The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1890-10-01

In his campaign speech at Metropolis,
H., Gov. Fifer said:
Everything else being equal, the past
irecords of the two parties. IL seems 20
me, afford n sufficient reason why the
old soldier should vote with the repub-
lican party. That party sympathized
with and sustained him I'm war, and has
been his steadfast and consistent friend
lin peace. Everything else being equal,
i believe also that the records of the two
parties furnish sufficient reason why
the negro should vote the republican
ticket. 1t is conceded that the repub-
ilican party
Liberated the Negro
and endowed him with all the rights or
an American citizen. 1t has been the
earnest advocate of every measure that
would better his condition, and whether il
is conceded or not, the world knows that
the democratic party contested with
bludgeon. steel, and calumny, each step
taken i'm that splendid advance made for
the elevation of the cOlOred race; and
that same party is to-day opposing by all
the means at its command, the passage
of a bill calculated TO prevent frauds
upon the ballot box, and which will, II 1t
becomes n law, guarantee 10 every col
.ored man at the south, the right To east
one ballot and 10 have that ballot fairly
counted and its effect registered In the
final result. Is IL TO be wondered at
then, that so many old soldiers and ne
groes are to-day found within the ranks
of the republican party? They are there
and they are there 10 stay. in my Judg-
mcnt. until the democratic party has
something better 10 offer. They will not
be driven from their political convictions
by Sneer or taunt that they are hight
ing over the battles OF twenty-five years
ago.
| agree with Gen. Palmer that we
should not be influenced by past issues
except in so far as they effect present
issues. | realize that twenty-five long
years have elapsed since the great trag-
.edy closed at AppomatoX. a new gen
Grafton, with faces toward the rising
sun, is already on the stage. The pas
sions and bitter hates engendcrcd by
war are gradually giving way before the
bright sunlight of peace. No one re-
ioices at this more than | do. | would
not want only revive the bitter memo
ries of bitter war or stir up the angry
passions of men. Lot the dead past
bury its dead" and let as go forward
with strong arms and reSolute hearts
into new fields and achieve other victo-
ries for the cause Of civilization.
| realize as well as anybody that while
a good record is preferable 10 a bad one,
yet at the same time party must have
something more TO commend IL than
record. A party should not only have a
good record, but good prospectus also,
and | will concede right now that II any
republican. be he black or white, soldier
or civilian, believes that the principles
advocated by the democratic party
would, if adopted, serve the best inter-
eSts of this country, then he should UNI
hesitatingly vote the democratic ticket.
If we are wrong now, the fact that we
have been right in the past will not
avail us. If we are wrong now, we
ought to be and ultimately we will be
defeated
Gen. Palmer. after knocking down the
man of straw set up by him, and after
consuming much time i'm discussing queS-
tions about which there is no dispute,
finally reaches tho tariff, and here with
out facts or figures to bear out his state
ments, he charges generally that the
people are being robbed: that most of
the men engaged i'm manufacture are
'bloOdsuckers and leccheS," and that the
farmer, above all others, Is the most OPP
pressed man in the land. If not told so
In terms. he is made To believe that the
tariff not only increases the price of ar
ticles he is compelled TO buy, but also re-
,1uces the price of farm products, his
only source of revenue. l should like 10
have
Some Democratic Free Trade Orator
before the close of this campaign, eX-
plain. TO the people of Illinois, if he can,
I'm what possible way the present tariff
reduces the price of corn, wheat, beef,
pork. or any other of the products sold
by the farmer. / know that some dar-
ing free traders have attempted to do
this. They have said that free trade
would stimulate the manufacturing in
dustries of the old world and thereby
create market over here for our farm
products. But this argument is unsatis-
factory and will not do. We do not
want to facilitate the growth of for
egn manufacture at the expense OF our
own. And il is not the foreign, but the
home market that the farmer most
desires. The closer the facory is to the
farmer the better.
Is there an intelligent farmer in Hi
had the Mills bill become law, prices
for farm products would in the past two
years have been higher than they have
been under the existing tariff? If that
measure had passed, what a pickle the
democratic party would be i'm to-day, and
the country also, for that matter. But
il is insisted that while the tariff may
not reduce the price of farm products, il
increases the price of all articles the
farmer is compelled TO buy, and that in
this way the tariff Expresses him. And
in discussing this branch of the subject
IL is marvellous with what facility the
average democratic stump orator can
demonstrate that the tariff is "a tax,
which tax is added to the cost of pro-
duction and finally paid by the farmer
who buys the manufactured article for
his own consumption. The trouble
about this democratic argument is that
all articles i'm general use among our ag-
ricultural and labOring people are in
nearly every instance cheaper than they
have ever been before. Wooden goods,
cotton goods. and all articles of clothing
in common use are cheaper than they
were in the good old days OF
Democratic Free Trade
back I'm the SOS. And the price Of those
articles has gradually declined under a