The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1894-04-12
DEM0cRACYA CONFESSED
FAILURE.

A party scoring itself and its leaders
is remarkable circumstance under any
conditions, but when the excoriation
takes an official form it isrevolutionory.
The democratic committee of Minnesota
has issued circular-to the faithful
which .ould hardly have been a severer
arraignment had it emanated from the
Republican League. 1t viii bear re-
printing entire:
To THE DEMOCRATS OF MINNEsoTA.-lt
is useless to disguise the fact that our
party is confronted with serious peril. 1t
is time for plain words. Silence now is.
disloyalty to our party and its cause.
In less than two years after winning the
most complete victory any party ever
won, while yet IN full possession of the
powers then given us, we present the
appearance of a defeated party, while
our opponents, routed in that battle,
wear all the airs of victory.
What has wrought this astounding
change? Whence comes this peril? Not
from our open opponents, not from the
brawling horde of protectionists whom
we met and overthrow III 1892; but from
allied with weakness or cowardice, with.
in our own ranks. The danger that
obseryant men saw when the election of
1892 put on our party the responsibility
of directing national affairs and the duty
of redeemiug the pledge OF tax reform
made to and accepted then by the people,
then a cloud no larger than a mans
hand, has overspread the whole sky.
49, IL.
and what has been, so far. our perform
ance? We denounced protection as a
fraud and robbery of the masses for the
benefit of a few" and we promisd that
taxes on imports should be laid with
sole view to affording revenue. Our first
disappointment was in the departure
from the declared policy OF the party in
the undue and needless measure OF pro-
lection granted by the house bill, but,
mindful of the extent to which contact
with and sharing in the extortions Of
protection and demoralized representa-
tiyes in our own ranks, we accepted 1T
as the best now attainable and looked
60 its free listing OF coal, iron ore, wool
and lumber as the entering wedge to be
driven home by later aud harder blows.
The house added sugar to the free list
and sent the bill to the senate.
Here the error of the house bill became
quite apparent. The compromise of
principle there made bore plenteous fruit
in the senate. The concessions made in
the house only whetted the appetite and
fired the audacity OF the protected inter-
ests. With renewed energy they concen-
trdted their efforts on the smaller body.
farther removed from the people. less re-
sponsible to them and more impervious
to public opinion. To our shame and
dismay they found senator's representing
democratic constituencies which had de
nounced protection and demanded its
obliteration from our taxing policies,
willing to aid them. In the secrecy of
committee rooms these senator's brow
beat the subcommittee with threats of
open opposition to the bill, unless the
special industries they represented were
also granted protectionor given increase
of it. There was a weak surrender to
the demands of these attorneys of the
trusts, and bill was reported in which
the one redeeming feature of the house bill
Its one distinctively democratic feature
was eliminated, and the bill made
hardly distinguishable from the one it
proposes to displace.
Who are these men, democrats in name
protectionists in fact, who have thus
brought d1shonor and shame on our
great partxs Who are they who have
betrayed the great loyal host who gave
them the power thus to deliver us into
the hands OF the enemy? Who are they
who have thus made certain the apprc>
tensions OF our president expressed in.
his inaugural, and given to his thought
the effect of prophecy? Said he: Even
if insupsrable obstacles and opposition
prevent the consummation of our task
we shall hardly be excused; and if failure
be traced to our fault or neglect we may
be sure the people will hold us to swift
and exacting responsibility"
Who are these men who have interposcd
'iusuperable obstacles and opposition"
and made failure, due to "our fault and
neglect" These are the men, names INT
to stand alongside of Benedict Arnold in
the annals of our country: Senator Cal
YIN S. Brice of Ohio; David B. Hill and
Edward Murphy, Jr., of New York, John
B. Mcpherson and James Smith, Ir. of
New Jersey; Arthur P. German and
Charles S. Gibson of Maryland; Johnson
n. Camden of West Virginia; Donelson
Caffrey and Edward d. White OF Louisi-
ana: John ]. Morgan and James L. Pugh
of Alabama. These are the men who
wear the mask of democrats that they
may the better betray our cause; these
are they who have wrought this marvel
Gus change, putting our party in the
attitude OF defeat and giving to our op
ponents that Of victory.
A few traitors in the councils cannot
defeat the cause for which we have fou hit
for years. and in which we won the vic.
tory of 1892. chagrined, we are not
disheartened; checked. we will not sur
render. Everywhere let democrats de-
tergnine and proclaim that this tree
dom's battle once begun" shall not end
until every citizen of our republic shall
be secure in the untrammeled right to
buy what he will, where he will, and of
whom he will; exchanging without let or
Iiindrance the products OF his labor for
those Of his fellow labofers anywhere in
the wide world
-. 60. c. M, FooTE,
President MINI. Dem. Association.
p. J. SMALLEY, Secretary.
,ARINGING LETTER.
Last week the HERALD had the pleas
-f,re of rresentinp Gov. McKinley's views