Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1893-10-06


remarkable fulhllmcnt OF predictions
written in the spr.ngoi 1890. OF course.
! to reprint :hc whole story was impossi-
bic; but the author was requested to
write an article for these columns, show.
ing the predictions made, and how far
they were fulfilled. This he will now pro-
coed to do
The prcdictis was made that the
Presidential and Congressional election
of 1892 would result in the election Of a
Democratic President and a Democratic
House OF Representatives, on account of
three issues.
First, the tariff, as a new generation
had come up since the low-tdriil times
before the war, and they were ignorant
OF the true condition of things under
4 tariff too low for protection; the free
trade crusade had Lccn pushed for
years, and the masses had gotten into a
state of unrest, believing the ialschood
that the protective tariff compelled them
to pay much higher for all articles, and
that manufacturers were rolling in the
wealth resulting from unrcasouubly large
profits.
Second, the money question. The idea
was abroad III the minGs of the masses,
notably of the farmers OF the West and
South, that if the volume of money i'll
circulation were largely Increased, part
of it would somehow get into their pos
session. Oycrpruductiou OF wheat, cot
ton, etc. had run the prices down to a
point at which the farmers could make
no money and they were d,Ssa, sized and
restless, and ready to grasp at any
moonshinc theory that PROMISED them
relief.
Third, the pension question. There has
been an enormous immigration since the
war, and there are hundrcds OF thou
sands OF voters who were born after TIE
war closed, These take no interest in
the pension question, and look ON the
system as burden upon the people, On
the other hand, the cX soldiers and their
voter sons have been urging constantly
upon the Republican party the passage
of still more liberal pension laws, and
thousands OF them antagouilcd it be
cause its representatives i'll Congress
would not grant all they demanded
The prediction was also made that the
Farmers Alliance movement would result
in the formation OF new pollticalparty,
which would divide Republican strength
in the great Republican states of the
West, while it would not do SO among
be held in line by revival of the force
bin, " and the scare OF negro rule in that
section.
Ii was furthermore predicted that Mr..
Cleveland would be the Presidential
nominee of the Democracy i'll 1892, and
that he would be elected, along with the
Democratic Congress.
These predictions were based on the
belief that the wcl-known physical law
! of action and reaction being equal-that
any action is followed by 4 reaction
which equals it III torce-has its analogue
in the political world. The politics OF the
United Statcs-and OF every country
which is republic is like Il huge pcndu-
lum. The further and the more forcibly
it is swung in one direction, the further
will be its return swing to the other cX-
trcmity OF its arc. The war and its re
suit gave the pendulum a tremendous
push i'll one dircctlon-that OF Republican
control. 1t reached the extremity of its
arc, and started the other way. 1t re-
ceivcd minor impulses which hindcrcd the
return swing, but in 1890 it became evil
dent that this was soon to take place
and the prediction WAS frankly made
that it would swing as far i'll the direc-
ton of Democratic control as it had on
the Republican side.
In the prediction it was declared that
the negro question would be prominent
in the campaign of 1899. This was curl
ously fulfilled. The deep antagonism OF
the South to allowing the negro race to
participate i'll elections made the howl
about the force bill, raised i'll New
| York by the Democrats, was pushed i'll
the South aud border states BIZ huge
posters, depicting an imaginary scene at
the polls where burly negro, in Federal
uniform, with muskct and bayouct, was
preventing Southern Democrat from
reaching the ballotbox to deposit his
vote. Every intelligent man knows that
there was no possibility of the passage
of bill putting Congressiona and Presi.
Dental elections i'll complete control OF
the federal government, even had the
Congress and President elected in 1892
been Republican, instead of Democratic.
But the less intelligent voters had their
bigotry and race hatred reused, and the
result every one knows.
The same feeling gives popular backing
to the bill now before Congress to re.
peal the federal elections law. The pro.
visions Of this bill need not be repeated
here. but readers will see that there is
nothingin that measure to which any
fair-minded man can object; but the an
tagonism reused bv the howl OF force
bill' in the Presidential campaign OF
1892 is being used by the dcmagogiC
leaders Of the Eastern Democracy to sup
port the majority in Congress in the re
peal OF this measure. With it out of the
way, there will be nothing to interfere
with the carrying out of the most gigan
] & ~. -. ~ H.,