Jasper County Democrat, Volume 1, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 March 1899 — POLITICS OF THE DAY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

POLITICS OF THE DAY

HANNA S VICTORY. Hanna's victory in the Senate is not such a triumph as an honorable man would delight in. He retains his seat, It is true, and for Hanna this is perhaps the main thing, but the verdict in his favor does not acquit hint of the charge of bribery, and is, in fact, the Scotch verdict of “not proven.” Of course, the Republicans in the Senate committee stood by Hanna. He represents the Republican administration, and to him more than to any other man McKinley owes his election. But the Democrats on the committee were not forced to lay on the whitewash, and they pointed out (he fact in their minority report that Hanna and those who acted for him at Columbus disregarded the subpoenas of the Ohio committee and declined to appear before it. The Democrats of the Senate committee take the ground that there should be further investigation. Hauna'srecordissuch that the charge of bribery causes no surprise, and the burden of proof rests upon hrm. He plotted to force John Sherman out of the Senate, so that, as boss of the Republican party, Mark Hanna could secure the coveted position. Later he joined the conspiracy to make Sherman step down and out of the Cabinet. Now, as Sherman has always served his party with absolute fidelity. Hanna showed treachery to his friend, and it is not at all improbable that he would use corrupt means to retain the seat which he secured so discreditably. It is not probable that Hanna's case will receive any further investigation in the Senate. His Republican fellow Senators have applied the whitewash to his record, and by so doing have ranked themselves with the man who plotted" against his friend, and who refused to testify In bis own behalf wl» n offered the opportunity.

Revenue Dfflzit. Representative Cannon, Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, says there will be a deficit of $150,000,000 at the end of the present fiscal year. - This is a comment on Republiopn legislation which will cause a good deal of serious consideration by the people. How is this deficit to l>e met? Will the vast riches of the trusts be taxed? Will the men who have incomes ranging from $5,000 to $5,000,000 a year be required to bear their share of the burden? Under Republican rule these questions can all be answered in the negative. Trusts are protected. The incomes of rich men are held sacred and the mon who are least able to pay taxes will be the men who will have to pay them. What does the $700,000,000 steel trust pay in the way of national taxes? Nothing. But every poor woman who buys a pound of tea pays the Government 10 cents to help protect the steel trust. The New York Journal pictures the condition of affairs most truthfully and most vividly as follows: “If any more taxes are to be Imposed they will be levied, not on the men with the millions, but on the men that do not have $179 apiece. The values of franchises, the profits of corporations, the stealings of trusts will remain untouched. while every rag worn by the shivering child of a day laborer out of work is taxed.” And yet poor-men, wage-earners, men in moderate circumstances continue to vote the Republican ticket. Are they not, Indeed, their own worst enemies?

G rover C1jveland.

An absurd story comes by wire from Princeton, N. J., to the effect that Grover Cleveland Is to be a candidate in 1900 for a third term as President. Grover Cleveland may try to be a candidate, for there is no limit to his selfesteem, but the absurd part of the proposition is the assertion that he will be a candidate. If there were no other objection to Cleveland, the fact Hint his candidacy would have to fight the established and popular conviction that no nan should be given a third term in the highest office of this country should be enough to rule him out of the race. But the Democrats of this nation, the 6,500,000 voters who cast their ballots for W. J. Bryan in 1896, have no desire to stultify themselves by approving the nomination of a man who made the record which stands against Grdver Cleveland. No greater mistake could be made by the Democrats than that of selecting Cleveland to lead the party. Defeat would be certain, and the leadt >*--»f this party need not be told this farfßor they know It already.—Chicago Democrat.

