St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1896-01-11
LOUISIANA SATURDAY, JANUARY Il, 1896.
DOESN'T WANT THE VERDICT.
Speaker Reed Is Not So Czarish as


He Was.
For a man SO sure as Speaker Reed
processes to be that history will ac-
cord us (meaning the republican partyl
praise fer what we did in the 51st con.
gress." he is remarkably ready to wait
for the verdict. He seems, indeed, to
be extremely anxious to avoid any ver-
dict whatever, either of praise or blame.
His policy as expressed in his accept
ance Of the nomination for the speaker
ship is mastery inactivity. He wants
to wait and see how the cat is going to
jump. This is prudent on his part, but
1t is not at all consistent with his state
ment that history is going to praise him
and his associates of the 51st congress
for the passage of the Mckinley act
which we take to be what he means.
Thus far, at least, history has dons
nothing of the kind. It has distinctly
blamed Reed and his associates for
what they did, and the people blamed
them quite as severely as history did
by sitting down on them and turning
them out of congress horse, foot and
dragoon. Unqualified disapproyal was
the verdict of history at that time, and
it would naturally be supposed that IL
there is to be a reversal, as Mr.. Reed
affects to believe, he would be extreme
iy anxious to get it as soon as possible.
The speakers attitude on the point is
all the more noticeable because it is al
most unique. The chief organ of mis-
party, the New York Tribune, quite
agrees with him as to what the verdict
of history is to be. In point Of fact it
believes that history has already rem
dered its verdict, and reversed the one
hastily rendered in 1890 in condemna-
ton OF McKinleyisn. 1t regards the
vote of 1894 as a demand for the REIN
statement of McKinleyism, and has no
sympathy with the mastery inactivity
policy which Mr.. Reed advocates. ''The
party" it says, 'sthat atenacted the protec-
tive tariff of 1890 has been called back
to remedy the evils that have resulted
from its repeal and the enactment of
the Wilson tariff in it's stead. The
voters have declared with unmistak-
able distinctness in favor of return to
the protective policy under which the
country prospered. The duty of con-
gress is plain.s It is waste of time to
talk of increasing the revenues by any
makeshift in the form of taxation. Nor
is it at all to the purpose to say that be-
cause any tariff legislation in the line
of republican teaching and doctrine is
likely to be met with a presidential
veto, a republican congress should on
that account deviate from the strict
line of principle in order to meet the
views of the president"
The irreconcilable antagonis1n be-
tween the speaker and the organ on this
point can be accounted for broadly by
the simple statement of the fact that
Mr.. Reed is looking for presidential
nomination and the organ is not. But
sven If Mr.. Reed d'sattitude is mainly die
tated by selfishness-a we are afraid
must be conceded-it is wise SELFISH
ness. Mr.. Reed is shrewd enough to
know that the presidential nomination
will be one of the barrenest of honorsif
between now and the time of his getting
it the party shall be hopelessly handi-
capped for the presidential contest. He
Is not an aspirant for barren honors.
He has all the thrift of the traditional
Yankee, and would not give fig for the
nomination unless 1t carried with it a
reasonable prospect. of election. He is
unlike his felloW-statesman, the late
James G.. Blaine. Blaine would have
taken the nomination without any hope
Of an election; but the speaker is of a
wholly different stamp. He is out for
the Office, not merely for the pleasure
Of leading the campaign, and he knows
that his getting the Office or its award
TO any candidate of the republican
party will be seriously imperiled by
any opening up of the tariff dispute in
the present congress, and especially by
any attempt to re-enact McKinleyism.
The advantage that Mr.. Reed has in
the conflict of opinion with the organ
and those whom the latter represents,
Is one of position. He is in a place
where he can stave off the rendition of
the verdict of history; and SO far as
congress has any influence, he is going
TO do it. Whether the ultimate adyant-
age will be with him can only be settled
,onclusiyely when the case goes to the
people.-Detroit Free Press,