New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-02-26


And yet, Mr. Schultz commenced his 4iarangue
with these words
Fellow citizens We to-day the friends Of Free
Trade believing that free exchange OF products Is the
normal condition OF society the world over"
That is square talk, and we thank the
speaker for it. The meeting echoed it in the
carefully prepared resolves moved by Mr.. VIM.
A. Butler, wherein we read:
Resolred That we therefore dcnounce all bounes or
subsidies to any special interests, whether given directly
in pecunary payments, indirectly by so'caled Pro-
tectiye dues and demand that taxes should be i'm
posed only for the support Of Government and TO pro-
vide for the National Debt that the Tarn should be al
justed solely c re 10 rerenue, and so simplhed
that duties shall be laid upon the smallest number OF
articles from which the needfu income can be raised for
Government
In other words, the Free-Traders say
Shoe, fly r to the little knot of trimmers and
twaddlers who want to be sort o so and sort
o. not so, telling them plainly that they are not
wanted. And this is good policy as well as
candOr. If Duties on Imports are to be upheld
at all, it must be Oh one of two grounds; l.
That this Is the cheapest and fairest way to
raise revenue; or .. That the rates OF duties
imposed are (or may be- such IA TO foster,
sustain and develop. those departments OF our
National Industry most exposed to overthrow
by foreign rivalry in our markets. We
maintain both these propositions; our Free
Traders acquiesce in the former only; while
there are those who undertake TO mix and
middle them so that you cannot clearly say
whether they are for or against Protection.
The fair inference from their language is that
they think a little Protection rather good, but
that more would be very bad If there be abb
| -. N no fau il
If Protection be neither just nor desirable,
we cannot see how imports should be taxed at
ALL except as every article is taxed after It's
kind. On what principle do Free-Traders
make the man who uses imported Iron pay
| more TO the Government than If he used home
made Iron? We have often pressed the ques-
tion-what is the answer9 We know how to
Justify our sort of Tariff; what Free-Trader
will undertake to justify his
What means this laying of duties on Z" the
smallest number of ariclesq" Is not that in
vidious discrimination Why not have one
uniform rate of duty on everything importedY
| Would not that be simpler than to have n per-
| petual contention as to whether an article i'm
ported were free or dutiableY and, if dutiable
| at what rate 7 In short, is there no straight
| out consistent Free-Trader on earthP
! The Free-Tmders further
"Resoired That the impoitc and unjust Tariff system
which has been imposed upon the United states, has
greatly impaired the prosperity Of the country hasndded
enormously 10 the burdens necessarily created By tho
war; and has borne with especial severity upon the
poorer classes by increasing the Of living While
claiming protect American industry 1t has in fact
cttered aud crippled the Industrial energy ofthe nation
| &c. &c.
"Rcsoircd. That. as a Congress is shortly to be
elected imperative that the agitation for revenue
reform should DO continued and that the people should
be 40 enlightened that members OF Congress may be
chosen pledged economy OF the public expenditure. TO
stern resistance oil Government bounes, suhsdes.
and special legislation, aud to revision aud simpiaea
| ton OF the Tarid"
1t were impossible 10 mistake the partisan
drift of these propositions. The country knows
! that the adoption of Protective Tariff in 1872
flowed resistlcssly from the overthrow-of Demo
cratic ascendency in the election of 1910. IL
knows that, when the Democratic ascendency
in Congress was subverted in 1861 by the with
drawal Of the Slave-holdng ohgarchy TO
Inaugurate the Rebellion, tho two liouses-
now for the first time Republican-proceeded
forthwith 10 recnact n Protective Tariff.
which has since. under Republican as
tendency. been maintained. When the
Democratic panty shall be restored to power
Free Trade Will be again in the ascendant. and
not before. The ostentatious thrustlng into
the foreground mt this meeting of the handful
OF Republican Free Traders betrayed a perfect
consciousness of the truth. Messrs. Schultz,
Bryant & Co. are used "a stool pigeons to lure
game into tho Democratic net. Hostility To
Protection il to be Democratic war-cry IN our
ensuing elections. except in those districts
where Protection is exceptionally popular
And there is just one safe mode OF resisting
these tactics; and that is III the lrlshman's
principle-"The true way to avoid danger Is
"to meet it halfway" Whenever the Repub-
licans shall promptly. heartily say: Yes. we
care for Protection: we passed the Tariff OF 'Oi'
under which we have paid1norc than Fifteen
Hundred Millions OF the cost OF our great
"War. and are paying the interest and rapidly
reducing the principal of our Debt; we believe
lit right to uphold and diversity our Ma
"tional Industry by duties which discriminate
Gin favor of our own artisans ana other pro-
"ducers, and We challenge you to meet us on
THAT ground we shall nobly hold our ground
and advance: where they palter, and equiyocate.
and seem ashamed of their past, they Will
stand frst-rate chance TO get beaten.
Mr. Mahlon Sands Secretary of the League,
made n specch, wherein he spoke of the diff
Guilty of obtaining local aid to get up Free
Trade meetings throughout the country. We
are surprised at the statement. MI Sands has
only to inquire in any city or township
for those who wish the National Debt
repudiatcd, with those who chuckled over
Rebel victories, and he will find them
frroI 10 Ia, Goat ,bor ho