The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1894-01-18
.WATTERSON ON the TARIFF.

nual meeting of the Watterson
Club, the great Democratic asso-
citation Of this city, Mr.. Horny
"atterson was the chief speaker.
Aftor some Introductory remarks
Mr.. Watterson said:
If history were fiction, and poll
tics IL game of blind-man's buff,
poets would be statesmen, and
only children would vote. There
was never moro deliberative act
done by a deliberative body than
the substitution of the Neal plank
for the Villas plank by the Nation
al Democratic Convention of 1892.
1t was the logical elimination of
campaign of education covering
ten years. 1t was an act of the
people setting aside a subterfuge
of tho politicians. It was not done
at the dead Of night, under whip
and spur, but between tho hours
of 6 and 8 o'clock in tho evening,
when the Convention was wide
awake and know perfectly what
1T was about. 1t was not planned,
to obstruct the nomination of Mr..
Cleveland; though, if the Conven-
ton had suspected that Mr.. Cleve-
land had any hand in tho original
tariff plank, which it struck out,
he would not have received one
third Of it's votes. Both Mr.. Villas
and MIR. Whitney were assured by
myself and others that no obstruc-
tion WAS meditated; and it is we'll
known that, averse as [ was to tho
namination of Mr.. Cleveland, [
regarded it as forcgono conclu-
sion before the Convention mot,
and had ceased to disturb any
body or to be disturbed on that
account. In short, in the most
decisive and, as far as anything in
American politics can be solemn.
in the most solcmn-at least in
the most serious way-the Con-
vention ended, as I hoped finally
and forever, the long struggle be-
tween the forces Of light and dark
ness in tho Democratic party by
stamping out double-tongued
assertion of It's tariff policy and
inserting declaration which no
human being could misunderstood
or misreport.
Randallism was dead-Carlisle-
ism was rampant. And with Glove
land for Moses-Cleveland, and
his message Of 19S7-Cleveland,
as the Democrats ideal of tariff
reform-we wont to the country.
We met tho onset of tho Ropubl1-
cans full in front. They: made
their fight directly on our tariff
plank. They described it as n
slip out OF, the Confederate Con-
stitution. They DENOUNCED it as
Ca h ounis m, redivivus. There
was nothing that could be said of
it, or of us that they did not say.
All the worn out pleas of protec-
ton, all the exploded shells of
soctionalism, were thrown INTO tho
breach we had made in the wall of
the robber castle. But they did
not suffice to save it. In spite of
all, with our taritf-for-revonue on
ly flag flying and our down-with-
protection drums beating, We drove
the robber barnos out of their
earth-works, across their moats
and dikes, into their lair, and out
again, remaining, for the first time
since 1857, complete masters Of
the situation, evcry department Of
the Government in our possess
ion.
THE MORAL OF THE VICTORY. ..
Either wo we're right, or we were
wrong. The vote os 1890, follow
ing the passage Of the Mckinley
Act, soemed to indicate that the
people thought we were right.
But tho vote of 1892, electing a
Democratic President and q Dom
ocratic House. and Senate, was
conclusive on this point. If it
was not SO then somebody was
most cgregiously deceived. Who
was it?
An eminent memEOr Of tho Dros-