New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-10-12
1DLIT CHEERS THE UOEkINGWIN.

1DLAT CHEERS THE UOHhINDNiN.
Vicc-prcSidcnt Adlai Stevenson is on the
stump in Illinois Judging from the reports. he
is enjoying himself The campaign OF edlca-
ton" in which. hy the aid of the left hind
foot Of a graveyard rabbit carried in his pocket
for luck. he was So helpful ended in November
1892 Ended with majority Of the voters par
tlcuarly the workn Emen. having been educated
ND 10 the point Of putting the Democratic party
in complete power ia the Nation and incidentally
setting Adlai UP in the Ncc-PrcSidcnts chhir.
That task is completed. The people are Il"
longer suffering from lack ~ education. Ihcy
are all educated NJ. What Adai is telling them
obout now il how much better off they are for
thcr ,lucation He Is doing this under I'M
usually propiious conditions. For one thing.
the workingmen have nothing 10 distract their
attention from what he has to say; no business
ENGAGEMENTS. no pressure If mboriOus occupa-
tions. no constralnt by monopolistic ana pluto
cratic capital upon their absolute freedom To
employ their time as they please. They can
listen 10 Adlal all day long, day I'm and day out.
without being rldely called away by factory
bell or engine whistle Another thing: they are
more thoughtful less dcmonstratvc. less bolster
otls and yocfcrolls they do not interrupt him
with bursts OF hiariiv. or break In upon him
with the inspiring hymn 50 common two years
ago The refrain Of which contained an alu.ion
to a prospective -four years more Of Grover.
Nor is the concatcnaton Of his intellectual proc
..,scS liable 70 be disturbed 10y The "Ou'burNis
Of applause. repeated and long continued
which were so marked Il feature II the cam
paign Of education" II was very noisy two
years ago The air was full of the harsh disco
rl->lb
factory and glowing forge and not nfrcqurntly
the periods in which the feryid orator klndlod
the Imagination Of th' oppressed workingman
with the story Of his wrongs were drowned 10y
the roar Of machinery, the hiss OF escaping
steam. the clang Of hammer ana anvil. and the
multtudinous sounds with which the opprcsSor
pursued his ncflrOuS designs.
Nothing Of this now. No noises outside. and
no tumrt Of irreprcSSible enthusiasm within, 10
come between Adlai and his audiences is he
unfOl,ls 10 them the catalogue Of what they have
gained by Democratic asccndancy, and tells
them how much better of they are now than
they were two years ago. As Ada talks they
lean forward and listen eagerly. Some Of the
things he SAWS interest them profoundly When
he told them the other night that III" Mckinley
bill put Il bounty Of cents Il pound ON sugar
AMI that "thc enormous sum Of Sl2oOoOoo
had been paid out on that account during tho
last year, the workingmcn felt grateful 10 the
Democratic Congress for repeating the bill and
saving them all that amount Of money. II con
fused them afterward. when they got out of
reach of Adlai's cloqurnc". to recall the circum
stance that the only ctfcct of the Mckinley bill
on Themselves far aS sugar was concerned.
WAS to lower the price cents per pound. while
they were not aware Of having been called upon
FOR single dollar to pay the iniquitous ST.
100000 Still they did not dispute Adlais as
scrtion that il was "odious." Another thing that
Adai directed their attention 10 rs zone Of the
''wiscst and most bcnciiccnt provisions of the
new tariff law was that placing lumber on
the free list" The duty oh lumber, he said, WAS
zone of the greatest lniquitcs of the Mckinley
law" for years it had been Il standing re-
"proach 10 the American Congress that upon
every foot Of lumber used in the erection of
farmhouse barn or cottage a tariff tax was
''lcyicd." But now, said he. your houses. cot
''tagcs and barns can be built with untaXcd
''umber" No doubt the assurance that he could
now build houses. cottages and barns with I'M
taxed lumber went near To arouSing enthusiasm
in the breast of the workngman but the re-
Election that under Democratic administration
he was not earning money enough To buy a door
for Il hcncoop kept it from breaking out tu
mutuously.
Then there's salt. Salt, says Adlai-his voice
uuvcring with emotion rs he thinks of the
manner in which the worklngmcn of the country
have had their hard-carnsd wages cruelty wrlng
from them by the duty on salt salt is another
prime article Of necessity alike in the palace
'and cottage" And the tax salt under the
Mckinley law he says in tone which sends
a cold shvcr down hc workingmanS back.
was 81 per cent" But ~ Democratic Con
grcss" he continues and ut this the color comes
back To the wOrkingmanS corntcnancc and the
light of hope To his cye-'a Democratic Con
"grcss has wholly abolished this tax, and this
article of human necessity Is now upon the
free list" Now we can conceive OF nothing in
the way Of useful information so well calc,i-
lated to raise the spirits Of the oppressed work
ingman as this notification that an 81 per cent
tax under which he had been staggering ever
since the passage Of the Mckinley law had