Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1848-04-06


sold at home. The purchasers are those who are
Obliged to buy to supply their wants. Now the rich
manage to take advantage of the necessities of the
poor They have the money. They regulate the price
OF labor They give just what they please, and the
poor man has the option to work or starve and some
times to work and starve. They make profit enough
out Of the poor mans labor to support themselves in
luxury and grow richer into the bargain If they paid
him just compensation it would be utterly impossible
to grow any richer by this means, while the poor
would be no longer poor. Thus the poor classes by
their labor pay for aLi and really produce all the
wealth in the country If laws were just and men
were just, and looked equally to the benefit of all
classes there could not be that dsproporon at pres
ent existing in the distribution of property Every
man would receive just compensation for labor, and
every one who labored would have competency
Property would be taxed and not man. Tariffs, banks
and various kinds of monopoly and class legislation
would not be known. There could be TO such thing
as speculation, which in plain English is paying less
than an article is worth and selling it for more.
The Waterman cannot have forgotten that the
"locos" in Vermont blazed away against the @whig
tarf" few years ago, because as they said it did
not protect the wool growers The wings defended
the tariff as well as they could All this was for votes
to make wool growers believe that this or that par
y were more less favorable their interests or by
a tariff would put more or less money into their
pockets.
| Now know that a tariff on such wool as is grown
at home must raise the price of it according to the
amount of duty. Wool growers know this and act
accordingly. They glad to get these extra prices
We can hardly expect them to be so disnerested and
benevolent as to do otherwise, or feel Otherwise
But the poor, who can neither own sheep or land to
keep them on must buy, and pay these extra pices-
Now it is easy to that SelfShneSS or a desire to
grow rich at the expense of Others is the motive that
prompts the Vermont wool growers to support a tariff
which raises the prices of the wool he sells. Conse
quenty this spirit of selfshness and covetousness is
the motive appealed to- to induce him to support par
( ty &c. 1t is base object, and base motives are
called into exercise What have said about wool,
applies with equal force to every other dutiable art
Gle that is raised or produced at home. The same
spirit of selfish policy pervades every branch of tariff
t taxation, indeed is its sole foundation.
Well do the poor generally understand this? be-
eve not and therefore they support the policy blind
number of voters in Vermont how many are there
2 who read dry newspapers at all? OF those who do
read, how many there who read the arguments on
both sides of the tariff question: | would not insin-
nate hlt Vermont voters read less or are less intel
gent than those of 9th states for do not believe
t they But is there single whig or democratic
t paper in Vermont which has opened its columns to
full and fair discussion of the tariff in all its bearings
and especially its operations the poorer classes
: Is there who has advocated direct taxation as a
substitute for tariff taxation?
No. Information is one sided and partial, specula-
tons for the benefit of the rich are plenty But who
t abors with equal energy to inform and benefit the
5 poor?
The truth is, that very great proportion of the
people when they think of tariffs at ALL think they are
l. Indispensable. They have always been accustomed
to them, without studying them. Like the man who
always went to mill with stone in one end of the
" bag to balance the grain in the other end and thought
it must be the best way, because he had always done
So and his father and grand father had done so before
a him, So the masses think with respect to tariffs
e Now this state of things will continue as long as
the doctrine prevails practically in politics that the
clu oClhlCo tit HtdS us loug US party spirit eNlSI
9 and demagogues rely upon getting up excitement
partisan warmth of feeling which virtually ntox-
cates the mind and takes away suspends cool re-
Fiction in order to carry election; and long as
, the masses can be rallied and influenced by such
senseless party cries as clog cabin and hard cder"-
ID sod Coon"-"Old Hickory"-"Old Zach"-"Young
Il Hickory" &c.
Is Now all such stuff is opposed to intelligence and
1t, freedom of thought, or consistent deberaton and
or honest action. To be good party man such a
'e standard requires exercise of Judgment or indie
pendence conscientousness, intelligence but in
ell place of them, prejudice and selfshness impusve-
ness, love of popular favor, love of power and wealth
ID In proportion to mans ignorance is his suscepti-
y biliy to imposition and his liability to be led blndly
to support adverse to his own interests In
the present state of party feeling the universal dis
semnation of truth among the people would break up
s. the two rival parties; for think there is honesty e.
nough in the masses, if prejudice could be laid aside
t to receive truth and it out 1t error that pref
udces men, and therefore believe as | have said,
J., that let truth have free course and it must prevail
n viii the Waterman set example in its dissemna-
). ton?
o Yours truly A H. B..
n Boston, March 80