The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-06-28
TAKE CLEVELAND CUE.
Democratic Leaders Will Make Their
 Campaign on Tariff and Trusts.

waiter Weliman's Washington Special 10 Chicago Record-Herald.
 Grover Cleveland has pointed the way, and the Democratic Party will make the tarin' and the trusts, which they claim are bred by the tariff, the leading issue m this years political campaign. The anti imperialist and anfi-army agitation is to be relegated to the rear.
 Omcial action to this end was taken to- day when Chairman Griggs of the Dem ocratic Congressional Campaign Commit tee presented to Representative Hay. the legislative chairman of the House Demo- crats, nurnerously signed petition for a Democratic caucus to consider campaign issues, and Mir. Hay called a caucus for Friday evening. It Is well understood that the caucus will bring the tarin question forward and try to make 1t the chief issue of the coming campaign.
 The Democrats believe this is the eva, way
 land gave them wholesome advice when | he told them at the Tilden Club dinner to plant the party on the old platform Of 1 tariff reform. From now .on the Demo crats intend to force the fighting on that I Issue.
 It Is the belief of the Democratic lead | CTS that they have good chance to carry | the country. to win number of Northern States heretofore RepuDncan and to se- cure a majority of the next House of Representatives. They say if they can | gain control of the House the victory will | put courage into every Democrat and do more than anything else to bring about harmony and a determination to rehabili- tate the old party and contest every inch of the ground with the Republicans In Prominent Democrats. who have been sounding public opinion by various means declare that the country is ready for a change. Ben Cable. chairman of their Ex- ecutive Committee has from the first iri- sisted that the tariff should be pushed to the front. Mir. Cable has not forgot ten with what issue he helped to carry
 Illinois for MT. Cleveland in 1892. and he assures his party friends that condi-
 tions now are very like those which ex-
 isted then.
 It Is the conclusion of the Democratic
 leaders here that there Is unrest through
 out the country on the tariff question;
 that the great prosperity is in one sense
 misleading because the cost of living has
 so greatly increased that workmen are
 unable to save any more than they did in duller times; that the tariff Is excessively high, higher now in fact than ever be- fore in the history of the country; that
 under this high tariff the trusts and mo-
 nopolies are making enormous profits by
 virtue of high prices in the home market,
 and all foreign competition kept out by
 the tariff walls; that proof of the extor-
 tionate prices which the big productive
 combinations are able U exact is found In the fact that t4iey can and do sell abroad much cheaper than at home, and finally that reduction of the tariff is an absolute necessity to bring prices down to rea- sonable level by introducing the threat of foreign competition.
 In the failure of. the Republican Party to do anything whatever during the ses- sion of Congress now closing toward re- forming the tariff the Democrats think they see a great opp ortunity They are preparing to go out on the stump and tell the people that whenever tariff legis-
 lation Is proposed the Republican Party Is pow5-'ess to act because it Is in the hands of the trusts and the nigp tariff combinations. They will point to the fall ure of Cuban reciprocity and to the ma- chinations of Oxnard, supported by eight cen Republican Senators to whom the re- maining thirty-seven Senators bent the knee and did not even have the courage to force vote.
 The Democrats will tell the country that the late President Mckinley, high pro- tectionist as he was. foresaw the need of revision and planned to do it by reel procitv arrangements. He promised the Cubans reciprocity and wanted to use the Cuban concession as starter. But as
 soon as he was dead the Republican Par ty repudiated him and his policy and his pledges They killed the Cuban plan, they killed all the reciprocity treaties which President Mckinley had negotiated. What can be expected of such a party in the future The Democrats will
 ask. Can anything but continued sub servience to the trusts and high tariff
 combinations be looked for from that source?
 There was a great deal of talk about the capital today concerning this Demo-
 cratic change of base. The Republican
 leaders affected not to be alarmed They
 said they were not afraid of tariff cam
 paign. The prosperity of the country was
 the best answer to that. They said the
 workingmen could not be deceived into
 voting against a system which had given
 them plenty of work and high wages;
 that the farmers, who have enjoyed good
 times, would be more loyal than ever to
 the Republican Party Already it is ap-
 parent the Republicans will meet the
 Democratic onslaught with an appeal to
 the country not to place the power of tar
 if legislation in the hands of a party
 which would empty the dinner pails and
 bring an end to prosperity.
 It is also Q part of the Republican pro- gram to admit that tariff revision Is nee essary to some extent, but to declare that this revision should be made by the friends Of the protective system and not by It's enemies. Along these lines the Congressional battle of 1902 will be
 fought. It is to be an old-fashioned tariff campaign.