Democratic Sentinel, Volume 22, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 September 1898 — POLITICS OF THE DAY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

POLITICS OF THE DAY

DEMOCRATIC PROSPECTS. In Illinois the Republican party is split wide open. Its members are quarreling about the Allen bill, the schemes of Governor Tanner to defeat Senator Cullom and elect himself to the United States Senate in 1901, the condition of the state treasury in consequence of the candidacy of the deputy treasurer for two terms to be treasurer for what would be virtually a third term, the quarrels of local candidates in nearly every legislative district, and other troubles too numerous to mention. The Republicans who voted for McKinley In 1896, on the bimetallism platform, now see their error and will vote for the Democrats. In Wisconsin the success of the “doodle book” campaign in the renominatlon of Governor Scofield and the prospects of a silent bolt by at least onethird of the Republican voters illustrate Republican harmony in the Badger state. The silver forces are splendidly organized. In Michigan the open war made by Governor Pingree on Senator Burrows, the aspirations of Pingree for a renomination and to be elected senator, while Alger has designs to retire from the war department and to be elected senator, and political conditions Illustrating Republican “harmony” in the state. Michigan, always a silver state, will swing into the Democratic column without a doubt. In lowa and Minnesota the conditions are substantially the same. There is internal war In the Republican party from center. to circumference. The cause of gold monometallism has split the party everywhere in the Centra! West. In Indiana, the Republican situation is so bad that it could be hardly worse. The leaders know and acknowledge the fact. There will be a .gain of several Democratic congressmen on the financial Issues. A Democratic legislature will be elected and United States Senator Turple will be chiosen for another term. With all the facts in view the rosy description of Republican prospects at the west attributed to the secretary of the Republican congressional committee Is subject to large abatements in the brilliancy of its coloring. The West will send a largely increased silver delegation to congress this year, and will give an enormous Democratic electoral vote in 1900.

A Reckoning: Day. Hanna’s boast that he and the politicians of his party would make political campaign capital of the war, and the record made by the administration In its prosecution, is likely to turn to ashes and, like dead sea fruit, mock them In a most unprofitable investment. From every quarter, from every reliable source comes information arraigplng and Inculpating in the highest degree, and censuring without remorse or respect for the man or his position in any manner connected with the administration guilty of misofflelal conduct in the prosecution of the war. The severest arraignment of administration officials in the conduct of the war comes from journals either independently Republican or non-political; and If Mr. Hanna and his partisan compatriots can find solace or campaign capital Ln these bitter and scathing denunciations of the records made, surely they are legitimate for the purpose of the canvass. Harper’s publication and the Scientific American contain much that it would be profitable, if not entertaining, for Mr. Hanna to read; and now comes the Ledger, independent Republican, from the City of Brotherly Love, with a reputation established for it by Mr. Childs as the most reliable newspaper in all the States. “Reckoning Day” has this to say in the way of making campaign capital: For the direful misery, pain and death which the bravest and best of the country’s youth have been compelled to suffer by reason of the unprecedented incompetency and criminal indifference of the War Department there must surely come a reckoning day. It seems now impossible, in view of the daily revelations of the offenses of that department, that it can escape the penalty which the official conduct of its chief has invited. It is not only the wounded and the dead of the battlefield of Caney and Siboney who demand a reckoning; they are few' compared to those who were done to death by the cruel official neglect of the vital needs of our soldiers in the field, on the march, in the trenches, in the camp, on the transports, in the hospital, and everywhere. The mind revolts from the disclosures which are made of the youngest and best blood of the land poured out as a sacrifice to incompetency and indifference; the imagination can scarcely compass sueh horrors as are testified to by so many unimpeachable witnesses. Yet Russell A. Alger is still Secretary of War, and the evils which began with his administration continue. The record, of its acts of incompetency, of its blunders of head, its callousness of heart, daily grows longer and deeper.—Youngstown Vindicator.

Bonds, Always Bonds. When Democratic Congressmen suggested a plan for meeting the expenses 0f the war with Spain they were denounced as “obstructionists.” Rather than stand in the way, the Democrats yielded to the demands of the Republicans and aided them to pass such war revenue measures as the administration leaders had prepared. The conditions were such that the Democrats could do no more than make a dignified protest. But facts hayp demonstrated that the Democratic Congressmen Were right and the Republican Congressmen were wrong. Instead of a bond issue the Democrats suggested that the treasury isspe one-year certificates of indebtedness to the amount of $100,000,000 and coin the silver seigniorage, amounting to $54,000,000. This, with the income from the Internal revenue tax, would have been amply sufficient for the purpose intended. Thus }t appears that the issue of $200,000,000 worth of bonds was entirely unnecessary, entailing an enormous expense upon the Government and a debt that the people will have to pay. At the end of ten years the Interest on this bonded debt will have reached $60,000,000, and that is just so much entire ly needless expense. But the first resort of Republican financiers is to a bond Issue. Their only idea Is to borrow money and to make the people pay interest on the money they borrow. This is fun for the banks, bpt death to the people. The Democrats cannot be accused of devising this scheme, and the Republicans wijl be forced to bear the odium, Alger's Defense, If anybody Js to blame, says Alger, with characteristic impudence, it Js the Officers in the field. To blame for what, Mr. Secretary? Fur the conditions at

