time. Patterson, the Republican Senator from that State, was a fugitive
after the Hampton Government attained power, and Small, Cardoza, and a
number of other colored leaders and officials in the State were under
indictment for embezzlement and other frauds, and some of them had
been convicted. On the other side, a number of Democratic citizens of
South Carolina were under indictment in the Federal Courts for outrages
perpetrated by them in the Ku Klux organization, and had the course of
justice been permitted to go on without interruption, a large number
of the leaders of both sides would have ended in prison. A truce was
agreed upon, and finally an unwritten but well-maintained agreement
was reached that there should be no further prosecution of the Ku Klux
clan, and no further prosecution of Senator Patterson or any of the
other Republicans who were then at the mercy of the Democrats. This
was assented to by the Democrats on condition that Butler should be
admitted to the Senate, and Cameron was the man who accomplished it.
When the new Force bill came up under the Harrison administration,
Cameron was earnestly opposed to it, and he is entitled to the full
credit of having defeated it. His Senatorial term expired on the 4th of
March, 1891, and he was a candidate for re-election before a Republican
Legislature that had been chosen in the fall of 1890, when the
Democrats elected Pattison, Democrat, to his second term as Governor.
It was expected that the vote on the Force bill would be had before the
Senatorial election, and Cameron was threatened with defeat if he did
not line up with the party in its favor. A majority of the considerate
Republicans of Pennsylvania doubtless agreed with him, but he had many
political enemies, and they would have been glad had he given them an
opportunity to attack him as opposing the accepted policy of the party.
Some time before the Legislature met, Cameron requested me to meet him
at the Continental Hotel in Philadelphia. He stated the case frankly;
said he could command the Republican nomination for Senator without a
doubt and by a large majority, but that if the Democrats would unite
with the bolting Republicans, he might be defeated if a vote was
reached on the Force bill before the Senatorial election and he voting
against it. What he desired was the assurance that if Cameron was
threatened with defeat by the Republicans because of his opposition to
the Force bill, the Democrats should not permit him to be crucified
for opposing and defeating a bill that they were most anxious to have
defeated. Pattison had been elected Governor and William F. Harrity
had been announced as the coming Secretary of the Commonwealth. I said
to Cameron that both of them were within two squares of us and that I
could ascertain their views in a very few minutes. I immediately called
on Pattison and Harrity, presented the case to them, and they both
authorized me to give the assurance to Senator Cameron that if he were
opposed by Republicans because of his opposition to the Force bill,
the Democrats would not permit him to be sacrificed for what they would
regard as one of the bravest and most patriotic of his public acts.
That assurance was given to Cameron, and he was then safe. It became
well known to the anti-Cameron Republicans that the Democrats would not
permit him to be sacrificed. The result was that Cameron was elected
by Republican votes, although his position on the Force bill was well
understood.
There were thus many disturbing elements in the Republican ranks, and
one of the most serious was the McKinley Tariff bill of 1890. President
McKinley was then chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means, and
the Tariff bill of 1890 was known as the McKinley Tariff, but it is
due to him to say that he was overruled in many of its most offensive
features, and some of the most important schedules were made by the
manufacturers interested, who had, in accordance with positive promises
given them, made large contributions to the Republican campaign fund of
1888.
I happened to be a guest at a public dinner and seated beside McKinley
a short time before the election of 1890, and soon after the McKinley
bill had passed. He discussed the situation freely, and was evidently
concerned as to the result of the coming election, as there was but
little time after the passage of the bill for the people to understand
it, but he was confident that it would be sustained. In that he was
greatly mistaken, as the Republicans never suffered such a disastrous
defeat as that of 1890, due almost wholly to the McKinley Tariff.
True, the elections of 1891 showed that the Republicans had regained
some of their losses of 1890, but when the Republican convention met
to nominate a candidate the contest was regarded as at least doubtful
by the more intelligent and considerate Republican leaders, and the
political situation was greatly intensified by Blaine suddenly retiring
from the Cabinet three days before the convention met. His letter of
resignation was curt and emphatic. It was notice to the country that
Blaine had ceased to be in sympathy with the Harrison administration.
