OUR AMERICAN LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 1731, 24 January 1885, Page 8

OUR AMERICAN LETTER.

THE GREAT ELECTORAL CONTEST OF 1884

RESULTS IN A DEMOCRATIC TRIUMPH. San Francisco, November 22.

Jii3t a week ago to-night it was ascertained, by actual count, that Grover Cleveland, Democratic Governor of New York, was Presidentelect of the United States, The issue had been in doubt ever since the night of the 4bh inst., when Blame telegraphed to the Republican National Committee : ' c lam advised that there have been frauds committed in New York State. I do not believe that American people will accapt a fraudulent result. The Republicans have carried the Northern States by more than 300,000 majority, and they do not propose to have a leading State taken from them by fraud." At the time these words were telegraphed^ throughout the country the excitement was intense. New York streets were thronged by aagor crowds pf men, and a conflict at one time B.eemed inpvjtable." The police wera held in reserve, bat they would have been brushed aside by the maddened populace of the Empire city if a single shot had been fired either by accident oy design. That civil tumult did not break oirfc was no fault of James Gillespie Blame. His party had acquiesced in his defeat till 1Q o'clock at night, when the managers were instructed by Blame to claim the eleotion and demand a recount. This was done in the form of an address to the Republican electors of the Union to stand by their candidate who had been elected, and not permit the Democratic party to steal the Presidency and control the Government by fraud. The responses to this appeal from the various Republican State organisations were resolute and aggressive enough, and showed that the military organisation and drill of the clubs for months prior to the. election had not been without a purpose. An appeal to seat Blame by force of arms would have called a million trained men of the Republican party to arms.

The Democratic party was not supine. Itß National Committee claimed Cleveland's election, charged that the Republicans had formulated a plan for counting in Blame as Hayes had been seated, and intimated that if necessary the Democratic electors would be called upon to resist a second Republican usurpation. All American journals are partisan, the socalled " religious Press " being the most incendiary, and in every city and hamlet of the Union charges of fraud and threats of force were daily, if not hourly made. There was no restraint' of speecjh or limitation of threats. Business, as a natural result, became paralysed. Men stood ready to fly at each other's throats from North to South, and the Republican Press endeavoured to complicate matters by manufacturing a negro panic and fomenting colour disturbances in the South. Fortunately, the colored people" do pot read many newspapers, or we might have had a negro uprising in the South, which would have been charged against the "shot- gun aristocracy" of that region, meaning the old slaveowners and their descendants. At the same time it must be admitted that the news of Cleveland's majority was received in the South in a very exasperating way. The stars and stripes were hauled down, and the old Confederate flag hoisted on the State House at Atlanta, the capital of Georgia, and incendiary speeches were dolivered at Richmond, Charleston, and other places j but this folly soon passed away,

and the South, with the North, waited for the result of the recount in New York State, which wae in doubt, Cleveland's plurality being variously stated at, from 1000 to 1400 votes — a closo ehave in a total of more than a million votes cast. The actual vote gives Cleveland a plurality of 1137. DJ3TURBING POLITICAL ELEMENTS. The votes cast for Butler, the labour greenback candidate, and St. John, the Prohibition candidate, did not amount to much in themselves. Butler openly opposed Cleveland, and worked in tho interest ot Blame. His support came chiefly from the Democracy. St. John, the Prohibition candidate, drew his support from the Republicans mainly, and polled more votes than Butler in New York State, upon which the election turned. Indirectly, therefore, the Prohibitionists elected Cleveland because their majority over Butler on the count ia greater than Cleveland's plurality over al 1 . This fact has created a very strong sentiment against the Prohibitionist party, but I am not at all satisfied in my own mind that it will be seriously affected thereby. The sentiment is growing in the United Stateß that the liquor traffic must ba controlled in some way, but it is likely that this question will be taken out of National and be confined to State politics. In my judgment this is what should be done, but the personal ambition of some narrow-minded fanatic like St. John — who, by the way, was proved during 'tho campaign to be a contemptible pettifogging attorney that had abandoned his family in poverty — may upaet all calculations, secure a nomination, and, in a clone State like New York, change the line of Presidental succession, without bonefiting either himself or hia party. The effect of the election has been to kill^ Ben Butler politically. He is now a dead coclj in the political pit. As for St. John, there waar never anything to him either in civil life or in war, and he may be dismissed without further comment. '