Santiago, perhaps. But who is to blame for the torture of the returning soldiers on the troop ships? Who is to blame for the horrible fact that at the end of a century, whose chief glory is the advance of sanitary science, and in a country that leads all others in sanitary progress, every camp has become a pest hole? Whose offense is it that has brought disease and death by starvation to soldiers within rifle shot of some of the richest communities in America? We know who is responsible for the blunders at Santiago, but whose is.the guilt at Montauk Point, Chicka--mauga and Jacksonville? If Alger had a scrap of decent selfrespect he would retire from an office which he has disgraced. As it is, he will not leave till the indignation of the people drives him back to private life. Force him out!—Chicago Journal. Chinese Cheap Labor. Republicans have claimed that Hawaii is the “key to the Pacific.” It is more likely to prove the key to a Pandora’s box of troubles. Possessing a large population of Chinese, who, by the annexation of the island, become residents of the United States territory, what law is there to prevent these Orientals from coming to this continent? But this is not the only menace. Information comes from Honolulu that the Japanese laborers on the islands are organizing labor unions, and that, With the consummation of annexation and extension of the laws of the Ujlted States to Hawaii, and the consequent

abrogation of the laws authorizing pjnal enforcement of labor contracts, there will be a general demand for increase in pay, the demand to be enforced by a general strike, if necessary. This is all right, so far as it goes, but the pith of the atory lies in the fact that planters have applied to the Government for permission to import more cheap labor to the island. Indeed, it is stated that It is planned to bring in 3,000 of these pauper workers, 20 per cent, of that number to be Japanese, and, in all probability, the remaining 80 per cent, to be Chinese. With such an Influx of what may he truthfully called slave labor Hawaii will assuredly be overstocked and this country will be invaded by hordes Orientals. There can be no doubt that the Chinese and Japanese of Hawaii will soon turn their attention to thio continent, and it looks as though they would be in a position to land on thess shores and to ask the authorities coolly; “What are you going to do about it?”

Continues to "Die.” ' When a political Issue Is actually dead everybody knows it. There Is no occasion for one party to that issue to be continually trumpeting the fact. It is quite seldom that we glance over the columns of a gold paper without finding something irf the way of a reiteration of the claim that the silver issue is sleeping its eternal sleep. Why Is this? Can It be that they think It is like the corpse at Finnegan’s wake, not so very “dead” after all, and that a slight change of conditions will not only restore it to life, but bring it Into the most pronounced, vigorous and aggressive action? It looks suspiciously that way. In state after state three different parties, —the Democrats, Populists and Silver Republicans—are declaring solidly for the free coinage of silver, and usually making it the first plank In their platform. What sort of evidence is that of the death of the silver issue? True, the people are not standing around in groups earnestly advocating free coinage. Nor are they strenuously proclaiming the excellence of the gold standard, or excitedly discussing the tariff. There Is no more proof that the free coinage idea is dead than there is of the death of the so-called “pound money” fanaticism. The people are thinking and talking chiefly of the war, as the Washington Post says in an article given elsewhere. But wait until the excitement of military events entirely dies away, and the gold men will see how “dead” the silver issue Is. The most of the silver men are readers and thinkers. They are “sliver men” because they understand the principles involved, and they know that absolutely nothing has occurred that has had the slightest tendency to prove that they are wrong and that the gold men are right. McKinley, Partisan. There are 6,500,000 citizens in the United States who have no representative on the peace commission. President McKinley has Ignored, and, by neglect to recognize, has insulted nearly one-half of all the voters In this country. Only one man (Justice E. D. White) of the five men appointed to decide the questions of vast importance which are to come before the commission has any claim to the name of Democrat, and that one man represents 137,600 voters who cast their ballots for the gold standard and Palmer and Buckner. Such partisanship is too small, narrow and bigoted to be the act of a man charged with the duty of protecting the interests of the people of this nation. It is the work of a politician, not the work of a patriot or of a Statesman. Democrats aided to make the victory over Spain complete. The candidate of the Democratic party for President in 1896 is an officer in the volunteer army; flip Democratic Congressmen voted for war measures; Democrats forced McKinley