The Republican convention met at Minneapolis on the 7th of June, with
J. Sloat Fassett as temporary chairman and Governor William McKinley,
of Ohio, as permanent president. When McKinley accepted the presidency
of the convention he did not expect to be a candidate for nomination,
but the swiftly changing events of American politics made him what was
regarded as a hopeful candidate before a ballot was reached, and he was
voted for by all of his Ohio delegates, excepting himself, who voted
for Harrison. The 1st and only ballot resulted as follows:
Benjamin Harrison, Ind. 535-1/6
James G. Blaine, Maine 182-5/6
Wm. McKinley, Jr., Ohio 182
Thomas B. Reed, Maine 4
Robert T. Lincoln, Illinois 1
Whitelaw Reid, of New York, was nominated for Vice-President by
acclamation. The following platform was unanimously adopted:
The representatives of the Republicans of the United States, assembled
in general convention on the shores of the Mississippi River, the
everlasting bond of an indestructible republic, whose most glorious
chapter of history is the record of the Republican party, congratulate
their countrymen on the majestic march of the nation under the banners
inscribed with the principles of our platform of 1888, vindicated by
victory at the polls and prosperity in our fields, workshops, and
mines, and make the following declaration of principles:
We reaffirm the American doctrine of protection. We call attention
to its growth abroad. We maintain that the prosperous condition of
our country is largely due to the wise revenue legislation of the
Republican Congress.
We believe that all articles which cannot be produced in the United
States, except luxuries, should be admitted free of duty, and that
on all imports coming into competition with the products of American
labor there should be levied duties equal to the difference between
wages abroad and at home.
We assert that the prices of manufactured articles of general
consumption have been reduced under the operations of the Tariff Act
of 1890.
We denounce the efforts of the Democratic majority of the House of
Representatives to destroy our tariff laws piecemeal, as is manifested
by their attacks upon wool, lead, and lead ores, the chief products of
a number of States, and we ask the people for their judgment thereon.
We point to the success of the Republican policy of reciprocity, under
which our export trade has vastly increased, and new and enlarged
markets have been opened for the products of our farms and workshops.
We remind the people of the bitter opposition of the Democratic party
to this practical business measure, and claim that, executed by a
Republican administration, our present laws will eventually give us
control of the trade of the world.
The American people, from tradition and interest, favor bimetallism,
and the Republican party demands the use of both gold and silver as
standard money, with such restrictions and under such provisions,
to be determined by legislation, as will secure the maintenance of
the parity of values of the two metals, so that the purchasing and
debt-paying power of the dollar, whether of silver, gold, or paper,
shall be at all times equal. The interests of the producers of the
country, its farmers and its workingmen, demand that every dollar,
paper or coin, issued by the Government, shall be as good as any other.
We commend the wise and patriotic steps already taken by our
Government to secure an international conference to adopt such
measures as will insure a parity of value between gold and silver for
use as money throughout the world.
We demand that every citizen of the United States shall be allowed to
cast one free and unrestricted ballot in all public elections, and
that such ballot shall be counted and returned as cast; that such laws
shall be enacted and enforced as will secure to every citizen, be he
rich or poor, native or foreign born, white or black, this sovereign
right guaranteed by the Constitution. The free and honest popular
ballot, the just and equal representation of all the people, as well
as their just and equal protection under the laws, are the foundation
of our republican institutions, and the party will never relax its
efforts until the integrity of the ballot and the purity of elections
shall be fully guaranteed and protected in every State.
We denounce the continued inhuman outrages perpetrated upon American
citizens for political reasons in certain Southern States of the Union.
We favor the extension of our foreign commerce, the restoration of
our mercantile marine by home-built ships, and the creation of a navy
for the protection of our national interests and the honor of our
flag; the maintenance of the most friendly relations with all foreign
powers, entangling alliances with none, and the protection of the
rights of our fishermen.
