Watterson's Meeting

Henrv Watterson had as fine an audiance last Friday evenins: as ever assembled in the rink. The rink was crowded, every nook was filled. Ia spite of the rain, a line torchlight parade was held, with a large number oL torches ,in line. Prof. Heury Wade Rogers presided at the meeting and his intioductory remarks,which were aptly made, were most warmly applauded. Mr. Watterson, the great editor, is a most pleasing speaker. His remarks were punctuated with loud applause and hearty laughter of the audience. His diction was elegant and the adjectives he used, were most expressive. Ou account of our crowded columns this week, we are able to give only brief space to bis speech, and cannot even pretend to give a full synopsis ot it. The republican party, he said, has only two argutneuts this year, that taxation is the oniy sure road torichesaud that the republican party loves the laboring man as David loved Jonathan. Their remedy for poverty is taxes; for more poverty, more taxes and for every form of poverty, nothingbut .taxation. They couldu't live up to their platform, and flnding that they had to do something, the republican senate got up a sort of bogus bulter substitute for the Mül'a bill. It might properly be entitled an act tohold the country, while the republican party skimmed it. There Is but one ,sid of this great question just as there was but one ,side to that 9 = " creat wrong, slavery. and yet men were found predieting ruin if slavery was atoolished. We are wll nd of slavery. It was a monstroLis tlnng and we are well lid of it more and especially in tbe south. Xovv tbat ihe democrats propose to do in a very modérale way, wliat the republican leaders for years aud years bad promised to do, wè are told that unless H is stopped the country will be ruined. ïhat is the only cry by whlch they hope to stop the progress oí tbegreat reform. Never was there a greater falsehood breathed tliaa thaï high tanlï makes high wages. In tbis campaign the backbone of the republicau strength is the money poured into it by the men who have a monied interest in the tariff . Tariff in no way e.ffects wages except to curtail emplovment and tax tbe workingrnen on all they wear or use. If high tariff made high wages, the highest wages In the world ought to be paid in Russia and Mexico, where ia fact the wages are the lowest. If the saying were true, wages in England ought to belower than anywliere else in the world, when in fact England pays higher wages ttian any other country xcept the United States. Wages have gone on increising with us under all tariffs. The highest purchasing power of wages was under the Walker tariff, the democratie revenue tariff. In the United States, the highest wages is paid by agriculture, which not only has no protection at all but is forced to sell all it sells in a free trade rnarket. It must bring its free trade nioney home with it and lay it out for its necessities in a high protected mat ket. Natives of India are very expert in making jute bags and get twelve cents a day wages and yet American labor in jute bags bas actually driven Indian labor out of the market. Yet we ara told to beware of the pauper labor ot ludia. It is not pauper labor that anybody need iear, it is export labor, üüi commercial rival is not protected France or Germany, but free trad England. The American workman is a free man, breathing a free air under democratie institutions. The European workingman is a slave, living in au old worn-out, tax-ridden country. The American can go anywhere lie pleases. 1'he European is tiecl down to one spot, .vhere he barely earns his subsistence. [n England ten men compete for ooe ob, here two employers often liunt for one man. Thats why wages are lugher. When we had low tariiï we did not ïave strikes. We never liad a strike oralockout, uutil we got this accused war tarift. Work, and work alone, is a cr'eator of wealth, and not taxi-tion. This Government has no right to lew taxation except for its own support and taxation ujust be general and not special. We can meet and beat England in every market in the world . The democratie party meets the laboring man and says to bkn, your wages ara (ixed by the law of supplj and (iemand. The tariff has nothing to dn wlth your wages exjept to tax you on what you arn. When the democratie party went out of power not a port but was'brightened with American vessels and theAmerican flag. now after twenty-five years of republican rule our shippinet is gone and as a friend of miue told me, who had made a tour of the world, the only American ship he saw in his absence was, the rotten huik of a confedérate cruiser stranded on the coasts of the Barbadoes. Fora long time the only shibboleth of the republicans has boen the bloody shirt, but that has worn out. Grover Cleveland has given us a business like and clean administration of public affairs. Is it best to turn out a tried and proven man and place in his position a man whollv untried.