Huntsville gazette., 1893-01-07
THE PRESIDENTS VIEWS.
Why Protection Was Defeated In tn.
Late Election.

Late Election.
If President Harrison had the same
felicity in personal intercourse as in
public speech and with the pen he
would be a marvel of politics. His
latest instance in point was little
passage in a letter written, apparently,
with no thought of publication.
Speaking of the late campaign, he
said of himself: II was leader inn
prisoned, and save from the little visit
to Mr.. Reid, knew or thought but
little about it." That is undoubtedly
true. His devotion to the invalid wife
by his side was such as to make every
thing else remote from his thoughts.
eagerness for the fray, he would still
have been "a leader imprisoned" The
proprieties of the situation forbade
his taking part in the campaign, and
that of itself was a very great loss.
No one who recalls the wonderful
series of speeches made by Gen. Harri-
son at his home in 1883 can doubt that
his silence during the last campaign
was an incalculable loss to the repub-
lican cause. How much influence his
speeches would have exerted no one
can tell, but they certainly were loss
great and irreparable. No one could
take his place. The vacancy remained
untitled. That little speech at Mr.
Reids home was hardly up to the
| Harrisonian standard. The shadow
| of impending atfliction was upon it.
But the latter part of the letter is
especially felicitous. The failure of
protection as an issue last fall was due
to the fact, as he puts it, that ''the
| wage-earner has refused to share his
shelter with the manufacturer, adding,
with rarest felicity, ''he would not
even walk under the same umbrella. "
| That expresses it exactly. The wage
earners are men of intelligence. At
least they know enough to know that
under free trade American industry
would be paralyzed, or compelled to
go on, if at all. at greatly reduced
wages. But a wave of special ami
mostly to capital and enterprise swept
over the country, and when passion is
at the front considerations Of prudence
are thrust into the background and
sacrificed with mad eagerness. How
much of this prejudice was due to the
| Homestead strike is matter of uncer-
tainty, but all agree that it was a pow
erful factor.
1t is not worth while to dwell upon
the mistakes and misfortunes of the
last campaign, except as they point a
lesson. The manufacturers of this
country might rs well understand that
they cannot afford to defy the enmity
of the wage workers. On the contrary,
they must realize the fact that the peo-
pie rule in this country and that to in
cur the enmity Of their employees is to
| court disaster in one form or another.
! The ultimate success or failure OF pro-
lection is still undetermined. -Four
years more and another election will
be upon us, and the result of that elec-
tion will undoubtedly turn, as did the
last one, upon sentiment. If the man
ufacturers rely upon hard times and
starvation to bring the wage-workers
to their side they will be disappointed
| Protection is mutual benefit, as is
| perfectly plain, but bodies of men, like
| individuals need only to have their
animosities touched with the torch of
| hate to make them forget their own in
| terest in an eagerness to get even.
The story of Samson's pulling down
| the temple illustrates universal human
nature under the goad of exasperation.
The manufacturers of this country as
a class are fair-miDded men, and have
only to take counsel of their unimpas-
stoned common sense to restore good
| feeling between themselves and the
wage-workers Chicago Inter Ocean.