We reaffirm our approval of the Monroe Doctrine, and believe in the
achievement of the manifest destiny of the Republic in its broadest
sense.
We favor the enactment of more stringent laws and regulations for the
restriction of criminal, pauper, and contract immigration.
We favor efficient legislation by Congress to protect the life and
limbs of employés of transportation companies engaged in carrying
on interstate commerce, and recommend legislation by the respective
States that will protect employés engaged in State commerce, in
mining, and manufacturing.
The Republican party has always been the champion of the oppressed,
and recognizes the dignity of manhood, irrespective of faith, color,
or nationality; it sympathizes with the cause of home rule in Ireland,
and protests against the persecution of the Jews in Russia.
The ultimate reliance of free popular government is the intelligence
of the people and the maintenance of freedom among men. We therefore
declare anew our devotion to liberty of thought and conscience, of
speech and press, and approve all agencies and instrumentalities
which contribute to the education of the children of the land; but,
while insisting upon the fullest measure of religious liberty, we are
opposed to any union of Church and State.
We reaffirm our opposition, declared in the Republican platform
of 1888, to all combinations of capital, organized in trusts or
otherwise, to control arbitrarily the condition of trade among our
citizens. We heartily endorse the action already taken upon this
subject, and ask for such further legislation as may be required to
remedy any defects in existing laws, and to render their enforcement
more complete and effective.
We approve the policy of extending to towns, villages, and rural
communities the advantages of the free delivery service, now enjoyed
by the larger cities of the country, and reaffirm the declaration
contained in the Republican platform of 1888, pledging the reduction
of letter postage to one cent, at the earliest possible moment
consistent with the maintenance of the Post-office Department, and the
highest class of postal service.
We commend the spirit and evidence of reform in the civil service, and
the wise and consistent enforcement by the Republican party of the
laws regulating the same.
The construction of the Nicaragua Canal is of the highest importance
to the American people, both as a measure of national defence and to
build up and maintain American commerce, and it should be controlled
by the United States Government.
We favor the admission of the remaining Territories at the earliest
practical date, having due regard to the interests of the people of
the Territories and of the United States. All the Federal officers
appointed for the Territories should be selected from bona fide
residents thereof, and the right of self-government should be accorded
as far as practicable.
We favor cession, subject to the homestead laws, of the arid public
lands to the States and Territories in which they lie, under such
Congressional restrictions as to disposition, reclamation, and
occupancy by settlers as will secure the maximum benefits to the
people.
The World’s Columbian Exposition is a great national undertaking, and
Congress should promptly enact such reasonable legislation in aid
thereof as will insure a discharge of the expenses and obligations
incident thereto, and the attainment of results commensurate with the
dignity and progress of the nation.
In temperance we sympathize with all wise and legitimate efforts to
lessen and prevent the evils of intemperance and promote morality.
Ever mindful of the services and sacrifices of the men who saved the
life of the nation, we pledge anew to the veteran soldiers of the
Republic a watchful care and recognition of their just claims upon a
grateful people.
We commend the able, patriotic, and thoroughly American administration
of President Harrison. Under it the country has enjoyed remarkable
prosperity, and the dignity and honor of the nation, at home and
abroad, have been faithfully maintained, and we offer the record of
pledges kept as a guarantee of faithful performance in the future.
The Democratic National Convention met at Chicago on June 21, and
Cleveland was nominated for a third time after the most desperate and
acrimonious strife I have ever witnessed in a national convention.
It was on that occasion that Bourke Cockran made a speech against
Cleveland that gave him national fame, and it was one of extraordinary
ability and power. The convention was really adverse to Cleveland’s
nomination. Had a majority of the delegates followed their own personal
inclinations he would have been defeated, and he was nominated solely
by the matchless leadership of William C. Whitney. But for him and his
wonderful skill and energy, the convention would have run away from
Cleveland at the outset. Never in the history of American politics was
there such an achievement as the nomination of Cleveland over the solid
and aggressively hostile vote of his own State of New York, that was
regarded as the pivotal State of the battle. Tammany had always opposed
Cleveland in national conventions, but never before had control of the
delegation against him, and a protest was published to the convention
signed by every delegate from the State, demanding his defeat.
