Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-25
CLEVELAND VIEWS ON TARIFF
REFORM HE ADVOCATED DE-
FEATED BY WHITNEY.
Watterson's Charges Answered by
Milwaukee Journal-History Of
1892 Convention.

MILWAUKEE. Wis. June 2i-The MI
waukee Journa. today prints a story rur-
porting To he authentic history in con-
nection with President Clevelands stand
on the tariff. replying TO charges alleged
10 have been made by Henry Watterson
that Grover Cleveland was not only At
heart the foe of tariff reduction. but that
he did everything in his power TO prevent
ais party from taking advance ground
on the subject.
Secretary Whitney the Journal says.
Was the stumbling block in the way of
tariff reform plank that rang true.
Whitney Advises Temporizing.
In the fall of 1881 the journal says.
President Cleveland. during his tour OF
the west. spent two days at Madison.
Wis. a guest of Col William f. Villas. a
member of his cabinet. and broaclled
he plan OF devotinS the annual message
Of the President entirely TO exposition of
the. evils Of high tariff. Col. Villas assured
the President the membe.s OF the cabinet
would abide by the decision OF the Pgesi-
dent.
Continuing the Journal says:
Some time later. after the Presidents
return TO washington. he announced TO
his cabinet his intention TO carry out this
plan.
Secretary With of the Navy adj
vised against Ii would hurt tne party ii
the next election. he declared. and he adj
vised temporizins.
Mr. Villas. replying to Mr.. Whitney.
strongly sided with the President He de-
clared that the right thing to do was
the expedient thing To do.
When the cabinet adjourned there
was no doubt that President Cleveland
would take the goat by tie horns. he did
80 and his tariff messase OF 1857 stands
today as the most famous OF American
public documents dealing with the tariff.
I'm November. lSSS, Cleveland was de-
feated by Harrison. 1t was not the tar
III. however. that brought about the re-
publican victory.
Platform in Convention.
I'm the national convention OF 1892 Mr..
Villas and Mr.. Bayard were on a subcom-
mittee to draw up tariff plank. The
plank was drafted personally by ca
Villas and was modelled in a large meas
ure upon the democratic plank. whisA
the Wisconsin democratic convention had
adopted. a plank that Mr.. Cleveland had
read and approved.
Mr.. Whitney. always timid. always
disposed to temporarize. went to the COM
mittee and advocated a weaker plank.
He got out the tariff plank from the plat
form of 1854 and urged that this be SUBJ
stituted for the Villas resolution. An
Ohio man advocated a plank simply de-
claring that a protective tariff was I'M
constitutional.
Henry Watterson. who has recently
had a great deal TO say about Grover
Cleveland's surrenders TO the tariff
bears, and who was in the convention TO
defeat the nomination of Cleveland. op-
posed the 1854 plank which the subcom-
mittee had reluctantly substituted for the
Villas draft. Whitney having represented
that 1t would cost the party New York.
Watterson condemned the 1884 plank. de-
claring IL was too weak and did not meet
the situation.
BY this time Whitney had become
greatly alarmed over the result of his in
reference. The convention was thrown
into an uproar.
''Watterson was dumfounded when Col.
Villas. reading from the proceedings OF
the 1884 convention. showed that Waiter
son himself had been the chairman of the
committee on resolutions at that time
and had expressedly stated that the reso-
lutions which he had just condemned were
strong but could not he too strong to
suit him. etc. The result of the contro-
versy was that the Ohio resolution pre-
vailed.
I'm the whole proceedings { leveland and
his friends were put in false light"