Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1894-09-13
4 Terrific SeIf-Condemnation.

4 Terrific eIf-COndemnafion.
When the Democratic House had final
Iy decided to surrender to the sugar trust
and thereby accept the German bill OF
'-perfidy and dishonor," eX-Speaker Reed
Towering in righteous wrath above the
cowed and sef-disgraced Democracy,
thundereG forth, out of your own mouths
has your condemnation come he uttered
a truth which added heavily to the shame
and humiliation of the most shame1ul oc-
casion the Democratic party mas known
since it passed the fugitive slave law. .
But it was reserved for Democfatlc
member of Congress, one III good s'ahu
ing. to hurl scathing Remuneration more
burning if that be possible. than any yet
uttered by any Republican, at Inc cor
rupt and deteStable measure called the re-
form tariff law. Tom l.. Johnson, repre-
sentjng one of the Cleveland districts in
Congress- became so thoroughly outraged
in his feelings because of the hypocrisy,
falsehood, cowardice and trickery OF his
party in Congress, that he made speech
on the subject, which he caused 70 De
printed in permanent form III the Con.
pressonal Record. Here is Il portion OF
the speech which makes very entertaining
reading:
"Every man, woman and child uses
sugar 1t is one of the prime necessarles
of life And there is not housewife IN
the land who will not feel that she is
robbed by our Democratic tariff re-
form when she finds that where she got
three pounds of sugar under the NC
Knley bill she now, under the German
bill for the same money, gets but TWO:
You and |, with our official incomes OF
$1,000 Il year, may not feel this tax; MT:
cleveland, with his official income OF
$4,000 year, may not feel 1t; our col
leagues of the Senate, especially those
who may have bought sugar trust stock
at the right time, may not feel it; but the
of bn
we are here-the great mass OF the people
who must count every penny or incomes
not sufficient to enable them to live IN
half way decent comfort. they will feel 1t;
they will feel it ut once and feel 1t bit
terly.
And when they ask you what this tax
is for what will you tell them! Will you
quote to them Mr. Cleveland's letter to
Mr.. Wilson on the propriety OF taxing SUI
gar? Will you quote to them Mr.. Carlsles
statement that the needs of the treasury
require the taxation of sugar! L know,
and YOU know, and the people Know
was about to say that every dog that
banks in the streets of the capital knows
that the real purpose of imposing this
tax is not to give revenue to the govern
tnent, but revenue to the boodlers. You
cannot disguise it from the people, for the
people know it already, that the purpose
of this sugar tax is to put millions and
millions into the pockets of men who are
already millionaires by robbing the people.
They know that this tax on sugar has
been bought through every step of its
Way-carried by such open, undlSgulsed
corruption as has never been Haunted
an their faces before; they know that the
sugar trust has purchased this privilege
of taxing them, and that though the price
1t may have paid may be millions. it will
receive back millions and millions before
the treasury gets cent.
'politicaI decency, no less than political
prudence, ought to prevent Democrats
from trying it under the open charges that
this bonus to the sugar trust ut the eX-
nense of the people is in payment of heavy
contributions made from the funds of the
sugar trust to the Democratic national
committee in the last presidential cam
paagN- And the attitude of Mr. Cleveland
ogt the sugar tax the attitude Of Mr. Car
hsle, the attitude of our own ways and
means committee in reporting tax on
sugar which we free trade Democrats
only beat in this House by the aid of sthe
Republicans, give color to the charge.
which the action now proposed will carry
tss the public mind to certainty. that is
the way i'll which the Democratic party
is paying the monster trust for election
help
VI we make this surrender we must go
back TO our constituents with the German
bill as the approved and indorsed Demo
cratic bltl-the answer which the Demo
cratic party makes to the demands of the
people; bill reeking with notorious bar
gafn and sale; a bill that the Republicans
seer at, that the Democratic press has uni
yeNaLig denounced; Il bill that the Presi-
dent 'himsef has declared an exhibition
OF perhdty and dishonor; Il bill that cannot
possibly be defended. and that as GER
tainly as election day comes in Novem-
Der. win be indignantly repudiated by the
people"