The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1871-08-24

10 commune SO. linen let Us uLuAblply
the class of freeholders, pass the pub
lie lands cheaply and easily into the
hands of the people, sell for q reason
able price to those who are able to
pay, and give without price to those
who are not, but are willing to occu-
| py. say, give without price to those
who are not able to pay, and that
which is SO given / consider as sold
for the best of prices-for a price
above gold and silver-a price which
can not be carried away by delinquent
officers, lost in failing banks, stolen
by thieves, or squandered by an inn
| proYident Administration. It brings
q price above rubies-a race of virtu-
Gus and independent laborers, the
true supporters of their country, and
the stock from which its best defend
ers must be drawn. A venal and
heartless aristocracy is the punish
ment of nation which permits the
| few to moqopolize the ownership of
the soil. Yet what is the record OF
the Radical, monarchical party p
Since its advent to power they have
| granted to powerful corporations,
mostly composed of themselves, lands
equal to the united area of Ohio,
4 nlICAt4dnf 1uO1duos 1l1lAOlS anu 4O w q
five great StatesAsupporting even
| new more than 10, 600 Of people. Yet
this vast Empire-the heritage of the
people, the asylum of labor-has been
given over to a mere handful of men
and new combinations, new corpora
tions, more exacting, if possible, than
their predecessors 5 are petitioning
| for more, and like. the daughters OF
the Horse-leech, they cry "give,
give, and are never satiated. The
Democratic party protest against the
monopoly of the public lands in the
name of every laboring man in Amer
ica--in the name of every laboring
man who comes with his wife and
children to our shores-feeing from
the curse of land monopoly in the old
world to rest under the shelter OF
equal laws in the new. We protest
against itin the name of the shadoWy
future--the generations h a t are
crowding upon us for whom this pol
icy will ripen like fruit upon the Dead
Sea, giving them a land teeming with
opulence and corrupting luxury for
the few, and poverty and wretched-
ness for the many. .r.-..-
| We contend for equal and exact
justice to all men, and exclusive priv
ileges to none. We demand economy
in the public expenses, that labor may
be lightly burdened; the encourage
ment of agriculture and of commerce
as its handmade. These beneficent
and imperishable principles forbid the
enactment of high prohibitory. or
class favoring tariff. We are opposed
to the protective theory, so-called,
and in favor of a strictly revenve tar
iff conformed to the theory of, all 9TH
er just and wise tax laws, and tariff
imposed for any other purposes vio-
lates obvious principles of free gov
ernment and civil liberty, and is for
hidden by. the spirit of our institu-
tons, Ii Congress has power to levy
tariff tax on imports for the protec-
ton of individuals, or classes only,
then it may at once establish an aris-
tocracy in certain favored industrial
pursuits-it may attack sort. of roy
atty to the ownership of mines or the
manufacture of tertain products. IF
it may legally compel the people to
pay forced prices to ssuch classes for
their own products under the cover
of tariff for protection, it may by
the same logic compel them to pay di-
EcCb u SuCA CldSSCS W1LHOut
the subterfuge of tariff for iprotec-
ton, for tits an accepted axiom. of
constitutional construction that what
ever may be. done by implication may
be done directly. If any tariff per-
mits the levying of tax on A for the
benefit of B, or on those engaged in
another, or, on the great mass of con-
sumers, for the benefit of few ia
vored producers, it is NOT only uncon-
stitutional, but vicious and immoral
in principle. The true and only
ground upon which the right to MAIN
tain any tariff can be sustained is two
fold first, the necessity of revenue
to defray the expenses of the Govern
ment, and secondly, the power cypress
ly given to Congress to levy and col
lect taxes, duties, imposts and excises
to provide such revenue. The grant
is accompanied by the imperative in
junction that Congress shall collect
into the public Treasury whatever du-
ties it 1evies, and not impose them
merely to enable the Government to
only, and certain favored individuals 4
to collect the residue to enrich their
private Golfers. Whenever the pow
er is exercised, it should be so exer-
cised as to execute the purpose forl
which it is given. This can only be-
done by tariff for revenue only, forl
whenever q tariff is organized for pro-
lection, it ceases to produce the high
est results in revenue, and becomes
and unjust to all unpro-
tected classes.
In nation with population of 40,-
600, 0,000 souls, possessing most fertile
territory with greatly increasing inn
the crops bountiful; mill
lions of acres annually wrested from
the wilderness; railways rapidly ex-
tending, and prosperity unprecedeR-
ted, in such nation there should be
few to suffer from lack of employment.
The wages of the employed should
afford them sufficient support, all the
great Industries of the country should
flourish, its mills, docks, farms, facto-l
ries, wharyes and shops should be the
centers of busy prosperity. But roth
ing is clearer than that we enjoy no
such prosperity the evidence is plain
that subtle, disturbing influences are
busy impairing the rapidity of national
diverting and demoral-
izing industry, and giving an UNEQUAL
to the results of NATIONAL
production. Why is this What oc-
sasions this general depression in
businessS The scarcity of money, the
increased cost of all the cecessaries of
lite? 1 answer, the base, infamous,
ruinous Radical doctrine of protection,
Of special protection to American in
iustry. Special protection means
nothing but special favoritism, and the
present tariff law, made in the interest
of the few and designed for the pro-
lection of limited number of favored
is disgrace to our leg
slation and fraud and curse upon
The great body of the American people.
The interest of the people is in free
dom of labor, freedom of trade, and
freedom of exchange. A fundamental
tight of man is the right to enjoy the
fruits of his own labor, and this right
Is essential to his best development,
and morally. It is not
enough that the farmer should be free
to raise all the grain he can grow, or