, 1890-04-27
A REPUBLICAN Wall.
Postmaster Clarkson's Speech
at Pittsburg, Pa.
The Press of the Country De.
sorting the Republicans.
The Next Presidential Battle
Already Begun.

PrrTsBURG, April 26.-The fourth an
nual dinner of the Republican club in
commemoration of the 6Sth birthday Of
Genl. u. s. Grant was givcn tonight.
Our Guests" was responded to by
Col. j. NJ. Shoemaker, of this city;
Grant" by Governor Jas A. Beaver
and THE Republican Party" by Hon.
Thos. Reed, speaker oil the house OF rep
resentatives. Reed spoke at length on
the election frauds and ballot box %stuffIng
in the South. The remedy, he said, was
the passage of the senate bill enlarsing
the powers OF United States supervisors
over state elections.
Assistant Postmaster General Clarkson
spoke to the toast The Republican
Press" Briee was much derided Tor his
phrase in 1883 hat the campaign of that
year was an intellectual one. yet his state.
ment was true. The political
contests, said the speaker, are coming
more and more to be fought in the arena
The torchlight aud the redlight, as poliu
cal arguments, are being superseded by
the intellectual discussion of the press.
The campaign of 1892 will be a news
paper campaign, and it has already be-
gun. The Democrats saw this before the
Republicans. For any close observer
must have seen the marvellous manner in
which the Democratic party has been
Strengthening its lines in the newspapers
or magazines, In the large cities, of the
east they have captured nearly all the
magazines and illustrated papers-all the
mercenaries of the press and literature
have been turned into their service.
The reinforced Democratic press is
a startling thing for the Republican party
to face, and it must face it with courage
and wisdom. In New York City l,4OO,
900 copies Of daily newspapers are print
ed daily and less than POO, 900 of them
are Republican. This means that two
fiiths Of the Republicans of New York
city aud its environments are reading
Democratic papers, taking the Democratic
version of things. and the young people
people of households are being educlted
unconsciouSly against the party of Sheir
fathers. Ia Boston the papers of the
greatest circulation are also Democratic.
The same is true of nearly every large
city in the country. Democracy has also
pressed its conquests to the agricultural
press. and In the last three or four years
many OF the farmers papers In the est
have become advocates OF free trade. 1t
was largely through this line aud that OF
the farmers alliances that the Democrats
based their claim that the Northwest was
Tor free trade, and changing to the Demo
cratic party. Even "a good an organiza-
ton as that OF the farmers was utilized,
aud farmers alliances established sys-
tematically, with all the Democrats and
all the weak kneed Renublicans IN the
neiRhborhood gathered into its folds.
Then they were supplied with free trade
literature secretly aud constantly. Such
propaganda has never been known in
America as that OF the Democrats 10 their
hunt in secret, and through a changing
press in behalf of free trade in the west
today; and | submit to you, as Republi
cans, that it is tiIue for our party to take
notice of what the opposition party is
doing by increasing and Strengthening its
press"