FANATICISM AS A POLITICAL FAOTOB. Fanaticism plays an important part in American politics. In the late Presidental election it came into full play, and Blame is bitterly cursing it for his defeat in Now York. Towards the close of the canvass, or ''campaign," as Americans call it, Blame came to New York to make a grand finish, having made the most remarkable personal canvass, I believe, either in ancient or modern times. With a single exception, he did not make a blunder, and perhaps the incident at an Indiana town, immediately after the Ohio and West Virginia elections, was not so much a blunder on his part a3 an abrupt change of base. He had started out on his campaign with the declaration that what the South needed was repose, not agitation, and nothing could be more conciliatory than his speeches in Western Virginia, which he hoped would give a Republican majority on the strong protective policy advocated by him. It went Democratic, however, in the October election, a forecast of its vote in November when Presidental electors were to ba returned. Blame received the news of the loss of West Virginia on the home stretch, and at once asaailed the "solid South " as inimical to the integrity of the country, calling upon the Northern States not to permit the South to capture the government and overturn the fruits of victory in the late war. Wholly unlooked for as this was, Blame kept it up until tho last hour possible. This may be styled the fanaticism of politics; but the fanaticism of cant is what the great Tribune of the people complain of. And this is how it happened ; The Independent Republicans made their fight against Blame on the high moral plane. Blame's partisans offset thin by denouncing Cleveland as a licantious, unprincipled, drunken debauchee, and Blame had prepared for himself a public reception by women in Brooklyn, the city of Henry Ward Beecher and the •' Independents." This was very successful, and had a great deal of moral influence, more especially as Beecber, in' a public address, had declared that if every man in New York State who committed adultery that night voted for Cleveland ho would be elected by 40,000 majority. This outrageous speech helped Blame, however, more than the female reception did, and to cap the climax the clergy, from 500 to 1000, met in the parlours of the Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York, and received Blame as the great moral exemplar, .in contradistinction to the man of Belial, Grover Cleveland. Everything passed off with a hurrah, but a Democratic newspaper published the Rev. Dr Burchard's alliterative gush in which he denounced the Democraoy as the "party of rum, Romanism, v and rebellion " ! The howl that this raised waa not readily allayed. Blame and his managers had captured the Catho'ic clergy, James Gilleapie Blame being Cafcholio on his mother's side, and said by the Oranga faction to be training a son for the priesthood, although himself worshipping as a Congregationaliat, 4>nd here he was accepting the homage of Pro 1 jfcestant clergy who denounced the Catholic Church. Blame made haste to' explain that be had not heard the offensive 'words, that he had too much respect for his mother's faith .tq aympathipe with anything derogatory to Catholicism, and so on. This apparently satisfied the Catholic priesthood, for tliey camo out in print and declared thejr confidence in Blajne. But the harm was done, and Blame estimates his lose of votes at 11,000 in New York from this cause. He is probably correct, but it was not Catholic votes, for the Irish bolted the Democratic ticket and voted solidly for him in the belief that he would pick a quarrel with England. _ There can be no doubt they were encouraged in this by their spiritual advisers. But the ultra-Protestant sentiment of the North was aroused, and my own opinion is that Blame lost votes from that side of the ecclesiastical fence, and not from the other. However, Blame thinks differently, and his newspaper organs declare that Parson Burchard was a Democrat in disguise, who went to the olerical reception aforesaid to make mischief. This would be the very perfection of duplicity wore it true.' ' . , FUSS, FEATHERS, AND FANEABBONAD.B. jtt In a previous letter I mentioned the fact chat this political campaign differed from all former ones in display. The multiplicity of political organisations was puzzling even to men who made a study of the subject. In San Francisco alone there must have been three or four score of them, with separate badges, emblems, and uniforms. Many of these uniforms were costly. Ivanhoe was studied by the "plumed knights" in their make-up, and pasteboard imitations of the shield pi Henry of Navarre were proudly borne by otherwise sane ana level-headed business and professional men nightly over cobblestones, and paraded on exhibition at the Wigwam, a political hall erected by the Republicans. The Dirigo Club was another swell Republican affair, chiefly young lawyers and commercial clerks. The uniform was picturesque, and, indeed, bo was that of nearly all the organisations on both sides. At street parades there was a great deal of fancy drill, various clubs forming orosses and other figures at word of oommand, on line of march, without halt. Of oourse bands of music were in demand, and as a disgrumbled Britisher said, it. was " a good time for drummers." The men bore arms, were trained to handle them, and only wanted, the word to use them. Jo the grwtf

