The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1894-11-17
THE ME MING Of The EO
PIES VERDICT.

After every election as well as after
every great battle, it is always in or
der 10 explain tie defeat which has
ov-l,nkcn the losing side. In the last
gigantic struggle between tic two
great PARTIES, the Republican party
swept tie country. Almost as great
IA landslide has ovegtakeu the Demo-
cia'ic party as tl,e il which "yert""k
the republican party IN the meniola-
be campaigns q! 1880 and 1892.
Nali"nS c:u>es MAY he and have
been ns>i4m d for the popular verdict
in favor Of the Republican party. chief
among; Which i The i'i>t"rical cause
that. when nn ,~lec.i"n fellows close in
the wake Of Il great financial crisis, the
party III power always gets the worse
Of il. Right or wrong, the party in
power has to shoulder The responsible
ity for the hard times. and il sntfrls in
consequence. While every right
thinking mai conid nnf blan the
Democratic party for the great tinan-
cial c,iSiS ti,rnuoh which Me have late
~ passed, the Republican politicians
and demagoGues have succeeded in
making the masses of the people be-
lirve that it was liable Tor it. .
Besides, the %unseemly conduct and
~wran.le OF the Representatives OF the
Democracy in the House and Senate
over the tariff Legislation and the pro-
lnn.eG decay attending the passage of
the Wilson bill !: the unfortunate snarl
between the President and the Senate +:
the Sugar Trust scan 1al in the SENATE :
the refusal of Certain Democratic Sen
ators 10 rive in to thu demands of the
/ party leaders fey tal!i. reform IN time
with the declarations of the Chicago
pla.furm,-all served to create Il feel
! lug Of disgust and apathy, not to say
resentment. among Democrats which
! played havoc with the canse of the
party. Where Democrats did not v"te
against their party. they a5stained
from voting, to !ehnke it for its failure
to carry ont its platform promises.
But, in our opinion, the most potent
| cause which led to the Democratic
disaster was the desire of the masses
for rest, for surcease, of tariff agitation.
MckinleyiSm was scotcl.cd, the tariff
lad be- II materially reduced, and al
though not brought to a strictly tariff
for-revenne basis, the people had had
enough Of he long agitation Though
which they had passed, and dreaded
the renewed ventilation of the subject.
The Democratic leaders promised re-
hewed agitation of the question the
Republican leaders were wiser in their
generation and soon felt the pulse of
the people and began advocating 4
surcease of tariff agitation. While
Mckinley preached protection, Tom
Reed sounded the true note of the Re-
publican campaign When in his New
York and other speeches, lie advocated
rest, and connseled giving the Wilson
bill a fair trial and argued hat the
people could better ecnre this rest by
Republican success, forthe reason that
even IT in the majority in the House.
the Republicans could not accomplish
any tariff legislation with a Democrat
ic Senate and a Democratic President.
Rest was what the masses wanted, and
Tom Reeds way seemed the best to
afford that rest; wherefore, the masses
voted for the Republican party.
This seems to be the nos sensib,t
explanation Of the peoples verdict. Ii
does not mean, as some ardent protec-
t~ionists fondly imagine, a desire to
return to the doctrines of Mckinley
ism. The people in the two previous
elections had pronounced themselves
most emphatically against Mckinley.
Ism ; and o that an attempt has
been made in tie direction of tariff
reform, the opposition of Mckinleyism.
to say that the people desire to return
to that political heresy of IL high tariff
without giving the reform tariff ii tail
trial, would be to accuse she people
of not knowing their own mind. The
American people are too intelligent tc
act so foolishly, and their verdict does
not mean such an ahsurdity. Those
who so read Their verdict, will soon
come to grief should they undertake te
act on that interpretation.