The Press., 1890-05-15
(Hartford Courant.) WHATEVER DOES IT SIGNIFY?

It has been recently announced that, for lack of patronage, one of the base ball is planning reduction of the charge for admission to the game. Like wise, at boxing match here few nights ago, only about a hundred people were present. Also, 8 walking match in New Haven has recently been abandoned be- cause there was nobody paying to go and see it
 All this May day agitation of the news papers has given the people an idea that mankind (outside the newspaper ofice) was tiring of work himself, but who would have believed, without these later signs, that he had also tired of seeing others ac- tive E? Hitherto this has been reckoned the top notch of entertainment.
 Twenty five years ago the solid men of Hartford used to go over on the west side of Bushnell Park and play baseball for themselves. Twenty five years later their successors in solidity go and pay for seat from which to watch somebody else do for pay what the earlier Hartford citizen used to do for pleasure. This is progress, of course. It must be, because it is a de- velopment of these times, and they are times of progress. But it is logically prog ress, too, and the progress isn't complete yet.
 Playing base ball is mighty hard work. Our predeces sors here in Hartford while in the game used to mop five or ten pounds of weight from their brows between 3 o'clock and of hot afternoon, and though it dld them good, and helped the laundry business, they insisted, with much warmth, tha. it made them tired. A later generation declines to play without being paid for it, and the descendants of the old players gladly lay down the money and es- caps the labor. But that isn't all. They still go to the games, though they take no part in them, sit on the hard sits, lose the passing hours, and quarrel as to whether the play was right. Pretty soon we shall have generation here, telling of how ho, their fathers used to get while watching base ball games, and showing their own advanced wisdom by hiring substitutes to go and serve as spectators for them.
 It is direct ascent. The grandfather plays the father hires somebody to rlay for him and sits and looks on and the son hires somebody to sit and look on at those who are hired to play, and thus secures by gradual evolution the afternoon independ- ence which was lost at the first surrender of the grandfather to the allurements of the sport.
 Or, if 1t is better to turn it another way, he gets chance to go and play himself as his grandfather did of old. But that ism what he seems to want to do; and the question of the day is whatever will be- come of sport, if the world is wearying of watching those who are hired to 'play ?'' MT. Josiah H. Merriman, master of Union grange, Southington, recently wrote to Senator Platt relative to certain tariff matters pertaining to agricultural pur- suits, and has received the following re. ply: ......,. ,...... .,....
 My Dear Sir II have your favor oi April 2 and am glad to know that you COT. rectly understand the proposed tariff bill as framed and about to be reported by the ways and means committee of the house and the more %, because have been'led to believe from what have heard, that the idea has been industriously circulated among the Connecticut farmers, that the ways and means committee was neglectinl or overlooking the farmer in the prepara tion of its bill, when exactly the reverse is true. No tariff bill was ever framed, think, in which the principle of protection was so thoroughly and carefully applied te agricultural products as @ comparison O the bill, when published, with present du ties will abundantly show.
 1 I would like to write at length if 1 ha( the time, but I condo nse into sentence what I would say, and that is, that nc class of people, in my judgment, has st great an interest in maintaining the prin ciple of protection to all industries, as tn, farmer. The farmer must depend upon { home market for the sale of his produc 8
 We cannot expect to export agricultura products in large quantities, when the ag riculturist has to compete with the cheap CT labor producing crops of other coun tries. What the farmers want and mus have is good home market, and that WI cannot have if the tariff is broken down il any quarter. F sE@ ~4 -
 But I need not enlarge on this, for I an sure that intelligent, thinking men in Con necticut understand it. hope that in th' passage If the bill we may be able to keei the duties proposed on tob cc where th'
 bill puts them. Of course it will b strong lv opposed by cigar manufacturers, but think we can hold it, we shall try at any rate. Very truly yours, O. H. PLATr.