Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 May 1895 — Eli Perkins on Politics. [ARTICLE]

Eli Perkins on Politics.

The fair directors in Newton county are not yet clear out of the way of trouble in connection with the indictments against them for renting grounds for gambling purposes. The circuit court quashed the indictments, but an appeal was taken to the appellate court, and the decision, handed down last Saturday, reverses the circuit court’s action and directs it to over-rule the motion to quash the indictments. According to reports recently published the cost per capita of converting heathens in foreign lands by the different denominations is SBS for the Baptists, $235 for the Methodists, $260 for the Congregationalists, $278 for the Presbyterians and $1,834 for the Episcopalians. The heathen “come high but we must have them.” But it is really worth 20 times as much to make them into gilt edged Episcopalians, as into rougher finished but equally servicable Baptists. a

A repiesentative of the StatesSaleiDi Oregon, calted on Melville D. Landon (Eli Perkins) and the result is given in the following: “What are your politics?” asked Eli, looking over his glasses. “Straight Republican,” replied the reporter, modestly. “Republican,” replied Eli, savagely ; “well, you have got gall—to come here to interview a rock ribbed Democrat—a Randall Democrat. What do you want me to say?” "We want to inquire if you are altogether pleased with the work of your party?” “Well—no—l’m not,” said Eli, scratching his head. “I’m not altogether pleased.” “Well, what is the matter?” “I’ll tell you, my son,” said Eli, slowly wiping his glasses, “I’m afraid the party has gone back on us Randall Democrats. I’m afraid they’ve lied to us. They said ‘Tariff for revenue’ in the platform and then they let a lot of onehorse rebels from Tennessee and West Virginia knock Tariff for revenue into flithereens. Why instead of getting the revenue, we are running in debt $150,000,000 a year. They told us they would not lower wages, Then they cut the Tariff 30 per cent, and the boys are mad. The Free-Trade Demociats got us Randall Democrats by the. throat. They wasn’t honest; We were led into a trap —a Free-Trade trap.” “What other lies did the FreeTrade Democrats tell you?” “They said Protection didn’t protect wages nor create new industries, and they made us believe that tin couldn’t be made in this country. Why, up in Portland yesterday, Joseph S. Megler, the great Washington salmon canner, told me he had jbought his tin from an American manufacturer for 14.65 a box when he always paid $6.50 for Welsh tin.; “Then,” continued Eli, “when the crash came and our mills stopped and wages went down, what did those Free-Trade Democrats tell us? Why, they lied again and said it was the silver bill. The silver bill! Why, the Republicans bought $419,000,000 worth of silver in thirteen years and coined it and the country was prosperous. We put Cleveland in and he bought $7,000,000 worth of silver at the market price, 47 cents for a dollar, coined it, and put it out for $14,000,000 and we went all to pieces. The silver bill!! It was that undemocratic Free-Trade Tariff, anfl we Randall Democrats know<i£ now.” “Well, what do you Randall Democrats propose to do?” asked the reporter. “We can’t do anything,” said Eli. “If we were in power we’d put that Tariff back again. We’d stop selling gold bonds for 4 per cent, interest to Rothschild, but sell them to American Democrats, at 8 per cent We’d help struggling Hawaii. We wouldn’t sink a republic and put a negress on a

throne. We wouldn’t make wool free, kill our own sheep and buy $30,000,000 worth of wool in Asia. We’d keep our dollars at home. We’d put that bounty back on sugar and run sugar all over Texas, Louisiana, Nebraska and California and take out cotton. We’d put a Tariff on fine linen that is costing us $20,000,000 a year in Germany and. make the factories come here as did the tin factories and send flax all over Minnesota and Oregon and —by the way, I met one of those FreeTrade Democrats yesterday,” said Eli, “up at Portland. He used to be a Randall Democrat I said to him: “ ‘George, what did you change — “ ‘Well, reason,’ he said. “ ‘What was it?’ “‘l’ll tell you; I did it to disgrace an uncle of mine.’ “‘What had your uncle done?’ I asked. “ ‘He swindled me out of my inheritance and separated me from my family, and I just made up my mind that I’d become a FreeTrade Democrat and disgrace him.’ “ ‘What is your uncle doing?’ 1 asked. —— “ ‘He’s pounding iron in the Salem peitentiary.’ “ ‘Well,* I said, ‘you’ve disgraced him!’ ”