The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1892-03-11
CONGRESSMAN HARTER'S BAD
MIX.

Mr.. NJ. D. Harter, who represents the
Mansfield, Ohio, district in Congress,
made speech before the New York Re-
form Club on the 10th of January, which
he has sent to boards of trade and other
organizations, accompanied by circular
in which he urges that protests be in
stantly forwarded to Representatives
against the passage of the free coinage
OF silver bill. He remembered the
Home Market Club of which Col. Albert
CLARKE is secretary. and Col. Clarke pro-
ceeds to reply in which Congressman
'Harter is pretty effeotually used up.
Col. Clarke says: "NOw, it happens that
I'VE do not feel any responsibility what.
ever for the menace of Democratic
Congress. If free coinage bill passes
the House. it will not receive dozen
Republican votes. In the Senate its Re-
publican support will be still less; and
If it reaches President Harrison it will
be vetoed. Under the circumstances,
Republicans are not called upon to help
Mr.. Harter pull Democratic chestnuts
out of the fire."
He then argues the case as follows:
"As to the claim that the Democratic
party has always fought class legislation,
does he think the people of this country
do not know its history? What was
slavery but class interest, and the fugi
tive-slave law but class legislation ? The
Democratic party championed both.
What is free rum but a class interest?
Wherever it becomes an issue, in any
form or degree, it is usually Demo-
cratic measure and receives the almost
solid support of the party. What is OPP
y1nosfiOn 70 fhn VNt,hlin anntrOl nf aHunQ-
ton but class interest? Its champions
are always chiefly or wholly in the
Democratic party, and on this issue they
carried Wisconsin at the last election.
Coming to the tariff, what was it but
class favoritism which put into the Mills
Bill increased protection on Southern
products and reduced it on Northern
products ? The Democratic party did
it. What is it but class legislation which
now prOposee to deprive the farmer of
all protection on wool while leaving
some degree of protection to the manu-
facturer, and to make cotton ties and
cotton bagging free of duty, because
their purchasers are nearly all Demo
Gratis This is what Mr.. Harter's party
is now trying to do. What is it but
class legislation that David A. Wells
recommends, when he advises the Demo
cratic party to pass bills that will appeal
to different interests in different parts OF
the country, thus destroying the Ma
tional character and uniformity of the
tariff ? This is the accepted and avow-
ed policy of the Democratic party to-
day.
at would seem that statesman who
tries to face down such party record as
that, and whose only present claim to
passing notice is his opposition to his
own party on leading public question,
can have very little influence with either
party, and when his utterances become
Junk, the dealer will have no difficulty
in asserting them to the right foundry.
Even on the one question as to which he
is mainly right and most of his party
are wrong, he is so much of partisan
that he fails to give the Republicans a
single word of credit for the legislation
which he approves, and his whole effort
is, not to save the country from free
coinage, for nothing but Democratic
victory will make that possible, but
rather to save his party from wrecklng
on that rock, that he may then say, Be
hold, how l and my party saved the
country from great disasterP
Here Mr.. Harter might be dropped,
but since he has undertaken to mix free
coinage with protection, when every
body knows that it is twin issue with
free trade in his own party and in his
own State, it may be of interest to PRO
tectionists" like Congressman Stevens
and Williams, Governor Russell and the
double-dealers in general, to know just
what kind of tariff reformer he is. In
the speech which he made to the con
vention that nominated him for Con-
gress, he said:
"I would abolish every custom house
in the land Iwould rather vote for the
establishment of an institution to spread
the cancer, or field in which to propa-
gate cholera, or a school in which to
teach vice and crime, rather than to vote