The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1894-01-16

was wide awake. and knew perfectly
what 1t was about. 1t was not planned
to obstruct the nomination of Mr.
Cleveland; though, If the convention
had suspected that Mr.. Cleveland had
any hand In the original tariff plank
which it struck out he would not have
received one-third of its votes. Both
Mr.. Villas and Mr.. Whitney were as
sured by myself and others that no OBJ
struction was meditated; and it 10 vel,
known that, ayerse as / was to the
nomination of Mr.. Cleveland, I re-
| garded it q foregOne conclusion before
the convention met, and had ceased to
disturb anybody or be disturbed, on
that account. In short, in the most
decisive, and, as far as anything in
American politics can be solemn, in
the most sOlemn-at least in the most
serious way-the convention ended, as
| hoped finally and forever, the long
struggle between the forces of light
and darkness in the Democratic party,
by stamping out a dOuble-tongued as
sertion of its tariff policy and inserting
q declaration which no human being
could misunderstood, or misreport.
Vandalism was dead-Carlisleism
was rampant. And with Cleveland for
Moses Cleveland and his message of
'S7-Cleveland as the Democrats ideal
of tariff reform-we went to the coun-
try. We met the onset of Republicans
full in front. They made their fight
directly on our tariff plank. They do
scribed it as u slip out Of the Confeder-
ate Constitution. They denounced it
as Calhounism, redivivus. There
was nothing that could be said of it,
or of us, that they did not say. All the
worn out pleas of protection, all the
, exploded shells Of sectionalism, were
thrown into the breach we had made in
the wall of the robber castle. But they
| did not suffice to save it. In spite of
all. with our riff.for-revenue-only flag
| flying and our down-with-protectio
drums beating, we drove the robber
barons out Of thei: earth h-works across
their moats and dikes. into their lair,
| and out again. remaining, for the first
time since 1857, complete masters OF
| the situation-ever department of the
| government in our possession.
ask you. not merely rs Democrats,
but as sensible men. was all this ac-
complished, after years of discussion,
merely to condone and conserve Repub-
iican policies, or was its purpose to re-
verse these policies. and to set up in
room of them Democratic policies
equally as dear and clear to the men
who had fought and won the battle?
THE MORAL OF THE VICTORY.
Either wc were right or we were
wrong. The vote OF 1890. following
the passage of the Mckinley act,
seemed to indicate that the people
thought we were right. But tho vote
of 1892 electing Democratic Presi-
dent and Democratic House and
Senate, was conclusive on this point.
If it was not so, then somebody was
most egregiously deceived. Who was
, it?
An eminent member of the present
government said to me just after the
elections of last November, sit seems
impossible nowadays for the party
leaders to make sure Of their voters ~
He spoke in tone of general despond-
else" replied, "when you are always
deceiving and disappointing them =?
The voters are all right. They know
what they want and what they mean.
1t is that as soon as one of these little
great men gets into what he thinks q
big and a snug place that he casts
! about to see how he may keep it, and
straightway he sets up for little tin
Jupiter. who knows more than anybody
else. Then the people finding him too
great a man to be good for anything,
turn about and turn him out, often in
sheer perversity. Men of real genius,
of real courage. of real conviction, of
real inspiration. of real worth do their
duty first and count the costs after.
ward. AS consequence the voters
believe in them and follow them, even
rs they followed Clay through forty
years of sun and shower even as they
, followed Jackson through thirty years
of storm and battle; even as they will
t follow you, If you dare to be as brave
and honest as jackson and Clay :"
THE TWO REPORTS.
! [ have Iead with exceeding care and
, deep concern the reports accompanying
! the newly introduced measure of tariff
/ revision. The Democratic report be-
! gins by mastery declaration of tariff
for-revenue-Only logic, to end in an
actual exposition of protectionist prac.
tice. The Republican report scizes
the weak point effectively. and, both
in its sarcasm and its effrontery, shows
us how impossible it is to placate the
implacable. For the chairman of the
ways and means committee entertain
the very greatest respect. He is az
able, conscientious. patriotic Demo
crat. He has encountered difficultie!
and made sacrifices and endured dis
appointments WHICH SnOulu earn MN
the sympathy rather than the criticism
of his party associates. But, with sub
mission, ! think he has been forced b.,
pressure, and not by his own consent
to bring in q measure that strikes
blow at the cause of genuine tariff re
form, and may set the policy of re
venue only back for many years t.
come.
/ hold that protection Is robbery.
hold the protective theory to be equally
unconstitutional and unjust. Believ
ing this, would extirpate it's root ant
branch, and when. after q debate o
ten years, beginning with the election
OF Mr.. Carlisle to the Speakership. We
carried a resolution to- that eifec
through "a National Democratic Con
vcntion, and, on that resolution. swep
the country, little thought that force,
would be arrayed strong enough to sc
the verdict aside. But such is the
irony of politics in land where th,
many are too busy minding their owl
private business to look sharply afteI
the few, who are sent to Washington
to mind the public business.
1 read, with more amusement thar
amazement. the ingenious report o
the Republican minority. 1t il
q very smooth document. If | wer,
not familiar with the pleadings, ant
with the fictiOns upon which it Is bas
ed, ] should tremble for my country
might believe the report the work o
Col Robert G.. Ingersoll-since ther,
is no God in tiff | did not have an i'm