Los Angeles daily herald., 1890-01-08
Can't survive Harrison?


can 1t survive Harrison?
Il is a very. usual fashion to speak OF
parties dying like individuals, and, in
deed, the exceedingly brief life OF most
OF the political organizations opposed to
the Democratic party has almost justified
this practice. At one time the madness
was INDUCED in CT even supposing that
the Democratic party could give up the
ghost. Without scrap of official nour-
ishment from 1860 to 1SS4-twenty-four
long years-its opponents we're appalled,
to see the tims.honored organization
standing up in the latter year staIwart
and inyincible, surviving Its mistakes, If
it had ever made any, and apolo9izing
for none of them if they we're of record.
It resumed power, as though to the man
ner born, and released it four years later
with an easy grace that almost spoke in
difference. The country, as matter of
fact, is overwhelmingly Democratic, and
it requires q remarkable lot Of msladroit-
ness on the part of it's leaders for the
time-being to keep it out Of power. All
the indications just now point to q
Democratic groundswell which will carry
the Congressional election next year by
IN unprecedented figure, and whose
force will last until the Democratic
standard-beare is victoriously installed
in the White House in 1898.
This roseate Democratic prospect is
greatly enhanced -and indeed has been
largely brought about-by the fatuous-
ness of one Benjamin Harrison. During
the campaign he had sense enough to
take his cues from Blaine, who as q
political tactician stands in the front
rank, however much he may lack in
genuine statesmanship. But however
contained and prudent the grandson of
Tippecanoe may have been in the days
of his tutelage, when he got into the
White House he unquestionably imbibed
the idea that he was bigger man than
old Blaine, and he has since been at pains
to make the gentleman of the Pine Tree
State understand that he, Benjamin Harri.
son, ,ofhappy name and inherited memory,
was q law unto himself. His appalling
in the line of annihilating
the reserved rights of the States, bis un-
accountable chapter in his message de-
voted to the Field-Terry- Nagle episode.
his foolish adoption Of the Blair educa-
tional bill, his suggestions leading up to
the control of the election machinery of
the States by the Federal government,
his failure to recognize the Republic of
Brazil-all these things show that Harri-
son himself is in the saddle and pushing
things, and that he bids fair to realize
the parodied adage, put political fool
In the saddle and be will ride to the
devil.
Not in the history of American politics
has there been such fiasco as that of
Harrison so far. We have re.
served his greatest mistake to the last,
and that is his betrayal of silver to the
gold-bugs, Of the debtors of the world to
their creditors. The most distinctive
achievement his administration has thus
far been noted for is the conspiracy to re-
peal the Bland bill, and TO make silver a
mere commodity, at the dictation of
Wall Street, in New York, and Change
in London. Five months after the Hsr-
rison- Window echeme of settling silver
had gone into effect, silver would have
sunk fifty per cent, allowing the COM
mercial men of London to buy it as bull
lion, coin it into rupees and pay in the
latter for the wheat which the ryots of
India are raising to crush out the agri-
cultural interests of California and of the
United States generally.
Can the Republican party survive this
little five foot four inches statesman ?
We doubt it. The Republican party on
this Coast, at least, is paralyzsd. No
Republican in California would dare to
60 before the people without an explicit
Reputation of Harrison's message and
of the leading features of bis administers
tive career. All of which makes the Dem.
ocrat OF California somewhat serene and
confident, not to cay exultant.
why Not PICK UP the Gauntlet.
There ia prohshlv rot in the limited