St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1896-06-06
IGNORANCE TRIUMPHANT.
The Legitimate Results of Republics
s. - Folly.

| FOLLY
The threat and continued probability
of Nc cKinley' S nomination awakens curl
Gus and conflicting emotions la emf.
nent republican bosoms A Washing.
ton correspondent reported the other
day a conversation on the subject over.
heard in a group of republican sena.
tors. They were astounded at the sllc.
cess of the Mckinley canvass, It was
not wholly due to othesnnscrupulous and
mercenary methods of his managers.
There was an unmistakable and pow.
erful demand for Mckinley among thu
republican masses. But why should
there be? The man was fool-every.
body at Washington knew that. Talk
about his authorship OF the Mckinley
bill! The men who really made that
were Aldrich and Allison and Reed,
Mckinley knew no nauru ABOUT iIfs OWL
tariff than about -diulensional ge-
ometry. The clerk of his committee
gave him all his facts and figures, and
for the rest, his parrot-like formula,
brought out ON all occasions, about the
American fireside, had to suffice. Here
was d man who had neither wit nor
power of speech, no knowledge OF
public business, no force of character
no convictions, no courage, no salient
qualities whatever except an eXtraor.
dinary and wooden headed self-com,
placency, and vet the masses Of the
party of intelligence were madly de-
manding that this bramble be king over
them. 1t was all strange and depress-
ing puzzle to the superior senatorial
mind.
But the mystery isnot so profound or
insoluble. Cause produces effect as In
exorably in politics as in physics, and
the whirIwind Of tariff ignorance. which
the republican leaders now fear is but
the legitimate reaping from the wind OF
folly which they have been sowing for
many years past. They themselves, It
is true, have been very cynical about
it. They have winked to each other
as they have talked about the foreigner
paying the tax, about artificially high
prices being a blessing, about doubling
the price of wheat by a high duty, about
making the tall chimneys smoke, as
Theirs said, by legislation, and raising
wages by taxation. Off the stump they
spoke of these things with their tongues
in their checks. Believe such thingsf
That was not the point; there was am
other president in protection, just as
there used to be one more in the bloody
shirt, and that was sufficient justifi-
cation. But il they were not serious,
the farmers, the artisans, the ditcheTs,
the bankrupts were. The gospel oi
wealth for all by taxation Of all did
not fall on their ears campaign after
campaign without carrying conviction.
They finally got it firmly in their heads
that the prosperity of the country and
of the individual depends upon a tariff
Grossly and palpably and fanatically
ignorant as this conviction is, it is the
inevitable result of the delusions and
sophistries to which republican leaders,
knowing better, have given currency
for political effect. The ultimate po-
litical effect they now see, to their own
amazemeTt and consternation-the ig-
noranoe and fanaticisn which they
themselves have helped to create, rush.
ing in a frenzy to make the personifica-
tion of ignorance and fanaticism repub.
lican president IN Z. Post.