The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1903-10-02

bus this morning from Washington, !
was handed by Mr.. Malloy. secretary
of the committee. your favor OF the
18th instant, which purports to be a
formal challenge to 4 joint DEBATE
made on your part as chairman of tine
Democratic state executive committee.
representing John ii. Clarke. Esq, the
Democratic nominee for United Stat
senator, addressed to RE as chairman
of the Republican state executive com
mittee representing Senator HAM
the Republican candidate for re-elec-
ton
Eou are good enough to allow Mr..
Hanna 10 name the times and places
of the proposed joint discussion pro-
vided he shall designate such places
as you stipulate he shall name. You
further propose that each party to the
debate shall be at liberty to discuss
whatever he considers to be the issues
Of the campaign, though l am some
what at a loss to see how there can
be a joint debate when no common
subject Of discussion has been agreed
upon beforehand.
/ regret that candor compels me to
say that find some rather serious OBJ
jections to the conditions of your pro-
posaL There ought TO be some such
quality as mutually in joint discus
sion. / fear you have overlooked that
phase of the case. Let me particular
ize. Mr.. Hanna's party has but one
set of principles. while Mr.. Clarke's
party has a vast assortment of princi-
pies. sounding the entire gamut from
| doctrine to dogma-Democratic, Popu-
listic, Agrarian and Socialistic. A Re-
| publican is the same on the banks Of
the Penobscot as he is on the banks
/ Of the Rio Grande. A Republican
speech in the far state of Washington
on the Pacific coast is just like a Re
publican speech in the city Of Washing
ton near the Atlantic seaboard. A
Republican on the shores of the
Great Lakes is just what he is on the
shores of the great gulf. Florida is a
land of everglades and of flowers.
/ Montana is a land OF mountains and
billiards; but a Florida Republican
believes just exactly what a Montana
Republican believes.
There is tariff. How does Mr..
Clarke stand on that issue? His party
stands all over 1t. In New England
it is for free raw material and for pro-
tected finished products; in Texas II
is for protected raw material and for
free finished products.
II MIR. Clarke is for free wool let him
debate with Senator Bailey OF Texas;
if he is for protected wool let him de-
bate with Tom L. johnson himself
II Mr.. Clarke is in favor of free coal
let him debate with Mr.. German, the
Democratic leader of the federal sen.
ate; If he is for protected coal let him
debate with Mr.. Williams. the Demo.
cratic leader OF the house OF represen-
tatives. Why should Mr.. Clarke leave
his own party to hunt up tariff dis
cussion? Would he swim the river tc
get a drink of water? And speaking
of coal. Mr.. Clarke might find in tn,
Hon. David b. Hill. who favors gov.
ernment ownership of the hard Goa
mines, a Democratic adversary or {
Democratic monitor. | have no mean:
of knowing which. Georgia is full o
Democrats who want protection FOL
pine lumber; in Kansas. the Demo
Gratis want free lumber. In Soutl
Carolina. Democrats would protec
raw cotton from free importations o
Egyptian cotton: in Rhode Island
Democrats demand free Egyptian cot
ton. In New Jersey. the Democrat
want protection on pottery; in Missis
sippi they want free pottery. In Troy
New York, Democrats cry out for pro
lection on collars and cuffs; il
California, Democrats want protec
tion on citrous fruits. In Louisian.
the Democrats are strenuous for pro
tected sugar; in Illinois they want fire
sugar. On the stump the Democrati
party is for reciprocity with Cuba; II
congress the Democratic party vote
against reciprocity with Cuba.
/ Does Mr.. Clarke favor a tariff TO
revenue only. or a tariff for revenu
with incidental protection? Is he
German tariff Democrat or a Johnso
no-tariff Democrat? II he favors an
kind of a tariff let him debate wit
MIR. Johnson, who is an absolute FIRE
trader and would repeal every tarii
and internal revenue law and sell a.
the custom houses.
! Mr.. Clarke has all these strings I
his bow and more. too. What chanc
does Mr.. Hanna, who has only on
string to his bow. have in disputatio
with such a man? Mr.. Hanna stand
pat When Mr.. Clarke joins a part
that stands pat on anything. Mt. Han
ma will talk with him.
Then there is the coinage question
How does Sir. Clarke stand on that
The absolution Mr.. Bryan gave hir
would argue that he is not stand
patter Indeed Mr.. Bryan says he
not. Then, Il Mr.. Clarke is really o
the Kansas City platform and
:. bound TO have a debate with som,
,, body. let him hunt up the Palmer an
!, Buekner platform and debate wit
). that. If. on the other hand. he is sti
gold bug he has no quarrel wit
q Mr.. Hanna on that score-ex- Senate
. Charles A. Towne is the man he
A looking for. or the Honorable John
Y Lentz might do ia n pinch. II NJ
Y Clarke were elected to the Senat
i would he vote on the currency que
9 ton with the gold Democrats or wit
= free silver Democrats?
note some other instances of gla
IS ing discord between Mr.. Clarke, u
e able. persuasive. corporation lawy,
and Mr. Clarke. the free silver cand