New-York tribune., 1894-04-20

Senator Mcpherson deserves no sympathy,
though his treatment nj the hands of his party
has been so humlating that he might well
have preferred TO feel the slavedrivers Esh
actually cutting into his flesh. He was the man
who stood In the gap for weeks In the Senate,
and DELAYED the Elections bill at the order OF
Southern masters by making long fight over
details of the Mckinley tariff and while he
gained little credit from competent critics by his
performance. he did Mt least prove that he knew
more about the tariff than any of the blundcrers
who have been trying this year to alter IT, a
member of the Senate Finance Committee. he
was denied the craftsmanship because the Ad-
minlstration chose Mr. voorhees, 10 make its
appeal TO Populists Inundated as few public
men ever are Mr.. Mcpherson was shut out or
the subcommittee chosen TO revise the House
bill, and when the bill came out of committee
II was by his asserting vote. though he publicly
confessed that he could not vote for the income
tax With power TO stop 1t there. he had not
the manhood and the crack Of the lash brought
him to his knees
Such is the ptiable attitude Of the New-Jersey
Senator who now seZes opportunity to afilrm
that he intends 10 vote for the bill, income tax
and ALL in the teeth of the wishes and needs or
his constituents The party and the Admins
tration have applied the lash again, and he has
10 cringc because there is wanted at this mo-
ment something to break the force Of speeches
by Senators Hill and Smith. Perhaps he only
takes his dose of humiliation little sooner
than the others. who may In time be whipped
into subservicncy. The cuckoo organs, II may
be noticed are freely predicting that Senators
Hill and Smith will in the end find themselves
compelled TO vote for the BILL after denounclhg
It in such terms that vote for II VIII convict
them of faithessness to constituents ana 10
duty Mr.. Mcpherson knows already that New
Jersey has no place or honor for him in the
future but the President may have some office
left which the Senator can imagine 1t1s not
further humiliation to accept.
The wishes of the people, though expressed
more clearly and with more emphasis than at
any other time for many years, are thus to be
defied Their Senators and Representatives are
to be whipped into submission or bought with
patronage The overwhelming Republican ma
iority which the people have cast are treated
with Indifference. The President cares nothing
for their votes, as he cannot be candidate
again. and has nothing left but the satisfaction
of yindictvencss There are some men whom
he hates. and he will make them crawl before
him if he can As for the people, he cares moth
ing They gave him the office. and he Is using
1t as If it were given for his personal satisfac-
ton. To go out Of office without changing the
tariff would be failure. He does not mean 10
fail though business men may by the thousand.
and workingmen may suffer by the hundred
thousand.
1t Is we'll not to forget that business men have
been constantly warned in these columns not
to expect any regard for public opinion from
this Administration or Congress. While every
week brings stronger expressions Of the intense
and overwhelming hostility Of the people to the
Democratic Tariff bill, every week also makes
II palmer that the dcspOtism of party Is likely
to pass the bill in utter defiance Of public opin-
ion. TO the Democratic party this bill appears
a political necessity. That party has not the
slightest chance OF future success, in its own
opinion If It fails to stop what it has denounced
for twenty years as organized robbery OF the
people for the benefit of monopolies. Political
death awaits confession that for twenty years
1t has been lying If political death also awaits
an attempt to act on its theories. there Is no
alternative Its defiance Is that of the rat
driven into corner.