The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1892-09-16
HARRISONfS LETTER.
A STUMP SPEECH DISGUISED AS
| A LETTER.


which He Will Not Get-Daring Adap-
tation of Projections Paradoxes-Food
Made Both Cheaper and Dearer.
President Harrison's letter of accept
ance Is simply a stump speech in the
form of an epistle. II is less docu-
ment to elucidate his views or to ex-
plain his party's purposes than an at
tempt to gain votes by accommodating
those views and purposes to hostile
public opinion. -r
Four years ago Mr.. Harrison had only
contempt for "cheapness." Now he
sryues that the law passed to increase
prices has really lowered them. The
pAradoxes OF protection never had a
more daring adapter than the president.
According to him the same law has
increased prices to the farmer and made
food cheaper to the consumer, has low
cred the cost of manufactures by taxing
their raw materials, has enabled the
producer to pay higher wages by reduc-
ing the price of his product.
In one respect only has Mr. Harrison
the entire bravery of his bourbonis SIN;
be defends the billion dollar congress
hrom its initial usurpation to its closing
outrage. That the people condemned
this congress, and incidentally his ad-
ninistration, by maj jority of more than
1,S00, 900 is calmly ignored by the presi-
dent. He says that "a vote of want of
confidence is asked by our adversaries,"
as If that vote had not been given in 1890
and repeated in 1901. The election this
year is simplya demand for Judgment
npon verdict once rendered and con-
hrmed. - -
President Harrison's tardy recognition
of Mr.. Blaine's action in forcing the par
tial amehoration Of reciprocity upon
will hardly atone for his previous action
in claiming all the credit of it. Good
as far as it goes, this SO called reciproc-
ityis still ga sham," as the Democratic
platform declares it to be. 1t INTAKES
foreigners only. 1t applies to our poor
est insteadsof our best customers And
itfavors other countries at the expense
Of our own.
The presidents contention as to the
effect of tariffs on wages is thoroughly
disingenuous, not to say dishonest. He
knows that the duty under the McKin-
ley law in many schedules is more thar
the entire labor cost in the articles pro-
tected, and yet he repeats the deceptive
claptrap about the necessity of covering
"the differences in wages between this
country and Europe. He claims that
1r,tsn cts e,l, -. h,1
up wages, and are the oni1 barrier
against reduction to the European
SCALE" when he knows that the wages
in free trade England are from 80 to 100
per cent. higher than in any protection
ist country in Europe, and that the vari-
ations in wages in the same industries
in different states of our Union under
the same tariff are as great as the differ
ence between the average wages here
and in England.
1t is characteristic of this nefarious
system Of false pretenses that it should
convert the letter of acceptance Of a
president into the dishonest screed Of a
special pleader.
The passage upon the force bill will
be variously interpreted, but fairly read
it seems to be an abandonment of the
extreme policy embodied in that odious
measure. Two years ago the president
tried to press force bill through con-
gress. He now talks soothingly of a
n0npartisan commission to devise some
scheme for counting the negro census as
Republican votes. He affects to see,
however, in the new political move
ments" in the south and "the recent de-
cisions of some Of the state courts" a
hope that "the arbitrary and partisan
election laws and practices which have
prevailed may be corrected by the state,
the laws made equal and nonpartisan
and the elections free and honest"
Such solution, he says, would be re-
ceived with rejoicing by his party-the
party Of Wanamaker's phaisaism,
Quay's corruption and Dudley's bribery
-inasmuch as "a healthy and patriotic
local sentiment is the best assurance of
free and honest elections"
This is the Democratic doctrine, and
while the smooth sayings of a candidate
cannot be accepted as binding upon his
party it is evident that President Har-
nson, like Mr.. Reid and the other lead
ers of his party, is anxious to drop the
force bill issue. AT least he refrains
from defending it, and definitely sug-
gests another and far better method of
settlement.
But, as we have said before, Mr.. Har-
rison cannot wipe out the Republican
record; he cannot hide facts with pa
laver.-New York World.
The Material Must Suffer.