Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-03-20

Of these editors have been doing pat
riotic work in sustaining the sound
money sentiment of the country while
others have been disseminating the
idea that fifty per cent reputation OF
debt is honorable. The sound money
sentiment prevailed, the Reputation
cause lest. The people meanwhile
served notice that the tariff must be
changed so as to afford more revenue
and at the same time protect our in
dustries, open the mills and afford OPP
portunity for those running on half
time to give employment every work.
ing day in the year at American
wages. There is not the slightest
doubt about all this. The demand has
been made in unequivocal terms. The
committee on ways and means and the
President have endeavored to meet this
demand in the best and most practical
manner possible. To do so required ac
ton, determination respecting sched-
ules. etc. This invites objections and
of course they are forthcoming now
that the opportunity for them has ar
rived. This explains why the Demo-
cratic editor for want of something bet
ter is taking account of stock, is
brushing away the dust that has ac-
cumulated upon the old arguments for
which there was no public demand, all
in the timidly cherished hope, which
he is half ashamed to confess, that
such a demand will arise and he may
yet be able to palm them upon an un,
suspecting public. Here is one: The
beneficiaries Of these frauds perpetra-
ted upon an overgenerOuS government
are so numerous that every town con-
tains examples of this triumph of I'M
rrincipled private cupidity over the
principles which should control public
expenditure" Can any rational person
suppose that this will attract? People
long ago tired of seeing it displayed.
1t is fresh in the memory that a Presi-
dent. who never felt his pulse quicken
in reading those pages of history which
recount the struggle. to save this Union
Office and its attitude toward the veter-
an to observe Memorial day in any
other way than fishing, entered upon
office with a determination to purge"
the pension list. He had the co-opera-
ton Of a Congress hostile to the pen
sioner on the whole, commissioner
subservient to his chief. He employed
legion of spies to go about the coun-
try, he adopted the system of revers-
ing the rule of law which recognizes an
individual as honest until proven gull
ty. he Gid all this and vetoed every
special pension bill that came to him. |
whether good, bad or Indifferent. and
undoubtedly some of them We're better
vetoed while the majority were better
not, but he exercised no dscrimna-
ton so ardent was his desire to |
purge" the pension roll. Is it not a |
little surprising to the average mortal
that the roll should be so corrupt after
all this effort? If the alleged wrong
could not be righted by such herculean
can be by man? But out goes the
musty old article into the Democratic
show window and the multitude is ex-
pected to gather and admire it. And
here is another the taxed tin dinner
pail, the poor mans jacknife which it
is a sin to manufacture at home, and
here is an attack upon the wool tariff
which will exclude the quantities CT
British shoddy that has come to us in
the foreign coat and which competition
has forced upon the home manufact-
urer. 1t is a sorry display but it isl
about all there is in stock. One rash
editor has put alongside them a new
feature. He asserts that the Democrats
who supported the Republican ticket
because it declared for sound money
were deceived. But he does not explain
how. Everybody know that he cannot
There never was a moment in the en-
tire campaign that the Republican par
ty wavered from it's freely announced
determination to enact a protective
tariff if given the power. And had
they not avOwed this purpose they
would have gone down in defeat
and free silver would have tri-
umphed. But there is no advantage to
he gained from needing the Democratic
stocktaking for it only invites ridicule.
The policy of the Tory admnistra-
ton of Eastern affairs is one which has
not the sympathy of the English peo-
pie. That much has been made ap-
parent in many ways, none more strik-