vailable man on an available platform, and even then we
shall have desperate hard work to win in the face of the immense
losses our party is suffering from the ravages in the rank and
file, committed by the prohibitionists. We shall have to face a
loss of fifty thousand in New York. How is that to be made good?
and twenty-five to thirty thousand in Illinois and five to seven
thousand in Indiana, and thirty thousand in Michigan. How can we
stand this loss of blood and men?

"(Signed) J. Medill."

"Niagara Falls, N. Y.,
"_Aug. 5, 1888_.

"My dear Sir:--

"Searching for a cool place I found it here, where I shall remain
a few days and then proceed to Kaetershill Mountain top, which is
the best hot-weather place I found last year.

"I take it for granted that none of your friends keep you posted
about the secret negotiations going on between Palmer and the
Socialistic Labor element for a fusion. You have seen by _The
Tribune_ that all the labor element is not disposed to support
Palmer, in consideration of his pardoning the imprisoned anarchists.
You may rely on _The Tribune_ ventilating this unholy alliance.
At the same time there are ten thousand to twelve thousand of these
socialists who will vote for Palmer and the Democratic ticket in
Cook County; and this fusion may with the aid of the prohibitionists
cost the Republicans second seats in the Legislature, which is the
phase of the matter in which you are specially interested. There
is considerable coldness among the Irish Catholics toward Cleveland,
but whether it will continue until election night remains to be
seen. They think he is too pro-English, but they dislike Harrison.
Blaine was their ideal.

"I have spent a good deal of spare time to point out flaws and
tricks in the sugar and whiskey sections of the Mills bill. The
latter really opens and invites universal evasion of taxes and the
multiplication of small moonshine distilleries; and the former
perpetuates the sugar trust profits and affords the public no
relief.

"The Republican members of the House did not expose these defects
enough. Cannon did well on sugar, but nobody dissected the whiskey
section which bored gimlet holes into the bottom of every barrel
of high wine to let it out without paying a cent of tax. The
Democrats are therefore the real free whiskeyites. This ought to
be shown up thoroughly in the Senate. Our miserable platform places
us on the defensive. The Mill