Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-07-08
CAN'T GO HARRISON.
The Position of MRjOr Wilson, the
Prosecutor of the whisky Ring,

Major Bluford Wilson, of Sprinefie
H., is second 10 no other lawyer in the
state in point of ability, or to any repub~
lican in prominence as an influential poll
tician and party leader. Distinguished
as brave soldier in the war of the re"
bellion, crowned with laurels won in many
q bloody scrimmsge. and afterwards hon
ored by Gen. Grant with the appointm Mt
to the high Office of solicitor of the T. S.
treasury, position which he held with
distinguished ability for eight years, yet
this man, who AYERS that in all his life he
never voted any other than the republican
ticket returns from Minneapolis so filed
with disgust that he is ready to swear "by
all that is black and blue" he can never
vote for the reelection of President Har-
rison. In a communication of some
three columns in the Chicago Herald he
gives Little Ben" perhaps the severest
scoring he ever received and one that in
telling points, clothed in terms OF wither
ing scorn, will hardly be exceeded by any
of the plentiful philippines no doubt in
preparation for uttersnce during the pend
ing campaign.
What particularly fills Maj. Wilson
with invincible disgust is the phenomenal
mesnness of Harrison, particularly as
shown in his treatment of Judge Gres-
ham and Secretary Blaine. From Wash
ington, the greatest, down to himself, the
last and least, he is the only president
who is mean enough to carry the re-
veDges Of private life into the presidents
tial office" Because President Arthur
once called Gresham over his head to be
postmaster general and secretary of the
treasury, and the people of Illinois once
had the presumption TO prefer Gresham
to him for the presidency, he could
never forget or forgive him. When
asked by so true and serYiceable per-
sonal friend as Chsuncey NJ. Depew to
give Gresham vacant seat on the
supreme bench, Depew himself reports
that Harrison answered: am a mem
Der of the Presbyterian church, but I'll
be d if I'll ever appoint Wat Gres-
nam associate justice of the supreme
court"
But his treatment of Gresham is triv al
ty itself compared to his meanness
towards Blaine. Having reluctantly
yielded TO him the state department, he
from the first day watched the great Sec
rotary in his grand progress from triumph
to triumph over the trained diplomats of
the world with consuming jealousy, Of
ten interpOsing, as in the Gillian and
Behring sea controversy, only to endan-
ger the peace of the country; and having
vainly tried to hog from Blaine the
credit of reciprocity, and by constant
nagging and DIGGING having induced him
four months ago to assign over to Harri-
son the presidential nomination and give
him free course in the country to secure
it, he still dogs him with distrust and
suspicion, until Blaine. Ibis patience at
last exhausted. forebearance no longer q
virtue, and his great soul wrung with a
sense of humiliation and wrong, indig-
nantly filings into the face OF his soulless
chief commission which he could no
longer hold except at the price of his self
respect.
All in all, Major Wilson concludes,
taking into consideration alone Harri-
sons attitude towards Gresham and
Blaine, can draw but one conclusion
and that is that Ben Harrison is the cold
est and least msgnanimous, if MOI the
very meanest man that ever sat in the
presidential chair. Too mean and too
little, Notwithstanding his conceded abil-
ity, ever to be a second time elected
president of the United States"