Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1891-12-23
Worst End Foremost-As Usual.


Our friends the enemy appear to have
achieved their regular annual blunder.
1t is the testimony of their own most
capable organs that the blunder lie a
fatal one, though these organs have not
been by any means as loud as some of
the "moremoney" papers in denying
the sincerity or party good faith of
those who have opposed them. But
the defeat of Mr.. Mills, after all the
organized, persistent and tremendous
efforts made by Mr.. Cleveland and his
former cabinet officers and his political
managers and his band of free-trade
devotees, is indeed blow which may
change the future of parties.
Mr. Cleveland can no longer have the
prestige of the predestined candidate,
but, it is plain, will have to fight hard
for a nomination, and to meet angry and
implacable resistance within his own
party. Gov. Hill, Tammany Hall, Sem
ator German, Senator Brice, the money
making, stock-jobbing, subsidy -tavoring
and speculative end of the party, has
the upper hand in legislation, and the
southern end of the capital will ring
with cries for more money and an ap-
preparation" If reputable Democrats
do not like the crowd they can inquire
why Mr.. Cleveland helped it to victory
in this state. If they do not like the
prospect they can thank Mr.. Cleveland
himself and other gentlemen who pro-
fess to be devoted to principle, but were
not willing to risk a fraction of their
party popularity by refusing their
countenance to the Tammany Hall COM
bination when it seized the state con-
vention. That was the time to eight
for funeral" but now the combination
has the reins and the whip and is going
to drive.
Free coinage must have come forward
prominently, as the Tribune long ago
predicted, no matter whether one man
or another was chosen to form the COM
mittees. But it will certainly get far
more prominence, take up more of the
attention of Congress, bring out in far
stronger light the tendencies of the
Democratic party on monetary ques-
tons, and do far more to divide the
party, with Mr.. Crisp than Mr.. Mills in
the chair The latter had discovered
that the party could not hope to win in
Eastern states if it fooled with this ques-
ton, and therefore would have done
what he could to oppose it. 1t is the
customary blunder that he is beaten,
and with him those who hoped to fight
for principle, and not for more money
York Times says:
The election of Mr.. Crisp by the coalition
of the demagOgy of Hill, the SpoilSmOnger-
ing of Tammany, the prOtectionism of
German and Brice, the half-cOrrupt, half
fanatlcal free-Silver movement and the old
South must inevitably give pause to the
men who have believed that the Demo-
cratic party would be fit inStrumentalItv
for the accomplishment OF tariff reform
and the clean and honest administration
OF the government. But those to
whom the triumph of this cause is the con-
trolling object OF political action, aud to
whom parties are only instruments for or
against the cause, will. for the present, be
forced to assume a position Of armed neu-
trality.
It begins to look as if the Democrats
might not venture to nominate any cam
didate from New York with another
from the same state hostile to him The
ugly temper and bad blood which the
speakership contest has excited will
not make it easy to secure united sup
port next year in this state or Connecti-
cut for candidate representing either
of the Eastern factions. Yet without
this state Democratic success with any
candidate would be extremely improb-
able. There are likely to be stormy
times in the House at this session, and
Judge Crisp will need all the powers he
possesses to keep his M Do of new mem
bers IN discipline. But he will have the
advantage of well-poised temper, and
of personal sympathy with the free-silv-
er and more-money extremists, who
probably constitute the majority. He
was undoubtedly better man for speak
er of the House than Mr.. Mills, and
those who proposed his nomination on
that ground alone deserve respect.
But they Numbered beyond measure
when they sought or consented to re-
ceive for him the sort of support which
finally gave him the most votes and
turned the scale in his favor. There
are worse things than being beaten, and
Mr.. Crisp, as the Tammany Hall-Hill-
German candidate for speaker, deserves
commiseration. He won, and for him
and his party it would have been better
if he had not. -NeoD York Tribune
Eli Perkins and Mills Boy Charley.
The Sioux City Journal publishes the
following amusing interview with Eli