parades thousands turned out, with grand marshals, mounted "aids" by the score) • ' horse, foot, and dragoons." Every man on foot carried a lighted torch, a kerosene- can being attached to the pole, which supplied the flame. Several of these burst, but no serious damage was done. The line of march was always densely thronged, on 9 Democratic procession which I unavoidably escorted for about 20 blocks being witnessed by at least 100,000 people, who stood patiently on the streets or Bat at open windows till it passed. The weather was charming, and this was all the better for the women and children, who turn out to these free shows in great force. In every other city and town in the Union similar scenes were enacted. Bluelights were burned, rockets exploded, bonfires illuminated the Btreet- corners, and all traffic was suspended for hours. Sbreot-cara caased to run, even the cable roada were forbidden to operate, and for the time being the party in possession had control of all public thoroughfares. In New York the closing Democratic parade bad about 30,000 men in line ; the Republicans counted as many perhaps in their parade following. Win, E. Evarts, the loader of the American bar, ex Secretary of State, and representative of America at the Alabama International tribunal, although a very old man, walked all the length of Broadway in the Republican procession. The rain poured incessantly for the four hours' duration of the parade, Mr Evarts was not at all exceptional, however, age making no difference or social rank- and wealth any abatement of partisan zeal. Even Blame, at the risk of his fife, after the closing excitement of the cam paign in wbioh he delivered from five to ten speeches daily, stood uncovered in the downpour, and refused the friendly shelter ot an umbrella.

WHAT IT ALL MEANS.

Those living in quiet British communities cannot understand this, neither can they comprehend the [rationale of the inflated bombast of the American "stump." Yet there is method aDd a great deal of "horse sense " in it all. These parades are intended to impress waverers vtfth an idea of strength and invulnerability. It is a "bluff" gamp; and stump orators work on precisely similar lines. There is a great deal of money spent on these elections, and this ia supposed to offset tbe interruption to business and degradation of public morals that ensue. But this is a miatake, although the most conservative business and professional men never stop to think the subject out for themselves. They give liberally, wear themselves out parading and cheering, while the paid orators of the various parties, or candidates for office who have had to buy their nomination, rant and roar themselves hoarse to humbug, convince, or amuse their audienceß. Music enters largely into American election campaigns. Glee clubs go around the various places of meeting and sing glees and catches composed by the " poeta " of the party to suit the occasion. Oaths and profanity, vituperation and scandal, fallacies, lies, and cajolery form the staple of American campaign speeches. The Press is run upon similar lines ; and when the din and tumult i 3 over and the vote is cast, it is supposed that the intelligence, moral sense, and \irtue of the American people combine to elect the President, make Congressmen and State Legislatures, and delegate to the nominees of Borne characterless "btfss," who sold the nominations, the various offices of emolument and control in our local governments. Nominations of every kind were openly sold in San Francißco by the '"boss" of either side, one Chris Buckley, a blind Irish saloonkeeper, running tfle Democratic party, and Bill Higgins, a retired Irish pugiiiat, running the Republicans. It is needless to say that both men in their way are devout Catholics. They are types of the class and the system by which Irishmen have usurped control of political machinery in the United States. These " bosses " make the politics and distribute the patronage of the country through its length and breadth, exceptjperhaps in the South. The Republicans carried California, Nevada, and Oregon, but their methods were just as corrupt aa these of the Democracy.