to declare war; the army and navy art full of Democratic soldiers and sailors, yet Democracy has no representative on the peace commission. Is McKinley President simply of the Republican party of the United States?—Chicago Dispatch. Remember Montauk Point. The administration Is greatly agitated over, the revelations of incompetence, cruelty, greed and criminal carelessness which have come from Montauk. It will be necessary for McKinley to scheme deeply and to act promptly if he shall succeed in stemming the tide of public indignation. A plan is already on foot to get Alger, the corrupt and Inefficient secretary of war, out of the cabinet and to make of him a corrupt and Inefficient United States senator. Senator McMillan of Michigan is to be sent as ambassador to England, and Alger is to be appointed senator in McMillan’s place by Governor Pingree. This is the scheme that has been outlined by McKinley to save Alger from Impeachment and the Republican party from disgrace and defeat. It is a scheme worthy of the brain of a man who crowded Sherman out of the senate to give Boss Hanna a seat, but even though this plan be carried out it will fail of its desired effect Alger is already tried, convicted and sentenced by the people of the United States. He has been found corrupt and incompetent, and the Republican administration which is responsible for Alger has been condemned with him. So long as the American people love liberty, honesty, justice and patriotism, so long will they condemn the Republican administration for Its neglect, cruelty, Inhumanity—ln short, Its murder of the soldiers who fought for liberty honesty, justice and patriotism. Alger may be made senator, his incompetence may be covered up; the political plotting of McKinley may prevent as Investigation, or frustrate Its purposes should it be made, but above

a?J tAe bland, hypocritical, platltudlnal, ptfltsjsts of the administration will be' h*ntd the terrible cry of the people; “Remember Montauk Point!” War Taxes Permanent Jt the Dingley law is to stand uncfttaged we do not doubt that some f«p of the war tax will have to rerfßtn p</i’manraitly. A prohibitory tariff cannot be a revenue raiser, and the mrte nearly it is prohibitive the less th/i revenue It yields. It does, however, efSlble monopolists at home to tax the people to line their own pockets, ajfirt that was the purpose of the Dingle r law. We get some revenue from pfoduats ve must import because they cSJaaot he found in this country. But tin moQpiJolists are given the opportunity tc exact tribute from the people as an additional burden. The latter support th! Government, and in additi<?o mafte millionaires of those whom thff tariff especially favors.—Manchester Union.

Lesson in Protection* It is ftstimated that 60,000 factories of <1 kinds |p Spain have, until the optldjpg of the war, been reveling in the beauties and feasting on the fat of high protection. «In order to secure to Fpeujtsh manufacturers the largest po>ftiU<- returns on their capital, the matket of the Philippines, Cuba, Porto Rico and the other colonies were forced wltlifln their extensive control by means of absolutely prohibitive duties placed up«y» the products of other nations. It do|» not require the exercise of very profound or intricate processes of reasoning to trace the relation of cause an£ effect between the loss of Spain’s collates In both hemispheres and th® lonj continued and grinding system of imposed upon her colonies. Louis Republic.

Thanks Due to Dingley. Bingley may have the consolation as long as be shall Jive of having done h(£ country a high service. He has demonstrated that a protective tariff cancel bo so contrived as to bring ip needed Revenue, This being the case, there is nt longer an excuse for a protective iaHff except as an undisguised implement of robbery. That Mr. Dingley did not know what he was doing, and produced the figures' to prove it, may srqnewhat diminish his satisfaction, bt.t H does not lessen the public benefaction.—Philadelphia Record. v F<r Humanity’s Sake.” How not to do It. This is the problem to the solution of which the true’ tone McKinley organ is now bending iits energias and warping Rs conscience. That ds, how not to fulfill the pledge made by Congress not to annex Cuba, but ito eUtaibllsh its independence. Its energies are now chiefly devoted to finding or forging grounds-smalnly the latiter—£o indicate that the Cubans are unfit tat independence, and that, therefore, t r '»e United States must, “in the serviqr of humanity,” annex the island. Impartiality of the Press. The course of the Democratic papers of this country in holding up the hands of the Preaident has been without precedent. It has been ao remarkable in this respect that it has led to high praise from Republican quarters. But there are questions of rewards now coming up, and in thia the Democratic press certainly has the right to criticise and commend, as the circumstances may show that one or the other is demanded by the circumstances.—-Peoria Herald. A Party of Plutocrats. Stephen A. Douglas, son of the famous man of that name, has formally renounced Republicanism and Joined the Democratic party. His reasons for this are that he regards the Republican party as “the party of the plutocrats,” and that it is longer a party of the people.