St. Paul daily globe., 1894-10-08

over the country for campaign purposes.
We again repeat the offer made by the
minnesota Democratic association to
distribute l00,0J0 Of these letters among
the voters Of this state, il the committee
Will supply the association with them.
No response has been made to the offer
made several weeks ago.
M'klNLEY, WIri COMMENTS.
The tin plate industry is Mr.. McKin-
ley'S pet. 1t is, in fact, his industrial
child. One Of the picturesque features
OF the campaign OF 1890 was when he
stood by the kettle that held the melted
lead ami tin. in Piqua, o., and dipped a
sheet of Brltishbla.k plate in the metal,
and, holding it aloft. proclaimed the
birth of new industry. In his speech
Saturday night he said that every tia
plate factory in The United States had
shut down week ago because they were
unable 10 pay the wages they had been
paying under the act OF $780,
The Harrisburg, Pa. Telegraph. of
Oct. :, tells a somewhat different story.
1t has an article Oh the gradual develop
ment Of tin plale plant i'll that city
which it says is the only one of its kind
in operation in the country. the other
plants having been all closed down be-
cause the employees had refused to ac-
cept the new scale of wages sought to
be imposed upon them. The significant
statement is made that ''this factory is
not in the association OF manufacturers"
1t is being run 20 its full capacity, em-
ploying three shifts OF men each day,
and paying wages which average, men
and boys. Sl2 Il week. Not only tins,
but the account says that the company
are pushing work Oh their new tin plate
mill. which they expect to have in oper-
alton before the end of the year. 1t is
facts such as these, and such as the
starting of the five new mills at Eiwood.
Ind, that are worth more than the
calamity walls of a disappointed and
chasrined politician mortified by the
rejection OF his economic policy.
1t is nip and tuck between Mckinley
and Donneily as to which one of the
two can paint the gioomlest and most
distressing and most depressing picture
of existing conditions. On tine Whole.
and after reading the series of speeches
which Mckinley has been delivering,
we are inclined to award the palm to
| him. If the people of this c0unlry do
| not believe that they are the most un-
| fortunate. depressed. abused, unhappy
| and most impoverished people on the
| face of the earth, it will not be the
fault of MIR. Mckinley.
| MIR. Mckinley has that true motherly
| instinct which leads her to fly into a
| passion at the slightest intimation that
| there are any imperfectlons in her child.
! or that any other child has better quail
! ties than hers possesses. The major
| fairly blaZed with Indignation in his
| sperch at the intination that the act of
! 1894, whatever its defects, was at least
better than that of 1899. His preference
| for his bill Is but natural. 1t reminds
| n> of lhat story that Pail Sheridan told
| of tho Texas editor who had heard that
| Sheridan. after his leturn from his COM
mand in Texas. had said that if he
owned Texas and hell. he would sell
! Texas and live in hell, upon which the
! editor had made the simple. but compre-
| hensive comment: damn man that
won't stand up for his own country"
| We can hardly blame MIR. Mckinley for
standing up for his own measure.
+ t
Mr.. Mckinley told his audience how
| this tariff act was made; how three SELL
| ators from Southern states framed it,
| and how one of them went around
| among the senators and asked each
what he must have in that bill in order
! to secure his vote. He might have
adde's. to the information by telling the
| audience how the act of 1890 was
framed. He probably omitted it be-
| cause-well, because comparisons are
sometimes 0dious 1t was not the SEN
| atorS. who are somewhat remotely rep>
resentative of the people. who were
asked at that time what they wanted ih
the bill. but the representatives of the
industries which Mr.. Mckinley pro-
posed to either build up or further ad-
vance were asked to come before the
ways and means committee aud inform
it as to what they wanted. A comparison
of the hearings given them by Mir. Nc
Kiniey's committee with the schedules
show that these manufacturers stated
what they wanted, and that what they
said they wanted was put, word for
word. in the act by Mr.. Mckinley. Ii
we must have tariff acts, it is more in
accord with our republican institutions
that they be framed by the representa-
tives of the people, even if they are only
senators, than by the representatives of
the industries, who represent only them.
selves.
Among the elections of 1898, to which
Mr.. Mckinley referred as being rever-
sal of the verdict of 1892, he mentioned
the two congressional by-elections in the
city OF New York. in which one Demo.
cratic district was lost. He omitted
mention of the two other instances
where the result was the other way. In
the Third Ohio district an election was
held to fill the vacancy caused by the
death of Representative Houk, and Mr..
Sorg was elected then by little less than
the plurality for Mr.. Houk. In the First
Michigan district an election was held
to fill the vacancy caused by the death
of Mr.. Chapman. which resulted in the
election of Democratic successor. Had
there been any disposition to reverse
the decision of 1892. or were the state
elections of 1898 indicative of sach q
purpose, the Democratic candidates in
these congressional districts would have
been overwhelmingly defeated.
WAGES AND THE TARIFF.