The Robesonian. [volume] (Lumberton, N.C.) 1870-current, 1897-07-21
The Democrats May Carry 0hio-Why Not?
Statewide Landmark.


Statesville Landmark.
James Crcelman, one of the
ablest newspaper correspondents
of the country, has Just completed
a tour of Ohio, and. as result of
careful investigation gives it to
one of the New York papers as his
opinion that the Democrats will
carry that State in the election
this fall. 1t will be astonishing
if they do not make great gains
everywhere. The Mckinley add
ministration thus far cannot but
have proven deep disappoint-
ment to all the country. Mr..
Mckinley is, unhappily, a one
ideaed man and that idea runs to
a high tariff. Now the tariff cut
an inconsiderable part in last
years campaign. 1t was not to
any extent to speak of in the pub
lie mind at all. Except for the
fact that the Wilson-Gorman tariff
law, now in force, fails to raise as
much revenue as is needed for the
enormous and ever-increasing
needs of the government, the peo-
pie as a mass are content with it.,
and the defect in it, just noted,
could have been remedied by tri-
fling amendments here and there
by taking a few articles off the
free list and making them dutiable
at low rate; by making this or
that duty little higher, by in
creasing the beer tax Il trifle, or by
the levying of an income tax, which
alone would have supplied the
deficiency which needs to be pro-
vided for. But Mr.. Mckinley had
hardly warmed the executive chair
before he calls special session of
Congress, not to legislate upon
the finances, the banking and cur
rency laws, which everybody was
thinking about, AHt upon the tar
if which nobody, except the man.
ufacturers, who want more pro-
lection and more profits, was
thinking or caring about. The
financial question remains in
allegiance and the special session
of Congress is about to adjourn
after having enacted a scandalous
tariff law-one worse than that
against which the country re-
volted in 1892. No effort has
been made to give the people what
they need, but haste has been
made to give them something that
they neither need nor. want. A
few days ago the President practi-
cally gave out that he would in a
day or two send a special currency
message to Congress, but the next
day it was announced that he
wouldn't; and so the net result of
the special session is a tariff bill,
agreed to after infinite trading
and log-rolling, and some of it's
schedules born of corruption, &C
cording to the popular belief.
That is the sum total of a four
months session.
We are not surprised to learn
that the Democrats are likely to
carry Ohio this year. What has
the present administration done
to commend the Republican party
to the favor of the voters: of that
State or any other State? or what
reason is there to suppose, from
the beginning it has made, that it
Will ever do any such thing? Presi-
dent Grant once said that the
reason the Democrats won no VIC
tories was that every time the
Republican party acted the rascal
the Democratic party acted the
fool. The Democratic party, how
ever, has no monopoly of folly.
McKinleyism to date, and the
work of the extra session of Con-
gress now near its end, prove that
ln the matter of foolishness it has
an able-bodied competitor in the
field.