BETTING ON THE RESULT.

It would not be out of the way to say that £1,000,000 sterling, or 5,000,000d01, changed hands on this election. Nearly a quarter million dollara was sent from New York for betting purposes in San Francisco. Everybody who could raise money backed his opinion by betting ; and when the count began, and everything was in doubt, the quotations at the pools in New York were taken as the truest index, Of course that let in the element of fraud, and it is past doubt that the Western Union Telegraph monopoly was "worked " in the interest of gamblers. This was openly charged by some newspapers, and'has not been denied. Thousands of men have been ruined by the election of Cleveland ; a corresponding number would doubtless have gone by the board had Blame's backers " raked in the pot." Women bet heavily, and with men crowded the streets, night and day, looking at the newspaper bulletin boards. This is a very unlovely side of American character, but it is one ' whioh is strengthening. Looked at from the moral side it seems like discounting Providence, but as He has nothing whatever to do with it in my judgment, the law of chance comes in. Now it is unlawful to bet on an election ; but the law is openly violated, lawmakers and judges emulating each other in this matter. It is clear, therefore, that a large proportion of American citizens vote to win .the stakes in the hands of the recognised bookmakers, and not for the best candidate for the country. This is another serious evil, but there is no remedy for it. ' Even the apostles completed their number by an appeal to the dice-box, as it were, for they cast lots for the successor of Judas, and with this apostolio example in view, it may be argued that betting on the result of an American ballot is strictly -admissible, the statute law tefthe contrary notwithstanding. } HOW THINGS LOOK TO AN OBSHRyfB. Tbp defeat of Blame, upon his own show' ing, which is the v defeat of the Republican rartv? is recognised as a blow at Protection) The fight for the Republicans was made o» this one issue so far as policy was Co**-- _„_ r English gold, it was • alleged- - ce J n i ed ' S? 6ly T T d X £° CUr " tha"'«2S«r oi Cleveland .and * ac „,;„ of American labour and manufactures. Reason and common sense were alike set at defiance, and the most reckless of statements were indulged in. These tactics, failed by a hair's-brea,d.ta, and the Democracy is pledged to eoouomy and A revenue tariff, How far it c^u gain, in the direction of revenue refor^a is not at present very clear, I th^nk t^e'pjemoora'tic party will have » wofkJu^ majority m the House, although it Soseß ' five members from California and one worn Nevada in the next Congress. But the Senate 1 is the weak poini. Everything will depend upon the senators to be chosen in the various States to replace the outgoing on.es. Should the Republican party control the Senate, with its largo powers it could baulk reform. I think this is t&e intention. ' But the Democracy is pledged to cut down the revenue by 100.000.000d0l (£20,000,000) per annum, to jpfc tii of. the annual aurplue, if it eucoeede

in thatj without impairing efficiency— and I think it may do so very easily— an impetus will be given to various dormant induotries, besides promotiug international trade. Then again, the Democracy is pledged to " examine the books"— that is, to go through the Treasury records tor the past 25 years, in whicli there ia an unexplained discrepancy of four hundred million dollars between the Treasury and Controller's statements. This is a big sum, but it may have been got away with readily enough. The Republicans, meaning the official class, who have run the machine for so many years, do not fancy an investigation of this kind ; but unless there should be some great conflagration, dynamite explosion, or destruction of the records, they must submit to it. Cleveland is just the man for the enterprise, and he has strength of character enough to do what he conceives to be right. And here, by the way, I may state as a coincidence, that he is the son of a poor Presbyterian minister, who haß had to work his way in the world from 17 years, while he succeeds the son of an equally poor Baptist clergyman, of more than problematical British birth —President Arthur. The latter, however, had the advantage of parental care till maturity, and had a better start in life than Cleveland.

