Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1893-02-17
LAYS IT TO HARRISON.
ANALYSIS OF THE
CAUSES OF DEFEAT.

SO
He 1selieves It Was Due to Personal and
Not Party Reasons Another state Bank
Lesson--The Question Of Rcvenues--Fa.
ciiitating Collapse.
4ntervicwcd the IOwan.
To press correspondent Hon.
James S. Clarkson has given at length
In an interview his views ON the po-
litical situation, In the course OF
which he attributed Republican de-
feat last November to personal, not
party reasons President Harrison's
personal unpopularity and lack of
party zeal were elements which, Mr..
Clarkson considered. had much to do
with the result. Harrison" said
he, @ran In 1892 42s, 900 votes behind
his vote In 1883. He was Al 900
votes behind his vote In 1888 In New
York State alone. He ran behind
{, 900 in Indiana, his own State. In
deed, he was behind his own vote of
1888 in every Northern State except
Iowa, Connecticut, Massachusetts,
and Rhode Island As against 5S per
cent. OF the electoral college, which
he carried in 1883, he fell of to a
little over 81 per cent. of 1t In
1892. His loss of nearly half mill
ion, as shown at the polls. and the
million stay-at-home Republicans,
mainly dissatisfied with the ticket,
not the party, tell the whole story
FOR the past and point the way to
party success under new leadership
In the future.
(, "As a President, Gen. Harrison has
shown in all purely public ways or
taste such supreme evidence of actual
greatness that he will rank in history
as the intellectual equal Of the ablest
of the Presidents. His error has been.
in the light Of the just interests Of
his own party, that he has believed
in personal and not In party respon-
sibility in the Government. The
Republican party has found its own
way down to defeat under the rule,
or terrorism, OF the remnant and
by being afraid Of its own majority,
and, indeed, OF its own strength.
For eighteen years the major
ity of the Republican party
has been denied, repressed, and over
ruled. For during the whole time
at least 10 per cent, and at times 80
and 80 per cent, have been denied the
leadership Of the one man (Blaine) it
enthusiastically preferred. 1t asked
for him in 1876, in the plenitude Of
the party's power, and was denied its
wish. Ever since then the remnant
has ruled the party choice in nomi-
nations or elections" Nr. Clarkson
spoke confidently as to the future.
~Our cause is right" he said, "and
finally inyincible, because our princi-
pies appeal to the patriotism and
alone guarantee the prosperity OF the
American people. The future is in
viting, and when the Republican
party gets cut OF cold storage early in
March it will quickly warm up to the
work OF winning the lower house OF
Congress In 1894, and the Presidency
and the Senate in 1896"
Commenting on this the Chicago
Journal says: "The interview is as
illogical as it Is yenomous and as un-
called for as it is malignant. From
beginning to end it is the utterance
Of a sorchead with grievance against
President Harrison. II MI. Clark
son thinks that the Republican party
can be restored to power by stirring
up personal jealousies within Its
ranks he is fatally mistaken. Mr..
Clarkson thinks that Mr.. Blaine
could have been elected last Novem-
ber because in addition to other
things @he represented conspicuously
a modification of the tariff and
therefore was stronger than his
party" And yet Mr.. Clarkson
prophecies that Mr.. Mckinley
is the party's bright particular star
OF hope. Mr.. Clarkson credits the
Democratic victory last fall to the
fact that Mr.. Cleveland was better
than his party and at the same time
ascribes Mr.. Harrison's defeat to the
fact that he, too, was better than his
party. In other words, in the Demo
cratic party it adds strength to the
candidate to be above it, and in the
Republican party 1t is a source OF
weakness for the candidate to rep
resent higher aims and achievements
than it boasts. This Is an aspersion
on the rank and flle Of the Republi-
.can party, which Mr.. Clarkson might
well have left for an enemy to cast.
Mr.. Clarkson ventures to predict that
"the sky win come blue again for the
Republicans. So it will II
the Republicans refuse to &C.
cept the leadership Of rule
or-ruin politicians. 1t will not
succeed IL its Clarksons insist on
tearing open old wounds and rubbing
fresh ones with salt. The Republi.
can defeat of 1892 was caused not by
the indifference OF the machine poll
ticians and voters, but because a
million voters whose natural afi3lia-
tions were with the Republicans alb
tained from voting on account OF dis
gust over the popular association Of
the party with the plutocratic ele-
mcnts OF the financial, manufactur-
Ing and railroad world, and its re-
sponsibility for the prOhibitiye
features OF the Mckinley bill. The
heart OF the Republican party Is true
to sound financial and protective
theories, but 1t does not beat enthusi-
astically for Carnegism and McKin-
leyism."
Tho Anti-Option BiIl.
The anti-option bill, which passed
the Senate on Tuesday, Is q measure
which has heon tho f0nir ~ nvt nndad