McKinley’s Shiftiness. Because the President has suddenly changed his mind nnd is trying to drive the country in a directly opposite direction to that which a few months ago he said its duty nnd honor required it to pursue, are we to be told that it is incumbent upon men of more stable convictions to whirl into line with a shifting adtainlstration? Such talk does no credit to those who indulge In it, and certainly does hot strengthen the administration.—Atlanta Journal. What Worries the Organs. ■ The administration organ* severely censure Miles for uttering words calculated to damage our export trade tn

beef. Up to date none of them has been particularly vociferous in denouncing the issuance of had beef to the soldiers. As between building up our export trade and properly caring for the soldiers, the export trade will always receive first consideration at the hands of the administration organs.—Omaha World-Herald.

Lincoln's Prediction. To Abraham Lincoln seems to have been given the power of prophecy. With the vision of a statesman, Lincoln peered into the future and raised a voice of warning. In one of his prophetic moods, the great liberator said: “I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. As a result of the war, corporations have been enthroned and an area of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people, until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety of the country than ever before, e/en in the midst of the war.” No words could express more clearly the present condition of affairs. The great corporations are doing exactly what Lincoln feared they would do. They are working upon the prejunices of the people. They are aggregating the wealth of the country into a few hands. They are endeavoring to estab-, lish an aristocracy of wealth. They are striving to crush the workingmen and to put the classes in a position of absolute power over the masses. It is the alm of the money power to i make riches supreme. To reduce wages to their lowest terms, to take away all methods of redress from labor, to kill competition and to rule with an iron hand is the aspiration of the trusts. . These money sharks have secured ■ control of the Republican party. They i rule the administration. They control the army and the courts of justice. There is no hope for the people except in the Democratic party. When ! will the wage-earners leain this? When will the men who labor cast off thel bonds of Republican tyranny and vo'jn for their own freedom with the only party which is ready and willing tc come to their relief?

The Anjrlo-American Conspiracy. Lord Charles Beresford 16 somewhat too frank for his mission. He wants the United States to go into partnership with England, Germany and Japan to control China, yet he inadvertently quotes a parallel case, which shows that the job will be utterly profitless. “Save for its strategic advantages,” he says, “Egypt has not been worth a shilling to England. Great Britain has sacrificed lives and money to make Egypt safe and secure, and she has put the Egyptian army and polled in order. She has gained no financial advantage.” The admission is opportune, for what England has done in Egypt is precisely what we tuA expected to do in China. We are tt sacrifice lives and money to make China safe and secure, and we shah reap no adavantage whatever, for tbt strategic value of the joint occupation would be enjoyed not by the United States, but by England, Germany and Japan. If we go into the partnership we shall ihcur the fate which invar.’ably overtakes the greenhorn who plays in a game with professionals. We shall come out with a large and perhaps valuable stcck of experience, but with considerably less assets.—Chicago Chronicle.

McKinley Seeing the Light. President McKinley has changed his opinion about foreign trade. In 1890 rn his speeches in defense of his tariff bill he declared that “the foreign market is illusory.” Yet in bls speech at the Commercial Club in Boston the other night he admitted the protection racket was played out, just as Senator Aldrich did in the Senate a year ago. “We Jtave turned from Academic theories to trade conditions,” he said, “and are seeking our share of the world’s markets.” This is the very thing which only eight yedrs ago McKinley declared would lead to national disaster.—Pittsburg Post. Went na Far ng They Dared. Many Congressmen are pointing to the imperial schemes for spending hundreds of millions which Congress rejected in spite of the urgings of ’Mr. McKinley and his friends, and are saying, with Clive, “In view of our opportunities we marvel at our own moderation.” But the simple truth Is that even Congress did not dare spend any more money. The menace of the figures of deficits was too vivid not to Impress the most reckless of prodigals.—New York World. | Governor Pingree’* Hopelees Taek. Governor Pingree is still protesting that the Republican party is dominated by the trusts and combines, and still persists in maintaining his allegiance to that party. The Governor should have learned by this time that no man can fight the monopolies effectively within the Republican party. In fact, this is a pretty difficult matter even outside of the Republican party.—lndianapolis Sentinel. Reached a Queer Verdict. The gist of the report of Mr. McKinley’s war inquiry board was: “There was very bad management, but ths managers were not to blame.”—Bk Louis Republic.