The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-05-07
HIT THE ENEMY, WATTERsON.

We have read that surprising edi-
torial in the Courier-Journal in which
Mr.. Watterson makes the occasion of
the recent dinner given by the Reform
club, of New York a vent for that
spleen he has so long INDUCED towards
Mr.. Cleveland, resulting more from one
of those unreasoning dislikes that some
men, and especially those with impul-
Mr.. Watterson, are addicted to. If af-
ter the national convention of 1892 the
editor of the Courier Journal had met
instead of repelling the advances made
by Mr.. Cleveland, his counsel might
have saved the party from the rejec-
ton in the Wilson-Gorman bill of the
famous tariff plank of that year. But,
however that may be, and leaving aside
the relations Mr.. Watterson persists in
maintaining towards Mr.. Cleveland,
pausing only to note the absurdity of
bition for another term, the former al
lows his prejudice against the latter to
color his opinion of the Reform club
and to let him express an opinion of it
that is entirely unfounded.
He declares that the club exists only
to worship Mr.. Cleveland, that it's whole
work in the past has been to foist him
on the party, and that this dinner is
cure his nomination again in 1900. This
betrays a petulance unworthy of Mr.
Watterson and is a statement he must
know to be untrue. 1t is true that both
on the tariff and ON the currency issues
the club has been advocating and
working for the success of the general
policy held by Mr.. Cleveland But it
is not true that it agrees with him on
the tariff, or was entirely satisfied with
the position taken by him in his last
letter of acceptance or in his policy as
cago plank expressed the policy
Of the club much more nearly than did
the bill either in it's inception or after
its Commanding. We know that Mr..
Warner, one of the leaders in the club,
would go very much farther in tariff
reform and removal than would Mr..
Watterson
If Mr.. Cleveland's political fortunes
ran on the same lines as did the work
of the club, that was more a coinci-
dence than case of cause and effect.
It's first work was on educational lines
when the tariff became an issue, and
no organization in the country did
more or better work. While it provid-
ed some speakers, it did far more eff
which speakers were educated. It was
one of the great difficulties of the cam
paign Of 1890 that Democratic commit
tees could get but few speakers who
could discuss the tariff question in
structively. The amount of ignorance,
even among intelligent men, was sur
prising. The audiences were hungry,
not for defamation, but for facts, for
information. Don't send us such a.
kind Of speaker again; if you can't
send men who can tell us what we
want to know, keep them away" was
the spirit of letters received by central
committees. The work of the club in
the ensuing two years helped largely
to change this. Their Tariff Reform"
supplied speakers and writer's with an
arsenal of quick-fring ammunition. 1t
was one of the forces working between
campaigns that made it possible for
Larry Neal to get the convention Of
1892 to tear out the drivel the commit
tee on platform had reported and have
adopted, with wild enthusiasm, the
substitute he presented. Mr.. Waiter
son himself shared largely in the re-
suits of the work Of the club, in the
prominence he gained by his share in
Meals work. It did the same kind of
work with the same motive when the