The Portland daily press., 1892-11-14

| course OF the campaign, ana Ine plat
form issues arc frequently so spread out,
/ and so many collateral questions proceed
] from them that it is not easy to de-
! termine just how much of the verdict
has beeu rendered upon the main ques-
tions, and Just how much is based on
collateral questions legltimately or ille-
ultimately growing out of them. Then
too in the course of the campaign passion
and prejudice run riot with the effect of
clouding the real issues. So when we
undertake to interpret the peoples YER
dict we run great risk of interpreting it
wrongly. The Republicans were quite
certain that the verdict of the people in
1888 WIS direction TO their party to
revise the tariff along the lines of the
Mckinley bill. They are not quite so
certain of it now, and the Democrats
may find out later that the recent verdict
was not an injunction to the party to
smash the Mckinley bill. But assuming
that the verdict is an order to repeal that
bill, it is also fair to assume that the
people did not intend that the repeating
should begin before December, 1898, for
the people knew that was the earliest
date at which in the ordinary course
of events it could begin. There
is, therefore, this obvious objection to
an extra session in March to repeal the
Mckinley law that it exceeds the in
structions. of the people, that it was not
contemplated in their verdict
But there are many other objections to
an extra session which will probably oc-
cur to the free trade enthusiasts as their
temperature goes down. One of them
has relation to the physical health and
peace of mind of the Hon. Grover Cleve-
land. Unless the Democracy are hun
gering and thirsting in much less degree
than is generally supposed, the Hon.
Grover Cleveland is going to be surround
ed on or about the fourth of March with
about as many Democrats as he will care
to meet, or as will be good for his health
to meet, who will make pilgrimages to
Washington at their own expense. To
spend the country's money to send on, in
addition to these voluntary pilgrims, sew
eral hundred Democratic congressman,
all persons of Influence" and all having
a certain claim to be heard will not only
be wanton waste of the public money
for which there will be no excuse, but
will imperil the health and perhaps the
life of MI. Cleveland. William Henry
Harrison's life is popularity supposed to
have been abbreviated by the importuni-
ties of office seekers, and though Mr..
Cleveland is pretty strong man it is
by no means certain that he would sur
vive the attacks of the motley crowd of
office seekers which will throng the cap
ital after the fourth of March, if they
are to be reinforced by several hundred
congressman.
Then too, with a hundred thousand
officers to be turned out and hundred
thousand new ones to be appointed the
average Democratic congressman will
find it very hard work to apply himself
to the construction of dull and unin-
teresting tariff schedules. Imag-
inc the Democratic representative
from Sleepy Hollow applying his great
mind to the question of the correct duty
on alpaca and corduroy and deciding in
diligently whether acorns shall be taxed
or admitted free of duty, while the great
question still remains unsettled as to
who shall fill the fifty or sixty fourth
class post offices imhis district. In the dis
traction of mind that such a situation will
be sure to produce, something will
certainly be neglected, and it will not be
the post offices. Even Jere Simpson,
statesman that he is from the crown of
his head to the soles of his sockless feet,
could not be depended upon to act with
GOODNESS and deliberation in such an
emergency as that.
The more our free trade friends, es-
pecially those of the Mugwump persua-
ton, think of this the more they will be
opposed to the extra session idea, and
the more they will be in favor of letting
things take their natural course. There
is but one Democrat better than his
party. That is the Hon. Grover Cleve-
land. TO expose him to the assaults of
200 or 300 persons of influence, persons
who can't be unceremoniously shown
the door at time when the Goths and
Vandals are swooping down upon the
capital by thousands and tens of thous-
ands would be likely to leave alive no
Democrats but Democrats who are no bet
ter than their party. 1t would also imperil
the cause Of tariff reform, for no Demo-
crat, standing in the midst of an hun
dred thousand undistributed offices,
could so concentrate his attention as to
follow the gerrymandering line that sep
arates the Democratic tariff for revenue
only from the tariff for protection. Some
industry in his district would 60 unpro-
tected.' The tariff for revenue idea is a
great one, but it was not intended to i'm
peril any Democratic Congress mans re-
election, yet unless applied with much
greater discrimination than would be