Huntsville gazette., 1892-10-08
PLATT'S STRONG SPEECH.
The New York Leader Opens tho
Campaign in That State.
Euiogistic Words for President Harrison
Democratic Mea and Methods HUI
morousIy Misunderstanding
Issues Discussed.


C. Platt spoke upon the principal issues
of the presidential campaign, declaring
himself as strongly in favor of Presi-
dent Harrison and his administration.
Amid frequent Interruptions by laugh
ter and applause he said:
"Our friends, the enemy, and our enemies
claiming to be friends have manifested much
anxiety over the lively contest which took
place at the last national convention between
the friends OF the different aspirants for the
presidential nomination Only two conventions
have occurred since the republic was founded in
which the fiercest strife has not been en-
gendered and those were the conventions
which nominated for the second time the father
Of his country, George Washington. and the
savior OF his country, Ulysses S. Grant. 1t
should be so. 1t is right The high office OF
president of this great republic should be the
crownng reward of a noble ambition; this re-
ward for dis tinguished service and a successful
public life. the great seal of nations trust
and the recognition of its tried and faithful
servants The republicans who supported the
different candidates at Minneapolis have moth
ing for which to apologize. Any one OF them is
qualified to rule this nation in the darkest hour
Of trial or in the golden day Of its prosperity.
But a majority of the convention decided
that he who four years ago rescued the nation
from democratic misrule, who during the
years of the incumbency had SO faithfully borne
the republican standard, and whose administra-
ton had so signally promoted national pros
pcrity. should lead again to victory, and Ben
iainin Harrison, Of Indiana, became the re-
publican nominee.
He stands to-day as the representative of the
grand old republican party, the bearer Of the
flag OF protection, reciprocity and honest money,
and such, regardless OF former preferences,
we pledge him united party with unwavering
loyalty and faith, and from this moment we
march forward till November a solid phalanx,
| bearing banners illumed with the inspiring in
scription: Harrison Reid and victory
"The democratic party can boast Of two hon.
! est and consistent statesmen, Larry O'Neil, OF
| Ohio, and Henry Watterson, of Kentucky.
| They, like John the Baptist Of old. have pre-
| pared the way for us and made success straight
Despite the frantic efforts Of Mr. Cleveland and
| Senator Hill the democratic party cannot go
| into this campaign under the lying banner OF
| tariff reform The democratic convention at
| Chicago would have such milk and water
principles, so it denounced the Mckinley tariff
| as cheat and fraud, denied the government
the right to protect the workingman threw the
plank Of tariff reform overheard to the fishes
| and subs stituted another plank sawed cut long
ago by the late Samuel Tilden, viz: Tariff for
revenue only On that plank the republican
| party joins issue with the democracy. The re
publican party believes that the most sacred
| function Of government is the protection of the
workingman, and that the noblest work to
which any party can devote itself is in the
| building up and fostering of those great indus
| tries by which the progress and prosperity Of
| the nation are assured
| "Mr. Cleveland and Mr.. Hill both agree in de-
| claring that protection Is cheat, but neither
| of them dares indorse absolute free trade, 50
! they are both compelled to repudiate the plat
| form and to straddle the issue. They practi-
| caly declare that we cannot afford labor full
| protection, but may give it just little.
"In his letter Of acceptance Mr.. Cleveland
has been forced to wrestle with condition, not
| a theory-viz., that he has undertaken to spit
| upon the platform and TO expect to rate as
| consistent democrat. There are other condi-
| tions that are not theories to which he neg
| lectcd to address himself. For instance, one of
| the vital questions which cannot be ignored,
| and which is deeply agitating the democracy
| machine politician of the state and the nation,
| is whether it is ordained that the mugwump
| tail shall wag the democratic dog. This issue
| is said to have been defined at a dinner where
the mugwump was excluded, and in favor Of the
machine, but the great democratic masses at
| this moment have no reliable information on
| this momentous question.
| again he overlooked that embarrassing con-
dition which was embodied in the recent report
OF that excellent democratic official known as
the commissioner of statistics of labor. He
| should have definitely settled the question
| whether Peck should be crucified to appease
the wrath of the free trade mugwumps, and
thus be put the list Of martyrs to the holy
cause of protection; also that other burning
Observation-Disclosures the tariff should be made a
| local ISSUE and Peck facts, Peck figures and
| Peck measures should be excluded from the
| canvass by the democratic courts. He has been
driven to embrace the tariff ideas Of his arch
enemy and to humiliatingly adopt the imaginary
issue OF the journalistic statesman who has
StigmatZed him "a stuffed prophet In the
L lpYnreSSiyp language democratic
oracle: The tariff part OF Mr. Clevelands let
ter is full of carefully considered maxims and is
as elastic as caoutchouc- For the future the
party Of Andrew Jackson, John c. Calhoun,
James Buchanan and David B. Hill may be
considered as relieved from the necessity and
trouble OF holding national conventions. A self
constituted committee of all wise mugwumps
can be relied upon to furnish the candidate, and
their candidate will never fail to be platform
unto himself The masses must be content if
they are still permitted to exercise their old
prerogatives of voting early and often.
1.-THE republican party believes in honest
money; no Juggling with or debasing the ma
tional currency 1t wants a silver dollar the
equal OF gold dollar and it wants a paper dol
| lar backed by the honor of the republic, areprc
sentative OF value as precious as either silver
| or gold In the darkest hour that this nation
ever saw when gold was worth $50. the repub-
iican party. true to its principles, refused to
compromise the nations honor by paying the
interest ON ITS public debt in greenbacks. What
was the RESULT The United States bones be-
came the gilt-edged investment Of the financial
world 1t hastened the resumption OF specie
payments, and to-day the commercial and
financial credit Of the United States is equaled
by but one other nation on the face of the earth
| mo greater financial crime has been at
tempted in this country than Of the democrats
in their endeavor to substitute the issues of ir-
responsible stare banks for our present national
currency. Who looks al a greenback now with
the properly authenticated stamp Of the United
States on it TO ask whether it is good or bad?
| The nations faith is pledged for the redemp-
ton. and the golden eagle fresh from the mint
has no more value than that symbol Of the ma
| TONS promise.
"And now one word about the so-called force
blu Democratic newspapers have persistent
| ly for mouths past spread through their col
| umns all sorts OF incendiary appeals and bogus
information in regard to this alleged force
| bill, There never has been force bill which
was indorsed by the rept b.ican party, and the
information furnished on that subject is OF the
| same character as the cable dispatches OF inter
| views with Bismarck and imaginary discoveries