The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1896-09-19
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Regular Correspondence WING.
WAsuINGToN Sapt Il

Regular Correspondence WING.
WASHINGTON, Sept. II, 1896.
Who will muzzle Tom Watson? That
every secret conclave held at Popocratic
headquarters. Watson is as autocratic in
all his dealings with the members OF the
populist National Committee as Bryan is
with the members of the Democratic COM
mittee. and his demand that Sewell be
taken off the Bryan ticket to make room
for him has reached stage where it can
no longer be ignored. The popocratic
managers have got to do something very
soon and they are at a loss to choose.
Their original intention was to bunco
Watson, and there is reason to believe that
Senator Butler Chairman of the Populist
National Committee, was a party to that
intention; but Watson has succeeded in
stirring up the populists in portions of
the South and West to such an extent that
the popocrats have lost their nerve and are
now in doubt about what to do, and bets
have been made that they will wind up
by throwing Sewell overheard. They
would probably have done so before now
if they did not hope for lot of Sewall's
money and if they had not been afraid Of
its effect in the East. After the New York
Convention meets, this week, the last fear
will not count. They know that they
haven't ghost of chance to carry an
Eastern state, but they want the moral
effect in other states OF declaration in
favor of Bryan and Sewall, by the New
York Democratic Convention.
The claim, dispassionate, legal-like open
letter which Attorney General Harmon
made public several days ago is by far the
most important utterance that has come
from the administration, against Bryan 5
Anarchistic tendencies, not excepting the
letter from Mr.. Cleveland Mr.. Harmons
letter deals exclusively with that clause of
the Chicago platform declaring against what
it termed Federal interference in local
atflirs, which it knows to have been aimed
at Mr. Cleveland's prompt supp ession of the
interference with the L. 5. mail by the
railroad rioters at Chicago, the most credit
able thing in his administration, and with
Mr.. Bryan's pledge not to do likewise
should he become President, and a similar
state of affairs be brought about again.
The following words of Attorney General
|
Harmon are worthy of the careful study of
every good citizen, regardless of party
This, in my judgment, is a far more SER
ious matter than the money question or any
other question now before the people, grave
as they all are. Our form of government
may survive a WONG decision of those
questions, and the people may endure for IA
time the evils which result from false sys-
tens of finance and taxation, but il the
President has deliberately dsregarded the
instrument upon which the Union is
founded, by Supplanting the authority Of
a sovereign state by armed force, prece-
dent has been made which threatens our
form of government, while, if candidate
for President may properly pledge himself
in advance, as Mr.. Bryan has doLe, to do
nothing to protect the property, maintain
the authority and enforce the laws of the
United States, unless and until the officers
OF another government request or consent,
then we really have no Federal Govern
ment, for a government which is not en-
tilely free to use force to protect and main
tain itself in the discharge of its own
proper functions, is no government at all. 1"
Mr.. Harmon also quotes the resolution
offered in the Senate by Senator Daniels, of
Virginia. who presided over the Chicago
Convention, voted for that platform and
who is now on the stump for Bryan, en-
dorsing in the strongest language the Presi-
dents action in suppressng the railroad
riot.