It is not likely that there will be any sweeping or radical changes of fiscal policy, more especially as the country is passing through a period of severe depression. In short, it is paying off the debtß of the inflated period from 1878 to 1881 inclusive, representing a huge sum in watered stock, extravagant^ expenditure of all kinds, and reckless speculation. In view of this fact, and of the pinch upon the working classes, the Democratic leaders will be cautious not ". to ' give a handle to their opponents that they can use to their detriment. But next year this process of liquidation will be very nearly completed, 'when manufacturing industries and trade must revive. In 1888, bar accidents or special providences, the country will again be on the flood tide of prosperity, which should ensure another Democratic term unless the " solid South " is broken up meanwhile. This may happen by the refusal of Cleveland to submit to Southern dictation, which he is likely to do, Or it may result from an influx of population and capital from the North, which is cortain to occur. The late State Industrial Exposition of North Carolina, and the World's Fair at New Orleans, whioh opens in December, will go far towards attracting men of capital and enterprise to |the South, and this will tend to its benefit, and lead to more liberal political sentiments. .

Our foreign relations will continue without change, and especially our relations with the British Empire will be cordial. There was an element of great uncertainty about Blame which Conservative people did not like. The soldier element voted for him to a man. One of them said to me (a West Pointer, and Southern man), "We vote for Blame, not because we like him, but because he will give us something to do. We military men prefer soldiering to civil life, and the man who promises to find martial employment for us is the candidate we will support, irrespective of politics." The shoulder-straps must keep themselves quiet, however, under President Cleveland, who has too much good sense to drag his country into foreign complications for the sake of posing as a great statesman like Disraeli or Bismarck. And besides this, the Irish National party has lost its influence as a factor in American politics. While it stuck by the Democratic party the Republican always won ; when it flopped over to the Republicans the Democrats won. Abroad as at Home, therefore, Irish malcontents are more dangerous to their allies than to their enemies.

I may probably have wearied some of my readers with these discursive remarks, but the events that have recently happened in the United States are in many respects equivalent to a successful revolution. A great party which has held the control of the Government for 25 years, conducted the greatest civil war in history to a successful termination, emancipated 4,000,000 slaves and gave them full civil rights, established the national credit upon a permanent basis, and set about paying off the war debt at a phenomenally rapid rate ; which has seen the population nearly doubled and the national wealth enormously increased, and which controlled the largest "patronage bureau" of any Power on earth, cannot be turned out of office by an adverse popular verdict without exciting some word of comment. All this has happened in America as peacefully as an election for Mayor of Dunedin. Fourteen thousand officeholders in Washington City alone are on thorns, and -throughout the .country at least 100,000 must ba prepared to go at word of command early in March next. If -the Democrats use their power generously, however, they may convince the great army of civil servants that they should receive their allegiance in future. I We shall see.

SUGAB AND BILK INDUSTRIES.

I was greatly interested with last month's news budget from New Zealand, but the point that struck me most was the attempt, by discrimination, to foster the beet and sorghum sugar industry in the Colony. What we have done in this direction may be briefly stated. After a great flourish of trumpets and heavy expenditure the manufacture of Bugar from beets and sorghum is a failure. There is only one beet-sugar refinery in the United States, although there bad. been several in former years. They are closed because they lost money. The California refinery is kept open because it has a contract with Claus Spreckles, who is at the head of the cane-sugar business on this coast, to keep up prices, and beqause 100,000dol a year is paid b^ Spreckles tp the Central Pacific rajlroqd to impose, a prohibitory freight tariff on Eastern and liQuißJapa sugars. A second beet-sugar refinery to this. State collapsed, losing all the Jflpney invested. Touching sorghum, the ch.emiß,t of. t,he, Vmtoti States Agriculj;ur%l Jptareaq, Prfifeggos W' 1 '" repprts that it is quite as depressed ,»- -*y, sugar industry, taaji this y**-' ■■' tne ° eet ; qn'nnn nnn traiion- ' ,*wolb, ana the syrup uhr l " -i/nes will Bucceed, but it must be .or different conditions of production. But we have much later reports than the official one, which was an estimate. The Prairie Farmer, the leading Western agricultural paper, has published a report from Professor Gr. E. Morrow, of the Illinois Industrial University, under whose eye the sorghumsugar enterprise of Champaign, in that State, haa been conducted. He writes on October 31, 1984, that the two previous years, 1882 and '83, had been unsatisfactory both in quantity and quality. There was a loss instead of a_ profit, and the back debt was carried over to this year, which was rather better so far as yield is concerned. But the price waa too low to admit of sugar being made profitably from sorghum, and he thought the establishment would close. Advices from Franklin, TennesBeo, where sorghum-sugar making was started under favourable conditions, report very unfavourably, owing to inability to get crystallised sugar. The truths that sorghum-sugar making has not advanced beyond the stage of experiment, and that the conditions do not exist in this country or New Zealand, or in any new country with dear labour and cheap land, to

