Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1891-01-15
THE FOLLY OF M'klNLEYlsM.
How bright Republicans Have Had
Their EyeS Opened.

How Upright Republicans Have Had \
Their Eyes Opened.
The Mekinleyites constantly ars
harping upon the excuse that the voter, |
OF the country did not understand the !
provisions of the tariff bill and what Il |
is meant to accomplish or they would
have rallied at the polls last fall and
supported it instead OF voting against
it by hundreds of thousands The
New York Tribune. among other Nc
kinley organs, has made this statement
and repeats it 1t is the only eNplana-
ton it can give OF the overwhelming de
feat OF the bill. But mark how plain
tale shall put. it down
In July last Mr.. Elijah R. Kennedy
OF brooklyn made a trip through the
Northwest. Being an observing man
he kept both eyes open AID had fire.
quent talks with all classes OF people.
So impressed was he with what he saw
and heard that upon his return he wrot.
out the results of his observations and
the high-tariff New York Tribune
printed them under the conspicuous
title What Wide-Awake Republican,
Observed in the West" 1t should be
taken into account that when this wide
awake Republican started in July he
was under the impression from assur-
ances conveyed to him that the Mckin-
ley bill twas immensely popular in the
agricultural States and would confirm
our hold on those States" On his re-
turn, August 6. he wrote to the Tribune:
Well. have talked vita the best judges OF
the political situation in WISCONSIN, men also
peculiarly wen informed affairs in the other
Northwestern States, and deem ii a duty 10 de-
clare that The final enactment Of the Mckinley
| bill in any thing like the shape in which il now
stands will lose the next Congress and VIII
render it next TO impossible for the Democrats
| to bungle and blunder sufficiently TO enable Us
| to elect successor TO President Harrison
| Thus three months before che election
this wide-awake Republican discovered
what the results of MckinleyisIn would
be. He found that the Republicans did
understand the bill, and the Tribune
| printed his warning, though it has not
| had the good sense to heed it. He found
that the people of both the Dakstas,
Minnesota and Wisconsin land if he had
made observations In fowas Illinois and
Michigan the same discovery would
have been apparently understood that
The Mckinley bill increased the duties
over a wide area Of the common neceS-
| aitisS of life. and in consequence We're
dissatisfied profoundly as long oago as
last Suly. They were well posted, for
as fast as the items OF the Mckinley
bill were formulated the press told the
public all about iS, and its increases,
gouges' and steals were exposed ia
| Toilette. of Wisconsin, of the ways and
means committee; Gear. of Iowa; Julius
Caeser Burrows, of Michigan. and Nc
Kinley himself read the Kennedy letter,
and in spite of its sign-post of danger
ahead they were willfully blind leaders
of the blind. They closed their eyes
with contemptuous Indifference to all
these signs of popular displeasure and
foolishly, vic;ously and wicl1edly pilot
ed the Republican party into the ditch.
aided by parcel of weak henchmen
and purblind followers in Congress and
shallow-pated newspaper editors like
the Des Moines Register job lOS- A
pretty mess they have made of if, In
the glazing light of the November defeat
the Kennedy letter is significant read
ing Chicago Tribune tRep-)-