The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-05-12
A DIsGUsTED DEMOCRAT.

OEhOSIAls
: Mr. D. H. Mansfield, of Hope, writes tc
the Rockland Sun as follows:
For more than ten years have given
a loyal and hearty support to the Demo :
cratic party, being led by the leaders of
the party to believe that "Protectionn
was wrong in principle and in practice,
and that if the Democrat could once get
control of the national government the
existing wrongs would be righted At
ter over one year of Democratic control
| am satisfied that the party has been
basely betrayed by the leaders in Wash
ington. After shouting out that "Pro-
lection is robbery" Senator White of
Louisiana insists upon protection for his
constituents, Senator Hill of New York
demands it for the cuff and collar manu-
facturers of Troy, and other Senators
demand it for their States. If protec-
1t Is wrong Tor them, and if it Is right
Tor them it is right for the whole coun-
Try. with disaster and distress brooding
over the nation, the leaders sit idly in
their seats month after month and con-
Uemptuously resent all appeals to put the
uncertainty to an end. 1t must be pain
iuliy evident to every Intelligent Demo-
crat IN Knox county that the Demo-
cratic administration of the national gov
ernment is fiat failure. | deeply regret
the necessity that compels me to sever
the political ties that have bound me
to my political friends in thi county
but cannot give my assent to the dis
gustlng exhibition of incompetency now
being made at Washington, and | shall
support the Repu blican nominees at the
Septem Der election"
Mr.. Mansfield is undou btedly only one
OF a great multitude of men who have
been Democrats, who are disguised with
the hypocrisy and the incompetency
tne democracy has betrayed since it
came into power. Their disgust is we'll
founded. Less than two years ago in
national convention the party decl AIRED
nearly three to one that protection was
robbery, that it was unconstitutional,
and that the first duty of the party was
to eliminate it from the laws. But the
tariff bill. which it is conceded will Sc
cure the votes of all the Democratic sena-
tors but one is described by one of them
to be a gross violationof the platform and
very little if any better than the McKin-
ley bill. A party that will live I'D to
Its promises to the people no better than
the Democratic party is now doing de-
serves nothing but contempt, and that
IS what it is likely to get. 1t is of no
use to say. as the Rockland Opinion does
In some comments OIL Mr.. Mansfeld's
letter, that the party is still for free
trade, and that it's representative are
betraying it. That is simply to accuse
the party of being such a weak concern
that its representatives in the highest
legislative body in the 1and-dares pub
llcly to ignore its wishes and to sell out
to all sorts of private interests. But
as matterlof fact the party has never had
any settled convictions about tariff or
anything else which it was not willing
to abandon at any time for the sake of
some temporary gain in the way of votes
or campaign contri lions. 1t is no diff
erent now from what it has been for the
last quarter of century at least. 1t
turned its back upon hard money in this
State, and good many others, few
Years ago to conciliate the Greenbackers.
and now to conciliate powerful interests
which it dares not defy it turns its hack
on it's revenue tariff platform. Two
years ago it was protesting great hatred
OF trusts and combines, but today 1t is
shouting for the passage of bill in
which some of the most important sched-
ules were prepared under the eye and at
the dictation of these very trusts and
combines. 1t shouted for equal taxation
and now at the demand OF the Populists
1t supports discriminating income tax.
which will bear chiefly on one section of
the country and which will operate as a
fine for being thrifty and well-to-do.