St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-10-12
HARRISON IS MISTAKEN.

EX-President Benjamin Harrison is
mahifeStlY Bourbon of the Bourbons.
He never learns, nor does he forget.
TutOred IN the school of the Dudleys
and the Quays. he has imbibed the idea
that the American people are venal, and
tlmid, and easily deprived of their
rights. He also believes that they are
not progressive people, and that the
returns OF one election should he a true
index of the returns of all subsequent
elections; that the Republican party of
today ought to manifest as much
strength as it did while i'll the heyday
OF Its power under the leadership of
men of mental grasp and moral standing.
He is evidently conscious of the fact
that the Republican party has not pro-
crossed, except, perhaps. backward, and
complains bitterly at the advancement
of the people, which has left that organ
lzatlon far in the rear.
1t is not surprising that Mr.. Harrison
should look upon the repeal of the fed
eral election laws as step in the wrong
direction He should know that the
machinery of the government has in
the past been employed to prevent the
free expression of the will of the
American people, and that that fact ac-
counts for past Republican majoritIes
in sections of the country that are
normally Democratic. L. S is true of
the state Of Tennessee, to which he re-
Terred i'll recent interview with Chi
cago reporter. He complains that in
section which gave Blaine a consider
able majority III 1884 he himself received
but minority of the votes. He over
looks the fact that Blaine was a mag
netic, popular man with the masses
OF the people, while he is the
reversal cold, unsympathetic, self
sufficient egotist, personally repel-
liant to all with whom he comes
i'll contact. Blaine was peerless
leader of men. who often won victory
by the sheer brilHancy and audacity of
his tactics; Harrison is a man OF slug
gIsh nature-a plodder and schemer,
who looks to 0 theirs to lead, and is con-
tent to place himself at their mercy.
tennessee was not the only state that
repudiated Harrison while it accepted
Blaine Illinois gave Blaine majority
/ u
gave to Cleveland over Harrison pla-
rality OF al most twenty-seven thousand.
This change in public sentiment was
not due to intimidation of voters, for at
the date of the last election Illinois had
Republican state government, and Re-
publican supervisors of election were
in charge OF all the polling places in
Chicago and other large cities. The
Australian ballot system prevented the
intimidation of voters SO long practiced
by Republican employers of labor and
Republican politicians, and as a conse-
quence the vote cast represented more
freely than ever before the deliberate
intention of the electors.
Mr.. Harrison must look elsewhe re
than to 1.-The suppression Of the vote" of
negroes and other Republicans for a
reason for his defeat last fall. 1t was
due to a general distruSt of the people
in his party-a distrust that has been
constantly growing for years, and has
been fostered and confirmed by the per-
SiStent refusal of the party to redeem
its pledges; by its constant impoSltiOnS
of hardship upon the masses for the
benefit of the favored monOp0lists; by
its persistent espOusal of dangerous
financial theories and economic doc
trlnes. These things, added to the per-
Sonal unp0pularity of its candidate for
the presidency, combined to accompli sh
its overthrow. 1t was not the suppress
sion, but the casting of the full vote of
the country, that brought about the
overthrow of Mr.. Harrison and his
OartV