Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1900-03-23
Sentiment in Indiana Strongly
Against The Administration.
TRIALS OF A REPUBLICAN,.
AL Efforts to Explain Away the
Blunders Of His Party Hooted
t---The Porto Rican Tariff Bill
And Other Measures Criticised.

| The Washington Post, few day
ago. printed the following extract fron
a letter received by resident of Wash
ington from brother who has beel
quite active in Republican politics il
a Northern Indiana town:
"Now that have related all the new
and gossip, am going to write on pc
litics. I believe Mckinley will be re-
nominated and re elected all right, bu
never in my long experience as a poll
tical observer have I noticed such .
peculiar situation. Times are good
everybody who cares to work Is able t.
secure employment; there has been al
increase Of wages in almost every in
dustry, and you would naturally thinl
that everybody is satisfied and con
tented. But such is not the case.| Or
the contrary, there is growing anG
complaint on every side, and it makes
me very angry, because I well know
that there is no just ground for it.
just at present the Porto Rico tariff
furnishes the bone of contention. Men
who, up to the time of the war with
Spain, didn't know there was such a
place as Porto Rico, are going about
chewing the rag, and, to hear them
talk, one would imagine that the light
tariff Congress proposes to lay on the
island was 2 personal matter with them.
You doubtless remember Riley Morris.
Well, Riley is as good for nothing and
lazy as ever, and he doesn't do thing
but talk Porto Rico tariff from morn
ing to night.
II met Riley in the post Office, where
he was airing his views to a crowd OF
our young men. Fearing his talk might
have bad effect upon them. thought
I would put an end to it. and started
in to read them Congressman Bricks
letter, in which be so ably explained
why he and his colleagues from this
State changed their minds. consid-
er it an unanswerable document, but
it appeared to have no effect whatever
upon them. The red headed Beasley
boy'up and said Brick was 'Welsher,
and he could never get his vote. Young
Beasley has been going to the bad for
some time, but the worst of it was
that the others all sided with him and
Riley grinned in manner which roll
ed me considerably. 1t has come to a
pretty pass when man like Riley Nor
ris can influence the voters OF any COM
munity.
''Y esterday was all but insulted by
Doc Lewis, the druggist. Doc is a
Democrat, and has been voting against
bis own interests ever since he became
of age. When Cleveland was Presi-
dent he thought he was the greatest
man that ever got into the White
House. After Bryan was nominated
Lewis dropped Cleveland like hot
potato, and declared the Nebraska man
was the genuine tribune of the people.
He screeched for silver all during the
campaign of 1896, and said the white
metal was the running mate for wheat.
After the election he contended that
Bryan had been counted out, and all
that sort Of thing. Lewis is such an
unreasonable partisan that thought
it would do him good to occasionally
twit him about the failure of all his
predictions. I used to remind him of
the un-American manner in which
Tom Bayard conducted himself when
he Was Minister to England. but he
has such temper that never carried
it too far. Yesterday when I dropped
into his store for little chat he was
in the most unreasonable humor. He
opened up on Joe Choate, and declared
that Bayard was high degree Son of
st. Patrick compared to our present
representative at the court of st.
James. told him that it may be that
Choate did go little too far on some
occasions, not caring to be unreasona-
BILE in his own place of business, and
this seemed to encourage him to abuse
Secretary Hay without stint. l tried
to reason with him, but It was of nc
use. He said he knew to a certainty
that Hay had a secret alliance with
Salisbury; that he had a friend in
Washington who knew old Pauncefote
quite well, and in private conversa-
tion the English Ambassador boasted
that he had Macrum discharged from
the Pretoria consulate. insisted that
this was not true; that Marcrum waf
relieved because of his incompetency
and that, If the administration had
made any mistake in the matter, it was
in appointing such young and mex
perienced man in the first place.
''This only seemed to make a wil6
man of Lewis, for he up and said. al
if be was talking to some person ovel
in the adjoining township, that Ma
crum was ten years older than young
Hay, who was appointed to succeed
him and that this mere boy was ap
xoin%ad a Z tho rocuaof Of old SoI;cL-