Arizona weekly citizen., 1894-06-09
A DEMOCRAT. Eli Perkins Explains the Status of His Party. WE .M0UT MADE A MISAKE. And Them Again We Moutn't- QuienSabe?-The Wilson
 Bill and How the Old
 Thing Works.
Los Angeles Times.

When Times man sat down by Eli | Perkins last night and asked him if he
 really believed MT. Cleveland and the
 Democratic party had made success of it, he said.
 ITO tell you the honest truth, I am sometimes afraid that we Democrats are not altogether right. When I see one third of the mills stopped and 5.000,00O laborers idle or tramping with Coxey, it looks bad for us Democrats. I am afraid we have fooled the people. Our party feels bad. We took the country a year ago wonderfully prosperous. Everybody was at work. What did we Democrats do? Why we conviced the Northern workmen that thy were badly off. We told them that low tariff would make things come in cheap from Europe, and that they would also con- tlnue to make the same thing with high wages here.
 "Well what is the result, Mir. Perkins? asked the reporter.
 Why, it proves to be lie. Our wages went down with the tariff, and our mills stopped. We Democrats lied. We Northern Democrats voted ourselves out of power, and voted the cid free trade rebels in, and Mississippi and South Carolina have made low tariff for New England and California. I tell your, we old-fashionsd Democrats don't ike it very we'll"
 "What else don't you Democrats like?" asked the reporter.
 "Why, the way we lied about the silver bill. When the hard times came We said it wasn't the Wilson bill. The Re- publicans had brought s419,00O,O00 worth of silver during the last thirty years, and the country had grown in prosperity every year, and then, when we put in Grover, he brought S6,000000 worth of silver, and We went all to pieces. We'll old John Sherman and the Republicans repealed the silver bill and we've been growing sicker and sick CT every since. It was awful, how we lied about poor old John Sherman's biIp
 "Are you Democrat pleased with the Hawaiian buslniss?"
 "Pleased; No sirl Cur whole party feels bad about it. It wasn't Dsmo- cratic. We Democrats had to follow Grover, though. We had fought the war Mexico, and lost 10000 Democrats tc make Southern California and Texas in to republic. Yes spent S5O,000,O00 to do 1t, and then went and paid S7,0O0,OOC for Alaska, and made those 800 Irjuns and icebergs into a republic-snd then our same Democratic party hGd to go out into the Pacific Ocean, sink a re- public with 75,0O0 people making sugar and cotton, and try 10 put negress on throne" end Eli struck the sofa cush- ion until the moths and dust filled the room like cloud.
 "Well, what are you Democrats are go- ing to do about it?" asked the report CT.
 Do? Why, we've got to let these fel- lows who shot into us at Gettsburg sail the ship. We Northern Democrats are out now. We are sitting down in the hall. We are mourning with Absalom, or tramping with Coxey. Do you know what we poor Democrats need just now?."
 "Why We nesd few brains left over by some female seminary. We are get tpg desperate. 1 met Republican the other.day in New York. He looked bad. He had whisky ID his eyes, tobacco on on his coat collar and corns on his hands and liver.
 "How do you Repu blicans feel now?" I asked.
 "'Tm not Republican, he said I've joined the Democrats
 "'What for? I asked. "Why did you give up the party that made prosperity and join the Democrats?
 "'Well,' be said, I did It to disgrace an uncle of mine. My uncle abused me and insulted my wife, and I do it to dis grace him.
 "What is your uncle doning now?' l asked.
 "'He's pounding stones ia the Sing Sing Penitentiary.'
 "'Well, Well, George I said, you have disgraced him.
 Eli sad he had spent the day looking at the oranges out in the suburbs. He said he drove three miles to where the Mayor of Los Angeles showed him an orange tree with four oranges on It twenty three years ago, and be found a fonr-story bank on the grousd today.