Cleveland was strong with the people, but weak with the political
leaders, and it was only Whitney’s masterful management of the
convention that held it to Cleveland. The platform was made by the
enemies of Cleveland; the nomination for Vice-President was made
over his friends, and the hostility to him was so pronounced that
the opposing leaders were confident of his defeat at the polls. The
convention sat at night and far on in the morning hours, when Cleveland
received 617 votes, just ten more than were necessary to nominate him.
Had he not been nominated on that ballot his defeat would have been
certain.
The strength of Cleveland’s position before the people was pointedly
illustrated by his nomination in a convention that was not specially
friendly, but that was forced to make him the candidate because of the
overwhelming popular Democratic sentiment that demanded it. A year
or so before the convention met, he had written a brief and positive
letter against the free coinage of silver, and the Democrats of the
South and West almost with one voice declared against him at the
time, but when the Democratic people faced the conditions presented
by the battle of 1892, the masses came to the support of Cleveland
and the leaders were compelled to follow. The cheap-money craze had
made serious inroads in both of the great parties, and the Republican
platform was a weak and awkward straddle of the whole issue, while
the Democratic convention had an honest money plank declaring for
bimetallism and the free use of gold and silver with the intrinsic
value of the dollar to be maintained.
The Democratic Convention at Chicago was presided over by William C.
Owens, of Kentucky, as temporary president, and William L. Wilson,
of West Virginia, as permanent president. After a protracted and
acrimonious discussion that extended the session of the convention of
the second day until long after midnight, the ballot for President was
finally reached, resulting as follows:
Grover Cleveland, N. Y. 617-1/3
David B. Hill, N. Y. 114
Horace Boies, Iowa 103
Arthur P. Gorman, Md. 36-1/2
Adlai E. Stevenson, Ill. 16-2/3
John G. Carlisle, Ky. 14
Wm. R. Morrison, Ill. 3
James E. Campbell, Ohio 2
Wm. C. Whitney, N. Y. 1
Wm. E. Russell, Mass. 1
Robert E. Pattison, Penn. 1
There was an animated contest for Vice-President, and the special
friends of Cleveland were united in favor of Isaac P. Gray, of Indiana,
but they were defeated in their choice, as they were on several vital
points of the platform. Only one ballot was had for Vice-President,
resulting as follows:
Adlai E. Stevenson, Ill. 402
Isaac P. Gray, Ind. 344
Allen B. Morse, Mich. 86
John L. Mitchell, Wis. 45
Henry Watterson, Ky. 26
Bourke Cockran, N. Y. 5
Lambert Tree, Ill. 1
Horace Boies, Iowa 1
Stevenson had not received the requisite two-thirds, but he so far
outstripped the candidate of the Cleveland leaders that they cordially
acquiesced, and the nomination of Stevenson was made unanimous. The
following platform was adopted after having been amended in open
convention, where the tariff plank of the platform was substituted for
the more temperate plank reported by the committee, by a vote of 564 to
342.
SECTION 1. The representatives of the Democratic party of the
United States, in national convention assembled, do reaffirm their
allegiance to the principles of the party as formulated by Jefferson,
and exemplified by the long and illustrious line of his successors
in Democratic leadership, from Madison to Cleveland; we believe the
public welfare demands that these principles be applied to the conduct
of the Federal Government through the accession to power of the party
that advocates them; and we solemnly declare that the need of a return
to these fundamental principles of a free popular government, based
on home rule and individual liberty, was never more urgent than now,
when the tendency to centralize all power at the Federal capital has
become a menace to the reserved rights of the States that strikes at
the very roots of our Government under the Constitution as framed by
the fathers of the Republic.
