The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1881-11-01

ioeS, there Is no mlstaklng his position.
It is this shifting, this changing, this
leering now one way, now another, that
$ unsettling peoples faith not so
much in the soundncss of democratic prin-
,iples but in the consistency and reliability
Of those who assume to be their eXpounders.
Mr., Voorhees, now asserts that 'the demo-
cratic platform of last year was a violent de-
parturc on the tariff question, without pre-
cedent in the history of national democratic
and that "a tariff for revenue
only is a "burlesque on common sense. "
He further takes the position that "every
tariff on imported goods necessarily pro-
tects something manufactured in the Uni
ted States, We are are compelled to have
a tariff for revenue, and protection is one
of its absolute incidents" How Mr..
Mr.. Voorhees,, lifelong demo-
crat, politician and statesman,
could have committed such palpable blum
ders in the few lines in which he enunciatcs
the foregoing propositions is utterly incon-
ceivable. Is tea grown in the United
States? Is coffee grown anywhere in its
limits? Is there any article manufactured
from these products2 Last years returns
show that we imported of coffee during the
commercial year some 500, 900, 900, being in
weight some I5O,OO0,OO0 pounds. OF tea we
imported some 100000 pounds, val
ued at $20,0OO0O0. Here, then, are
two articles wherein nothing we
know of would be protected by an
imposition of duty upon them, and that
could be made to yield handsome revenue
Here then would be a ''tarilf' for revenue
only" that could scarcely be denominated a
"burlesque on common sense" We can
understand that a protective tariff which
Mr.. Voorhees, says he wishes the south and
lcs4uc on common sense, because it is tax
system that takes nearly $3.50 900 annu-
ally from the people in order to
give $l5O00O,0O0 to the government and
$500 100000 to a few privileged persons,
manufacturers of the protected articles
who stand to the consumers as | TO 6 as
compared with other leading departments
of business; and as to 3 rs compared with
the farmers alone, and who represent &c.
0,00O,0 600 invested against the manufactu-
rcrs' $l,0O0,0oO,0OO. 1t does not appear
clear how such species of benefit is in re-
atty benefit to "the people of the south
and west" 1t may be SO TO the people of
Indiana. lsnot Great Britain to-day is not
Belgium both living reiutations of the
position OF the Indiana senator? And pray,
senator, why are we ,'compclcd to
have 4 tariff for rcvenuc" Have you never
heard of any other sort of taxation? Do you
not know of such a thing as internal taxa
tion2 Have You drawn any checks ON tho
banks during these years subsequent to the
war? Did you not put some stamps in
their corners or on their facet Was that,
is that mode of taxation tariff, such az you
are speaking OFF However much we are
opposed to this method of taxation, il is
none the less true that il is a mode that has
brought annually hundreds of millions OF
dollars into the United States treasury in the
years that are gone Such u complote surren-
der fprinciplcs that are democratic to the
core, such somersault on the part of any
unprecedented statesman is astonishing, but
on the part of the great senator from Indi-
ana is positively astounding. What there
was in the atmosphere of Atlanta that so
changed his views, we fail to comprehend.
We are not of those who, ifin possession of
the power, would sweep away the existing
tariff laws and rates. We believe that
would be ruinous policy. The political,
social and economic adjustments arc such
just now that any sudden alteration Of
the machincy must result in
disaster, but gradual emancipation
from the thraldom could be accom-
plished without any Earring; and the ncxi.
bility of the American character would
soon conform itself to new requirements.
1t is to be hoped that the democracy will
plant themselves against this doctrine OF
protection. It is wrong, fraud from
first to last, and will in due time, like
all other frauds, DO exposed. like all other
wrongs, be righted,