Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-15

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eulogy of the past career of the Republican
party the speech falls below what might
have been expected. The theme is great
one. Few periods in history are more in
| spring; and when q man with the wonder
full command of language, and reputation
for striking oratory that are credited to the
Kansas Senator, deliberately devotes his at
tention to that historical subject, the result
should be something especially imposing and
impressive. That with such a wonderful
topic the Kansas Senator's utterances
were unable to surpass the rather moderate
level of his Saturday nights speech, is
almost enough to raise a doubt whether
Senator Ingalls, really has full conception
publican career, which began in this city in
1854 and reached its zenith in the Presi-
dental election of 1868.
A speaker who undertakes to instruct the
people how they shall vote at pending
election, may fairly be expected to turn his
attention to the issues to be decided by their
votes. OF any such instruction on the pend
ing issues there was minimum in Senator
Ingalls, speech. 1t is not tsuch an argument
to call the Democratic party "the political
dumping ground Of the nineteenth century,"
or ''an aggregation of the ignorance, the
imbecility and the disloyalty of the country
1t would have been such an argument if
the Senator had turned his attention to the
subject of finance, of tariff or corporate
legislation, and shown how the present Re-
publican policy will aid or develop the
popular welfare. Yet the nearest approach
to any discussion of pending issues was
the passage where the Senator, in
spired by the Maine election, made
an exceptionally bitter and unjustifable
slur upon the leader of Pennsylvania Re-
publicanism by referring, in connection with
the Federal elections bill, to ga bargain more
disreputable than that of Esau when he
sold his birthright for mess of pottage,
and more perfdlous and dishonorable than
that by which the Master was betrayed for
thirty pieces of silver" Such a passage
might be held to redeem the rather common
place level of the speech by touch pecu-
liarly in the Ingalls, vein, if it were not that
Kennedy, of Ohio, had preceded the orator in
the use OF the same hyperbole. The original
feature of this invective is the idea of
directing it against Quay in a speech pro-
fessedly in support OF Quay's candidate for
Governor.
The critical summary of the speech,
viewed as an attempt to lead popular opin-
ion, is that 1t had nothing to do with the
issues Of the State campaign. Such of his
paragraphs as have any relevancy to pend
ing national topics may be given some
weight in urging Republicans to vote for
Republican candidates for Congress; and
much more than he said could have been
given as reasons why Republicans
should stand by their party in all
elections which can affect the national
issues like the tariff. Except in cases, where
the punishment of bribery for the purchase
of Congressional nominations has been
stifed, and the people have no other way
of Furnishing corruption, the national issues
should be paramount in Congressional cleo
tions, and Republicans are justified in ad-
herring to party lines. But the meeting of
Saturday was not intended to secure votes
for the Republican candidates for Congressin
Allegheny county. Although Senator Ingalls,
disavowed any intention of interfering
with local or State affairs, the meeting was
held with the intention of securing popular
support for the Republican nominee for
Governor, and it is upon Its relevancy to |
the issues involved in the gubernatorial |
electiC., that it must be Judged.
On such points the speech would be abso-
lutely a zere, if its slur at Quay did not at |
that point give it negative quality. As to |
whether the Constitution of Pennsylvania,
or the corporations exercising. franchises |
under it, shall be supreme; whether legisla- |
ton shall be shaped in the interest OF the |
prototype of the latter-day monopo-
lies, or for .he protection of the |
popular and democratic mass of industry; |
whether public men are bound to keep them |
selves free from any stain of betrayals of |
popular or public trust; or whether clean |
and honest administration of States affairs |
is not the best recommendation that can be |
urged for election to purely State Office,
the Senator's oratory was dumb. With re-
gard to such issues, which are those at stake
between Delamater and Pattison, the eulogy
Of the Republican past has about as much
cogency as the magnitude of the railway
service to commerce has with the question
whether the employees of those corporations
may belong to labor organizations.
There is possibly an explanation for Sena-
or ingalls, speech, in the feeling disclosed
n his opening, that it is ''the intermed-