Daily Texarkana Democrat., 1892-10-19
WAYNE MacvEAGH SPEAKS.

of the campaign was held at the Acad.
emy of Music Saturday night under
the auspices ofthe Young Mems Demo
cratic association of Philadelphia which
invited Wayne MacVeagh, formerly
attorney general under President
Garfield's administration, to address
the Republicans in reply to Senator
Sherman's recent speech and explain
ing his reasons for abandoning the
Republican party, expressed in re-
cent letter announcing he would vote
for Grover Cleveland. The great hall
was filed and many turned away. The
audience was decidedly Democratic in
its sympathies and received the speak
er with great enthusiasm.
By way of beginning MacYeagh re-
ferred to the fact that he attained his
majority the day the Republican party
was born; that he never voted for a
Democrat and four years ago he voted
for Harrison. Until now he had not
felt at liberty to vote for any but Re-
publican candidates. In 1876 he be-
lieved Tilden entitled to the electoral
vote of Louisiana. President Grant,
Secretary Chandler, Gen. Sherman, in
command Of the troops in the State,
and Secretary Robson with the gun
boats in its waters, were all deeply in
terested in that election. United
States Marshal Packard was seeking
the govcrnorship with hosts Of depu-
ties at his command, and yet when the
polls closed Tilden had 1000 more
votes than Hayes The speaker OBJ
jected to this sort of thing
lie watched with pain the steady
growth of the corrupt use Of money
in politics. lie hoped the Republican
party would turn itself against the
congressional bounties and diminish
that traffic in votes His hopes had
been disappointed and he was con-
vinced unless the Republican party
was checked it would make the poor
poorer end the rich richer more cor
rupt and selfish and less patriotic. He
demanded that the rich shall not de-
stroy the source Of national life. There
was too much truth in the rumors
that the election of 1888 had been
bought. Prominent Republican man
ufacturers had said "The Mckinley
bill is ours, we bought it," There
was no way of accounting for the
action of the Republican party for the
last four years than by the bargain
and sale of legislation.
He did not see how any man in his
senses thought it wise to inhict upon
the poor the burdens of Mckinley or
debauch the voters by offering them
pensions or to impoyerish taxpayers
to buy quantities Of silver, for which
there was no use, or insult small,
weak sister republic like Chill by
sanding such a diplomat as Patrick
Eagan or threaten her with war with
out waiting to translate her apology
for the wrong done.
Referring to Senator Sherman's
speech on the Mckinley bill, he said
no one knew better than the senator
that the cordage trust was an illegal
monopoly, plundering the people in
utter contempt of the law. lie took
Senator Sherman to task for the stand
he took on the silver question, which
was opposite to the view he expressed
in 1871.
On the tariff question Mr.. acVeagh
said that less than II per cent Of the
laborers of Pennsylvania could secure
employment in the protected indus
tries, while the other 88 per cent had
to pay a bounty on almost everything
they ate and wore. The rich paid
substantially nothing, but on the con-
trary realized immense privileges out
Of the prevailing system of taxation.
The prices Of the necessities Of life
were frightfully increased to those
who could purchase only in small
quantities. Owing to the cordage
trust and similar evils, the hard work
ing farmer each year found himself
growing poorer until now in Ohio
and Pennsylvania land was worth less
than half of what it was twenty years
ago.
Depreciation in the value in farms
in this country since 1870 was greater,
in the speakers judgement than the
cost Of any mandatory in it. The
farmer had to sell his wheat for a
price fixed in a pool and less than II
cost him. The farmer was forced to
pay big bounty to the cordage trust
for twine, owing to the Mckinley
bill. The farmer found his poverty
increased by the tax he had to pay Oh
almost everything he had TO buy.