The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-09-09
ANCIENT HISTORY REVIEWED.
B. F. Stedman Holds Up to Light
Some Political Fats.
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absolutely 1alSe; as propose 10 snow.
On page ten of the "History" | read:
''The only way for the democrats to
win the election in 1914 was TO nominate
for the presidency a southern man of
not very pronounced or well-known
views on the tariff question \
James X. Polk was made the nominee"
'The wing nominee was Henry Clay"
Horace Greeley, at that time editor of
The New York Tribune, was Mr. Clay's
ardent friend and supporter. Mr.. Gree
ley's ''Recollections of a Busy Life
chapter ten, is devoted to Henry Clay
and the campaign of 1914. l quote from
it: ''Mr Polk had been for years in
congress, had once been chosen speaker
of the house, and had always voted
against protection. He was as much a
| free trader in his view as Mr. Calhoun
had been in 1924" And right in the
heat of the campaign, June 10, 1914,
| Mr.. Polk wrote to Mr. Kane of PhiIadel
| plili lcIUei III WHlcll ic SAUL dll
opposed to tariff for protection, : =
it is well known that | gave my support
to the policy of General Jackson's admin
istration on this subject"
| In the face of these facts which ought
| to have been well known to any one at
tempting to write ''IIistory of the
Tariff" Mr.. McCleary says the demo
Gratis in carrying out their policy of
nominating man "of not very pro-
nounced or well-known views on the
tariff question nominated Polk. Greeley
says Folks views were well known, and
that in the letter quoted above he reiter-
ated them. The average reader knows
that when Horace Greeley wrote his
tory of a campaign in which he him
self took an active part, he wrote facts,
On this same page ten of this veri-
table (?) "History," Mr.. McCleary says:
"The democrats circulated in Pennsyl
vania and other protectionist states the
CHSoly titeO Si'y "do NopDiJ vi eiiC
tariff. Remembering his vacilatory
course in 1888, enough people believed
the story to defeat him." Here Mr..
McCleary speaks of Clay as being a
"vacillator" on the tariff. I think it
would puzzle him to prove it. Mr.. Clay
in his ablest protectionist speech said:
eff our infant industries can have the
benefits of seven years protection, | will
then be willing to throw our markets
open to the world" Nothing vacillating
about that. But the infants" are still
clamoring for protection some eighty
years later.
But Mr.. McCleary says enough people
believed the story to defeat him. In
other words-that Clay was defeated on
account of his tariff views or lack of
consistency. Let us see to what cause
Horace Greeley attributes Clay's de-
feat. He says plaintly, explicitly, that
Clay was defeated on account of his
course on the annexation of Texas.
Greeley says on this subject: "Mr.
Clay, though always clearly hostile to
any scheme of immediate, uncondition-
al annexation without the prior consent
of Mexico-yet wrote several letters on
the subject that served to embarass his
friends and encouraged his foes.
These letters should not have been pub
lished. A candidate for high elective
office can hardly be too sparing of per-
sonal manifestoes and explanations"
Greeley further states: "Silas Wright,
democratic candidate for governor of
New York; in two OF more speeches, pro
claimed that annexation should only
take place under conditions that gave
free labor equal advantages with slave
from the acquisition"
Clay in his letters said he "did not
object to annexation on antislavery
grounds" Greeley says that many of
Claws friends did object to annexation
on these grounds, and that in New York
1882 votes were cast for Birney the
abolitionist. Greeley adds: 81 think we
should have had at least half of that
Birney vote for Clay and made him pres
ident flor he only needed the vote of
New York; in spite of all drawbacks,
but for those fatal Alabama letters"
There are Mr.. Greeley's conclusions, that
Clay was defeated on account of his
Alabama letters on the annexation OF
Texas, thus alternating votes to Blrney,
that would have gone to Clay but for
those letters. But Mr.. McCleary in at
tempting to bolster up his 'lost cause,
says Clay was defeated because the dem
ocrats circulated stories that he was
"wobbly" on the tariff. Does Mr.. Nc
Cleary believe that he (McC) would
lose any votes if the democrats should
assert that he is "wobbly" on that
question? Henry Clay was known to
all to be a protectionist from principle
and not from policy, or because cam
paign funds came principally from pro-
tected interests, which is more than can
be said of the average protectionist con-
gresham of the present.
b. +. STEDMAN.
Real Estate Transfers.
George A. Mckinley and others to