enable it to ba built up in competition with cane sugar, the production of which is so rapidly on the increase.

I might stop hore, but that would hardly do justice to the subject. Some may think that one million pounds of sorghum sugar (which ia only an estimate) and 30 million gallons of syrup ia a large yield, but not if the production of sorghum as a crop is considered. It is, however, only a trifle compared with our consumption, I will tabulate this to give it groateir point. Thus:— Imports of Sugar to the United States, Fiscal Year ]SB3-i. From Hawaii (free) ... 125,158,677 pounds From other places (dutiable) 2,631,258,219 „ Louisiana sugar ... 245,308,032 „ Total 3,001,764,928 „ Molasses (imported),' 34,128,640 gallons. I have no means of telling what the home production of taolasseß and syrups of various kinds was, outside of sorghum and beet ; but tha maple sugar and syrup, glucose, and other sweetening substances which wont into con- ; sumption in various forms was very large. The point I want to make is this -that if, with a heavy duty on cane sugar, _ except from Hawaii, with unbounded pos-ibilitiea of production and a home market as above illustrated, it is not possible to establish beet and sorghum sugar-making as paying industries in the United States, hqw can you hope to do it in New Zealand in competition with your Auckland refinery and the production of cheap cane Bugar in Fiji, Queensland, and, before long, Samoa also? Despite the Protectionist craza of the United States we have conoluded a treaty with Mexico admitting its sugar duty free, and this month we have negotiated a similar treaty with Spain in respect of Cuba and Porto Rico, from which the bulk of our sugar comes. The Republican Administration, therefore, practically decided upon a Freetrade policy on sugar, after having spent large sums experimenting on sorghum and beets as substitutes for cane. Moreover, so depressed has tho sugar trade in our Eastern States become that laßt week two large sugar refineries were closed. Continental Europe this season produces largely in excess of home consumption of beet sugar, and Germany will export 800,000 tons, which will cpst the Imperial Government about £2,000,000 in the shape of bounties. These are points worth considering. In my judgment the money, enterprise, skill, and time applied to the building up of an impossible industry, so far aa ultimate profit without bounties is concerned, might be applied in other directions with happy results. Raise mutton, beef, and pork, and manufacture your wool and hides, and tho world'n market is before you. Raise fruit, and put it up in good shape for the market, Utilise your coast fisheries, but leave sorghum and beet sugar-making and sericulture severely alone. I know tho " silk industry " has been dinned into New Zealand ears until they think there is something in it ; but there is not. # Any woman can make 10 times more money out of a dozen laying hens than she can out of any silkworms she can handle. Silk-farming may succeed in New Zealand when the working classes are on a par with Italian labourers, but not till then. What the United States cannot accomplish with its protective tariff, great wealth, and unlimited demand, cannot be accomplished in New Zealand upon its merits. And we cannot establish sericulture as an industry of any commercial, value in this country. You might do as we do here - import raw silk and manufacture it ; but v let Japs, Chinese, and the starving populations of Southern Europs handle the worms and produce the silk.

There are many economic points I would like to touch on for the beuefit of the Colony as a whole, but this letter is unconscionably long, and I must therefore close. '

Jacob Tebby.