Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1906-09-20
SECRETARY SHAW At DANVILLE.
Receives an Enthusiastic Reception.


Danville, Va, September 10th. Hon.
Leslie M. Shaw, Secretary of the Treas
ury, accompanied by his private secre-
tary, State Chairman C. B. Slemp, FIFTH
District Chairman S. G. Profit, DR..
John w. Simmons, of Martinsville, can
didate for Congress, Geo. L. Hart, of
Roanoke, and number of other prom
inent party men, reached Danville this
evening over the Southern Railway from
Martinsville. They went at once to
Hotel Burton, where quite number of
people greeted the distinguished speak
er.
When the hour for speaking arrived
the Academy of Music was crowded,
and when Mr.. Shaw was introduced he
received quite an ovation.
Following up his Martinsville speech
on "Self-G Government, ,, Secretary Shaw
spoke on Good Government; admins
tered by Party" and spoke in part as
follows:
"Both political parties believe in good
government. Both parties believe in
integrity in office neither has monopoly
of respect for the decalogue, and they
vie with each other in patriotism.
Each gives the country as good laws as
the average of it's adherents will ap-
prove, and each affords as stable and as
clean administration as possible, human
limitations and possible unwise selection
of administrative officers considered.
"Wise laws, however, are impossible
of enactment, except when the adher-
ents of the party in power agree on ele-
mentary principles. No congressional
majority is ever able to legislate wisely
unless the members of that majority
agree on the subject matter to which
the law is to be applied. My dread of
Democratic control does not rest in any
want of confidence in the patriotism of
the personnel of that party, nor do |
doubt the desire of Democratic office
holders to act wisely and we'll Ny fear
rests chiefly in the fact that the opposi-
ton party does not, and seemingly will
not, agree on any elementary principle.
"The party declares, for instance, in
favor of a tariff for revenue only,
though a very large per cent. of the ad-
herent of the party believe in protec-
ton. The leaders of the party announc-
ed early in the present campaign that
the issue should be the tariff, yet sever
al Democratic state conventions have
actually refused to incorporate in any
way or in any connection the word "tar-
iff" in their platforms.
"Grover Cleveland carried the State
of Florida in 1892 almost unanimously.
There were SO few Republicans in the
State that the party actually failed to
nominate an electoral ticket. The issue
that year was the tariff. The national
convention that nominated Grover Cleve-
land declared it to be an elementary
principle of the Democratic party that
the Federal Government had no author
ity to levy and collect tariff duties ex-
cept for purposes Of revenue only. 1t
further declared that the Republican
tariff law was robbery of the many for
the enrichment of the few. Yet in the
face of this PRONUNCIATION of free trade
principles, great delegation of repre-
sentative Democrats from Florida came
to Washington while the Wilson-Gorman
bill was pending, to urge Democratic
congress to foster the citrus fruit indus
try of that State with an adequate pro-
tecting tariff. The platform was made
for the purpose of capturing votes, and
it received the support Of many who dis
believed the principles it proclaimed.
Even the nominee Of the convention,
Grover Cleveland, in his letter of ac-
ceptance, hastened to take issue with
his party on the constitutionality of pro-
lection, though he consented to run on
a platform which denounced both the
legality of the principle and the exped-
iency of its application.
Give years later several members Of