Litchfield enquirer., 1843-11-16
THE ENQUIRER.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES I6, 1913.
,IR. VAN BUREN, AND THE TARIFF.


:IR. VAN BUREN, AND THE TARIFF.
We invite the particular attention of all the
/ rom Mr.. Van Buren,, formerly President of the
ted States, and now an aspirant for that high Of
b. the history Of which is substantially as fol-
.N5. 1t seems the letter was written some months
: -, and was addressed to gentleman in Virgin
a whose name is carefully suppressed 1t was no
.tot intended for private circulation and thus to
sly Virginia politicians that he was wholly OPP
q, d to protective tariff, while he in some way
t, faded his friends at the north with the belief
l.t his sentiments were directly the reverse, but
fortunately the letter fell into the hands Of Mr.
l..::hie the Editor of the Richmond Enquirer, who
il one of his rabid free trade articles stated in sub
$. ICE that Mr.. v. 3. had in letter then in pos
~ sion of Mr.. R., proclaimed sentiments OF utter
stilitv not merely to the details but to the Erin-
,Jle of the act of 1912 The information thus COM
l,ulicated attracted much attention at the north
r.la letter became the subject of indignant COM
:.oatary by large portion Of the northern press.
&c friends of Mr. Van Buren were evidently alar
II Il, and they urged Mr. Richie to publish the let
tx with the hope it would appear that Mr.. r. had
misunderstood Mr.. Van Buren,. With this request
III Richie has at length, though with much ap-
r.rent reluctance, complied. He has published
t.o letter. Let it speak for itself:
"ALBANx, Feb, 2s, 1913.
"My Dear Sir:-I thank you very kindly for
your friendly letter | HAVE AT NO TIME, NOR
NETN
;lsAPpRoBATIoN OF THE TARIFF ACT OF THE
;,sT SESSION, AS WELL IN RESPECT TO THE PRlN-
slPLE UPON WHICH IT IS FOUNDED, AS TO ITS DE-
TAILS In good time you will have my views in
rspect to that and other subjects before the public.
Ia the mean time, believe me to be
Very sincerely,
Your friend and ob't servant,
MARTIN VAN BUREN,"
From this it appears that Mr.. V. B. is disposed
t make not only on the details but the princl-
,lo of the Tariff of 1912. Every one knows what
Is the principle of that highly important and salu-
tiry moasure-it is that of discrimination III levy
ing duties on foreign goods in such manner as to
extend reasonable protection to every branch of A
mericaa Labor and Industry. Of such protection
as principle MIR. v B. says he has not "hesiated to
express his decided dsapprobation. Or, in other
words, Mr.. V. B. is opposed to protecting the la
borers of this country against the hostile legislation
Of foreign nations, and against crushing competl-
ton with the paupersm and bankruptcies of Eu-
rope. This is the first time he has ever made an
explicit declaration to that effect; all other oc
casions he has studiousy shrowded his actual posi-
ton in multitude of obscure words and cunnngly
devised phrases. But now fortunately the truth IS
QUITO doubt much to the regret and mortihca-
ton of the Sage of Lindenwald Mr.. Van Buren,
says he is opposed to the details of the tariff What
details To the duties levied for the protection of
the iron interest? the wool growing interest !;
wooens cotton, and great variety of other inter-
ests of infinite importance to the country: Why
did he not speak out on these vital questions' A
few strokes of his pen would have afforded us a
. great deal of light But Mr. V. B. adds, " in good
time you will have my views in respect to that and
and other subjects before the public" Here we
have another sample of cunning; an intimation
that Mr.. V. B. has something in reserve for the
public, when it is certain such not the fact, as
near nine months have elapsed since the date ofthe
letter, and yet not another word in explanation of
his sentiments on these interesting topics But we
know enough of the views of Mr.. Van Buren, He
is opposed to PRoTECT1oN AS APRINcIPLE F., and on
that ground he will be rejected by New-England
with loathing and adherence.