The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1847-05-29

ouSO VI liz ~ 10 vi lO1Os OhC VI
the loudest,one of the Interchangeable
croakers was John M. Clayton, to whom
the credit belongs of discovering that
the question ofl844 was 'one of bread."
He was peculiarly anxious about Penn
sylvania. "Sbould," he exclaimed at
Lancaster, "the struggle for national
independence, which is now raging
throughout the length and breadth Of
the land, be decided against us by the
vote Of Pennsylvania, she will come
out Of the contest, with her gorgeous
banner trailing in the dust, herself
bleeding at every pore. The shouts of
party triumph will be speedily succeed
ed by the wall of her ruined ploughmen
and her beggared mechanics. The
fires Of her forges and the sound of the
axe and hammer in her workshops will
die away amidst the acclamations of
her fatal victory; and there may be
many among the thousands before me,
who with sorrow-stricken, if not with
broken hearts, may live to mourn the
loss of that without which public liberty
would cease to be a blessing" The
agents of this swift destruction we're to
be a democratic tariff law and a repeal
of the tariff of 1912. In process OF
time this law was proposed, when the
rum notes became truly awful. 1t is
worth remembering now, that no wing,
at the time it was passed, doubted the
destructive powers Of the bill-doubted
its capacity to strike wide and deep.--
A short passage from the speech of
Senator Johnson embodies enough
%"ruin" for u purpose. His conclu-
sions were, that, as he said, ''if this bill
should become a law, it would ruin not
only the hundreds of thousands engaged
in the labor of the and, but the value of
the land itself; that it will bring ruin to
the manufacturer--ruin to the agricul-
turIst-ruin to the pl%anler-ruin to pub.
lie credit-ruin to the peace, comforts,
and virtues of the people. W. believe
il will PROSTATE nine-tenths of the la
borers of the land; that it will destroy
those who assist US in paying taxes, in
building school-houses, in erecting
churches, and in sustaining the flag and
honor of the nation. Plenty will, we
think, be succeeded by want; industry
and virtue give place to idleness and
vice; prosperous villages be made des-
olate; fourishing establishments perish;
public and individual debts increase"
Was there ever a more comprehen-
sive, a more complete rum threatened
to a peopIe9 And when the bill passed,
and the wing presses announced it to
be a law, who car forget the language
used? As a sample, take the words of
the Mexican National InteiIigencer,
July 80, 1916: "The fatal measure,"it
said, "phich strikes at the root of all the
industry of the country, and at the liz.
ing of every man in it who earns his
bread by the sweat of his brow-Mis
misshapen and monstrous scheme," and
so on, SIN two days more will become
a law of the land" "Bitter the fruit
now TO be reaped by those whO WOULD
put their trust in demagegues." And,
according to this wing print-and it
was also the chime of its sagacious as
sociates-.here was no hope for "re.
animated Industry" or for the "pros-
perity Of the country" until the ''benef.
cent principles Of ls42" we're restored!
C Columns Of such stuff might be extract.
ed. Who does not remember how
Pennsylvania vas launted, insulted, H.
belled, and this, too, by her own degen.
crate sons7 Take, as a sample, this
month of July, 1916, Of the Philadel.
phia North American:
"Behold your handiwork! You af
fected to favor the .ariA-a policy
where either you must live or bear no life
You whose hills and valleys rung with
the songs of protected labor, and whose
vast hopes Of afluence and prosperity
knew no existence but in the tariff
your hand it is that has striker it down.
You have ruined yourself and the coun-
try to win a sugared word from a party
that spurns you. Now take the DESC
lalion that you have wooed; see your
mines deserted, your forge fires extin.
gulshed, your shuttles stilled, your la.
Dor without hope, your capital without
profit. Pay your State Debt, if you
can, IN drafts upon the party-or sink
into bankruptcy, dishonor, and misery,
and be the scof Of the world, as the
State that sold a glorious birthright for
a wretched mess Of political pottage."
Now how have these predictions
turned out? How bitter is the fruit
that has been reaped' How many
forge fires have been extinguisheds-|
How many shuttles have s,opped'--
How many water courses have been