The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1892-09-30
TAUGHT BY DEFEAT.

Grover Cleveland has been
chastened by adversely. He is a
cleverer politician than he was
four years ago. His letter of ac-
certance is a shrewder bid for
votes than he ever bethought him
to construct, when he believed
that he bestrode the democratic
party like colossus and need con-
suit no will but his own. He has
hobnobbed with Senator Hills
friends to good purpose. His ut
terance on the tariff has all the
apparent duplicity and real single
ness of purpose of the Brooklyn
speech. He seems to endorse the
spirit of the Chicago platform by
the repetition Of the state academ-
ic platitudes of his message Of
1887, only to close with positive
assurance that his conception of
tariff reform ends with the placing
of raw materials on the free list;
that he will conserve carefully the
interests of his friends the manu-
facturers and Danish ':the specter
of impossible free trade" to the
farmer and miner of the west.
This is the only thing Cleveland
"eould say on the tariff question,
without sacrificing in advance the
votes of states necessary to his
election, and he says 1t with as lit
tie peremptoriness as is consistent
with ineligible speech. Still he
can conceal from no one that it is
flat reputation of the Chicago
platform, which declares all pro-
lection a fraud, and the levying
of duties in, excess of the actual
needs of revenue violation of the
constitution. The letter must be
regarded as a deliberate surrender
of the hope Of gains from that part
of the country which is thought to
desire tariff for revenue only, and
as declaration of purpose TO rely
upon the eastern manufacturing
states for his election.
Senator Hill's influence IS 10 pe
detected i'll the paragraph of the
letter relating to silver coinage.
That clever politician invented the
absurd and impossible notion of a
silver dollar equal in intrinsic value
at all times to the gold dollar,
which was eagerly adopted by all
the democratic platforms, and has
been accepted at last by Mr.
Cleveland, in place of the clean
cut and honest declarations of his
former delfverances upon this sub
ject.
For the rest, the letter does its
best to satisfy everybody. He
apologies for the most creditable
acts of his former administration
to conciliate the soldier vote, by a
declaration inssfavor of liberal pen
sions. He truckles to the worst
element in his party by inserting
the plea for the personal liberty
of the liquor seller, whose absence
cost him so many votes in New
York four years ago. He en-
courages the project of carrying
Illinois and Wisconsin for the
democrats on the school question
by craftily qualified condemnation
of compulsory education. He Of
fers the New York Sun the olive
branch of a blow at the force bill,
and tickles the ears of the mug
wumps with empty words in
praise OF a civil service reform.
On subjects not an issue of party
politics, Mr.. Cleveland speaks
with his old-time clearness and
vigor. His approval of the Mica
ragua canal enterprise, ofjudicious
restriction Of immigration, and of
the worlds fair enterprise, leaves
nothing to be desired. For the
most part, however, the letter is
the most polite utterance of Mr..
Cleveland's life. 1t proves that he
is capable of learning by defeat
0regonian.