SEC. 2. We warn the people of our common country, jealous for the
preservation of their free institutions, that the policy of Federal
control of elections to which the Republican party has committed
itself is fraught with the greatest dangers, scarcely less momentous
than would result from a revolution practically establishing monarchy
on the ruins of the Republic. It strikes at the North as well as
the South, and injures the colored citizen even more than the
white. It means a horde of deputy marshals at every polling-place
armed with Federal power, returning boards appointed and controlled
by Federal authority, the outrage of the electoral rights of the
people in the several States, the subjugation of the colored people
to the control of the party in power, and the reviving of race
antagonisms now happily abated, of the utmost peril to the safety
and happiness of all; a measure deliberately and justly described by
a leading Republican Senator as “the most infamous bill that ever
crossed the threshold of the Senate.” Such a policy, if sanctioned
by law, would mean the dominance of a self-perpetuating oligarchy
of office-holders, and the party first intrusted with its machinery
could be dislodged from power only by an appeal to the reserved
right of the people to resist oppression, which is inherent in
all self-governing communities. Two years ago, this revolutionary
policy was emphatically condemned by the people at the polls; but
in contempt of that verdict, the Republican party has defiantly
declared in its latest authoritative utterance that its success in
the coming elections will mean the enactment of the Force bill, and
the usurpation of despotic control over elections in all the States.
Believing that the preservation of republican government in the United
States is dependent upon the defeat of this policy of legalized
force and fraud, we invite the support of all citizens who desire
to see the Constitution maintained in its integrity, with the laws
pursuant thereto, which have given our country a hundred years of
unexampled prosperity; and we pledge the Democratic party, if it be
intrusted with power, not only to the defeat of the Force bill, but
also to relentless opposition to the Republican policy of profligate
expenditure, which in the short space of two years has squandered an
enormous surplus, and emptied an overflowing treasury, after piling
new burdens of taxation upon the already overtaxed labor of the
country.
SEC. 3. We denounce the Republican protection as a fraud, a robbery
of the great majority of the American people for the benefit of the
few. We declare it to be a fundamental principle of the Democratic
party that the Federal Government has no constitutional power to
impose and collect tariff duties, except for the purposes of revenue
only, and we demand that the collection of such taxes shall be limited
to the necessities of the Government when honestly and economically
administered.
We denounce the McKinley Tariff law enacted by the Fifty-first
Congress as the culminating atrocity of class legislation; we endorse
the efforts made by the Democrats of the present Congress to modify
its most oppressive features in the direction of free raw materials
and cheaper manufactured goods that enter into general consumption,
and we promise its repeal as one of the beneficent results that will
follow the action of the people in intrusting power to the Democratic
party. Since the McKinley Tariff went into operation, there have been
ten reductions of the wages of laboring men to one increase. We deny
that there has been any increase of prosperity to the country since
that tariff went into operation, and we point to the dulness and
distress, the wage reductions and strikes in the iron trade, as the
best possible evidence that no such prosperity has resulted from the
McKinley act.
We call the attention of thoughtful Americans to the fact that, after
thirty years of restrictive taxes against the importation of foreign
wealth in exchange for our agricultural surplus, the homes and farms
of the country have become burdened with a real estate mortgage debt
of over $2,500,000,000, exclusive of all other forms of indebtedness;
that in one of the chief agricultural States of the West there appears
a real estate mortgage debt averaging $165 per capita of the total
population, and that similar conditions and tendencies are shown to
exist in the other agricultural exporting States. We denounce a policy
which fosters no industry so much as it does that of the sheriff.
SEC. 4. Trade interchange on the basis of reciprocal advantage to the
countries participating is a time-honored doctrine of the Democratic
faith; but we denounce the sham reciprocity which juggles with the
people’s desire for enlarged foreign markets and freer exchanges by
pretending to establish closer trade relations for a country whose
articles of export are almost exclusively agricultural products
with other countries that are also agricultural, while erecting a
custom-house barrier of prohibitive tariff taxes against the richest
countries of the world, that stand ready to take our entire surplus of
products, and to exchange therefor commodities which are necessaries
and comforts of life among our own people.