The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1891-12-31
sQUlRr.GuN POLITICS
And Some Possible Resuits-How the
DIighty iIuvo Fallen by Speaker Crisp's

.
And Some Possible l,esuits-IIow the
Mighty Have Fnilen by Speaker Crisp's
Hand. jgPt5
lPa,hia9tan Correspondence Loaisrae Courier
Jou1idl (Dtml.
Nobody snpposes that the substitu-
ton OF Mr.. Springer for Mr.. Mills MS the
leader OF tho Democratic majority in
Congress is going TO result in u split in
the party. Neither will the sqhirt.gun
attack on the devil OF protection, that
is TO replace the heavy bombardment
tho Carlisle.Nlorrison.N ills.IIurd reg.
inc, lavo that effect; but there is no
denying that the squirt.gun policy has
thrown n damper on tho tariff reform
movement. Mills, the Breckinridgcs,
Wilson, McAlillinund Turner arc pow.
erlcss. True the three last named arc
on tho committee OF ways and means,
and possess all tho brains OF tho Demo.
cratic members, but they are power.
less, as much 20 rs the Republicans
OH tho committee. The situation is
Just such rs 1t would have been In Eng.
land half 4 century ago, when the re.
peal OF the corn laws was the supreme
Question, had Sir Robert Peel. Richatd
Cobden, John Bright and Mr.. Glad.
stone been sent TO the rear and set OF
reformcrs, drafted from the October
club, been put i'll charge OF the free
trade movement. lbelievc the October
club was Tory. affair lnd protGctonist
IN sentiment, but this illustration is M
apt ono Notwithstanding. Tho most
miserable thingin tho whole miserable
business is the rcbuke administered to
Bynum and Cliff breckenridge.
Those two men IRE more cordially
hated by Tom Reed than any
other two in Congress, and Mr.. Crisp
appears to have gone into the business
OF Furnishing Reeds enemies for him..
Though Reed hated breckenridge, and
affected TO believe him particcps
criminis to the murder OF Clayton, Reed
appointed Breckinridgs TO the commit
tee OH ways and means. Tho fact is
that Cliff breckenridge knows more OF
the details OF the tariff question than
all the rest OF Congress combined.
Others may, and do, know more
about the principles, moral and
political and economic, but the
young kcntuckian from Arkansas has
all the schedules, all the statistics
that bear upon them, us familiar in his
minds eye us his alphabet. The depos-
ing OF him only emphasizes the squirt
gun policy that will have little more
effect OH the tariff monster than the
buzzing OF q gnat around sleeping ALI
gator. Bynum is the coming Democrat
OF his section; indeed. lie is already ar
rived. When he took hold OF the In
dianapolis district it was strongly Re-
publican; he made it reliably Demo
cratic, almost as much so as the New
Albany. district. He will DO tho next
Democratic candidate for governor OF
Indiana. He will-be elected, but he
will owe no thanks to the speaker OF
Congress, who appears to think that
loyalty to himself is test OF merit and
the only test.
The formation OF the ways and means
committee, with q young fellow from
Nebraska, serving his first term in Con-
gross, on it instead OF Roger Q. Mills;
with Montgomery instead OF W. G. Z.
Brcckinridge; with Shivcly instead o.
Bynum; with Whiting instead OF Cliff
Breckenridge, would indicate that the
committee Vas designed to do nothing,
though it was demand for tariff re-
form "from skin TO core and from core
to skin" that elected u Democratic Con-
gross in 1870. The Democratic party
has always been theparty OF the people;
but the people will havenone OF itwhen
tho Democratic party i'll Congress turns
deaf ear TO the demands OF the Demo-
cratic masses. Already it is given out,
with how much truth l do not know,
that the new regime-Springer Il Co..
are after the scalp OF Col. Morrison. 1t
is said that Springer. espcciallyis NOV
ing heaven and earth to prevail OH the
President not to appoint Col Morrison,
whose term expires January /, Inter-
state Commerce Commissioner. Ii this
is to be the policy OF the new set OF ell
ders in the gates. tho Democratic party
might as. well surrender next years
fight before the battle begins.
However, there is such Il thing as 4
caucus. The Democratic majority in
Congress, sitting in caucus, has heavi-
er hand than Crisp and probably a
louder, certainly more commanding,
voice than Springer. Its the duty OF
the caucus to take charge OF things and
run the Democratic majority in Con-
gress on Democratic lines. An effort is
going to be made in that direction, and
the people at home should keep their
eyes and ears open and greet those who
flicker with what Sheridan called an UNI
forgiving eye aud a damned disinhcrit-
ing countenancc. "You may dwarf a
man to the mere stump OF what he
ought to be, and vet he will put out
green leaves" And so with the Demo-
cratic party. 1t may be able to win a
fight with squirt guns and squirt gun
ncrs.
Tho Messiah Craze Again.