsibility Of
the majority with regard to legislation. He
thinks that of paramount Importance and
Will say In substance to his audiences:
''The Mckinley bill, the silver bill, the
pension bill, all admirable enough, are
really back numbers now. They are on the
books and cannot, with the senate blocking !
the way, be interfered with for years. Let |
us turn our forces, therefore. to the future |
ana decide what we should do to insure
of the favors wrought under |
the beneficial operations of my new rules |
Clearly there Is but one thing to do, and |
that is to elect another republican house. |
In that event those rules will again prevail.
and whatever is necessary to be done by |
congress to strengthen the pattv's prospects
during the presidential year will be then
little easier of accomplishment"
Among noteworthy observers here of the
political situation there is difference of
opinion as to whether Mr.. Reed, as a presi-
Dental quantity. would gain or lose by a
republican defeat this fall. Those who
hold that he would gain by being forced to
resume the leadership of his rarty on
the floor of tho house see a sort of
martyrdom. for the man in that position
under the changed conditions. They assert
that he would be constantly assailod by the |
democracy and subjected to |
such treatment as would commend him |
strongly to the sympathy of his po tical |
friends. He would appear daily ab the
champion of the party. in the popular
OF but battle
of what he had done for the party while
speaker himself and daily punished for his
record in the chair.
On the other hand there are those who be-
lieve that Mr.. Reed, in order to enjoy in
1892 the full usufruct of his revolutionary
policy and proceedings, should, if possible,
keep his hold on the spesk, rship of the
house. In that way, they assert, the issue
could be kept we'll in the foreground. He
could emphasize the effect of she rulings
hat forced through the important measures
If this congress by applying the same rul-
ngs to the business of the next congresss,
md do it in 80 aggressive manner as to fix
he attention of the country distinctively
md exclusively upon that one issue. Other
glse, as pointed out, witl an interregnum
4 wise and just democratic PRACTICES to
erve as both q barrier and q comparison.
he Reed rules would themselves be some
hing OF back number, and their author
nable longer to trade upon them. The
rgument would be advanced, indeed. and
by the Blaine people, that Mr.
iced had been repudiated in the election OF
$50, and the talk of bringing him forward
t once on his rejected issue was mischiey-
ms and perilous. Z
The speakers itinerary has not vet been
mapped out, but it promises to be perfect
pecimen Of hippodrominR once it 10 inau-
'urated. Everything ID TO be carefully pre-
AIRED for his reception, the local bands
!rilled in taking execution of Hail to ,
he Cniet" at his appearance, the local ora 7.
ors to refer to him in their Introductory
e,marks as ''our next president" and the
rowds coached to receive this reference {
nth prolonged shouts of cordial approval. ]
u programme worthy the attention of I
smes q. Blaine and his next friend, BEN {
amin Harrison. Some of tho most promi-
ent and influential republican members of
10 present hQune ara f1arfiAa In IL and ara