Huntsville gazette., 1892-10-15
REID AT BOSTON.
Tho Vice Presidential Candidate
Talks on the Issues.
lie Explains the Benefits OF Protection
to Business Men and Beratss
Grover Cleveland and
His Policy.

night of October 4, Music hall and
Faneuil hall both being filed to over
flowing. Speeches were made by White
law Reid, Gov. Mckinley and others
commendatory of the state and national
nominations and touching upon cam
paign issues. Vice Presidential Candi-
date Reid made the opening address, in
which he spoke as follows:
There is no one who should not be proud
and grateful for such reception. But it would
be worse than presumption to thinkit personal
] am simply, for time and through the partial
ity OF associates, a representative OF the grand
old party that has guided this nation for thirty
years to its unparalleled prosperity and uncon-
tested supremacy. To ii your loud applause may
well be given. Fer it your cheers may well
shake the roof, and like the shots fired by the
embattled farmers, ring round the world.
Whatever may como now or hereafter, its past
at least is secure
'At every step in its magnificent march it
was resisted in whole in part by the demo
cratic party, which resists it now. AT every
step 1t was sustained by the Drawn and the
brain, by the men and the money Of Massachu-
setts. There are those who say that Massachu-
sets will resist it now. do not believe the as
persion. Edmund Burke said: You cannot
frame an indictment against a whole nation,
but this state if it should vote now and on the
issues OF to-day against the republican party.
would indict one of the most glorious periods
and many of the most glorious names of its own
history. The republican party is now in power.
The country is peaceful, contented and prosper
nus beyond precedent Shall we thereupon
make radical and sweeping change: II so,
whys
This Is the question for the solid men of this
town Up to yesterday it was no question at
all, for our opponents then openly and without
DISCUSSES and without exceptions Or dissenters,
wanted change as abrupt and as important as
can well be conceived. They wanted to reverse
the whole policy of the government since 1881
by change from the American idea, protec
tive tariff, to the modern English idea, tar
in for revenue only. That would mean a shock
to business and "a disaster to labor that would
exceed anything this generation has seen. They
want to reverse the fiscal policy of the govern
ment since 1861 by abandoning part OF the ma
tional prcrogative in the issuing of money
breaking down the best currency this continent
ever saw, the national bank notes, to substitute
for it the worst state notes and shinplas ters
That would mean shock to all banking and
changes, and an Inconvenience and constant
loss to every citizen that would belong to
semi-barbarous period and not to civilized
one. Our opponents denounce as sham the
reciprocity treaties by which we secured new
markets for our products in Central America,
South America and Europe In return for the
free admission of sugar, coffee and tea to your
breakfast tables That means, unless their pro-
fession of principle is itself sham, the closing
sgain OF those new markets and high revenue
tariff again on sugar, coffee and tea.
There is no need to go further in enumerating
the changes they threaten. Enough is as gooa
MS feast: and that is the sort of feast to which
they invite you. / challenge the judgment OF
the candidate and intelligent businessmen OF
Boston, whatever their politics, on the PROPOSE
tion that those changes, if actually carried ont
by the democratic party as they are demanded
py the democratic PLATFORM would prove for
year or two at any rate, the greatest and most
dangerous shock to business since the war. 1t
NAV be replied that the democrats do not mean
what they say IL you take that view, then
there are two things to be considered The
first is, why encourage or in any way ustain
party that does not even intend to do what it
promisess And the second is if its promises
are admittedly worthless, what guarantee have
You, il you give it power, against its going even
further than it has threa tened: Is the tiger so
amusing and playful creature that it is worth
while to turn him loose out of mere curiosity,
Just to see what he will do? That the demo-
cratic party demanded these changes everybody
knows. But something has happened.
"Sincc last Tuesday they have been demoral-
ized and almost on the run. The letter OF &C.
ceptance discloses figure which our aboriginal
friends of the far west would describe as Big
Man-Afraid- of His Platform and the party
gazes in perplexity and alarm on a candidate
who accepts its nomination, but hns not yet
shown either the candor TO accept or the cour-
age to repudiate its principles. mean to speak
of Mr. Cleveland with that respect which all
right thinking American people wish to show
for one who has passed our supreme ordeal,
and been once declared by majority OF Amer
lean votes worthy to be the chief magistrate OF
this nation. But it cannot be disrespectfui and
txr,,yA tl,At
land now acts toward the platform of his party
as IL he were afraid that should he venture to
step on it it would break through
1.-THE three distinctly vital points in the plat
form are state bank currency. reciprocity and
the tariff. On two of them his letter is absolute
ly silent; while he writes al around and about
the third through one-hs.lf his whole letter with
out once being able to say in straightforward
language whether protection is unconstitu-
tional, as his party declares it. or right and ex-
pedient, as Thomas Jefferson and Andrew
Jackson declared it. But he does not tell us
that tariff reform is still his purpose that is to
say, the business of the country must have no
peace, everything must be once more unsettled
and the whole tariff must be turned over again
TO be tinkered by a congress of that party which
at Chicago declared by nearly a twothfrds ma
jority for the English as against the American
system and pronounced protection unconstitu-
tional
He might as well have stepped boldly upon
the platform. 1t would have looked better, and
could not have resulted worse; for what he does
say brings him, whether he likes it or not.
straight to the platforms conclusions: We de-
clare il to be a fundamental principle OF the
democratic party that the federal government
has no constitutional power to impose tariff du-
ties, except for the purpose of revenue only.
We denounce the Mckinley tariff as the cul-
minating atrocity of class legislation, and we
promise its repeal Are even the democratic
business men of Boston eager just now, this
year, or even next year, for an entertainment
like that?
I'm vain after this does the candidate plead
apologetically that his party wages no extermi-
mating war against any American interests AS
well might he plead that his party's demand
for the repeal OF the 10 per cent tax on state
bond circulation makes no threat against the
national currency. He says he wants to change
things by reforzning the tariff. The party gives
It's pledges to the country as to the sort OF re-
form its congressman Mr.. Cleveland, but its
congress-would make-a tariff for revenue
only, any other being unconstitutional He
tries to quiet alarm by saying free trade is i'm
possible Certainly. England says the same
thing and maintains most rigdly just the sort
of tariff Mr.. Clevelands platform demands-a
tariff for revenue only.
IN vain is the net spread in the sight OF any
bird No onaljfca tioux Or omissions or varue