New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-12-06
FREE TR1DERS TO THE REAR.

| garded only as tentative suggestions.
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FREE TRADERS TO THE Rear.
The first effort of our friends the Demo
cratic free traders to find ont who is on the
Lords side seems not to have been a success.
That is to say, if they succeeded in finding ont
anything they found out rather more than they
bargaincd for. As THE TRIBUNE predicted
some time ago, the free traders seized the first
occasion to draw the lines upon what they con-
slider the burning question of the day. ENas-
pcratcd by the taunts and rcproachcs OF their
own party friends, who charged them with los
! ing the Presidential election by their tarill-for-
reycnuc-only platform, they determined to have
| the question settled, upon the first Occasion that
| offered, whether the party really favored free
/ trade as has been pretended In all these years,
| or had been passing resolutions for buncombc
and lying about il. The opportunity to put the
official representative, uf the party to the test
| came with the first Congressional caucus. AMI
was confidently embraced. II was a simple
| little resolution that Mr.. Proctor Knott, Of
! Kentucky, offered It had an uncommonly in
| uoccut appearance. One would suppose 1t
| would have been passed almost without discus
| sion, certainly with no serious opposition. For
! IL simply declared that the Democrats in Con-
! crc-s rcafIirmcd ms their own the sentiments
! heretofore expressed i'm the platforms adopted
! Us The partys National Convention, in favor Of
"a tariff for revenue only. What could be more
! harmless 2 What. indeed, more logical and con-
| si-tcnt than for the representatives of party
that is ctcrnally boasting Of its devotion TO GER
! tain fixed principles and its loyalty TO It's an
] .t.. ~, nj ult
| that they adhered to a principle which every
! National Convention had laid down rs lunIa-
mental, and which was rcstatcd with unusual
clcarncss and force at the lastl Why should
an unchangiug and Interchangeable Democracy
shy at what it walked up to and swallowed
with every indication of satisfaction only Il
year and half ago!
We can imagine with what confidence Mr..
Proctor Knott passed in his resolution and
opened the proceedings with the cry, " TO your
tents, . Israeli For Mr.. Knott is Kentucky
Democrat, and it is popularity of Kentucky
Democrats that they actually believe in the
party. Notwithstanding the mountains OF
proof 10 the contrary which the years have ac-
cumulutcd, they continue 20 believe that the
party is sincerely in favor of something that
can be fairly called political principle, and
they believe that principle to be free trade.
That eminent Kentucky leader and oracle, Mr..
Henry NattrGsou, cntcrt aims this fond dclu>ion
with all his might. Acting upon it recently, he
issued tie stirring manifesto from which The
TRIBUNE Published some extracts Il few days
since. reading out of the party Mcssrs.
VOORHEES, and Randall and all Others who hold
loose notions Oh this subject on do not come up
to the tariff -for-rcvcuuc- only standard. There
could not have been any doubt in his mind
when he issued this general order that the
majority, the overwhelming majority, of the
party were honestly in favor of free trade; no
doubt whatever that when the question should
come mp at the opening OF Congress or little
latcI a clear and decided majority of the Demo-
cratic members would rcailirm the platform Of
1880 ard vinlicatc the action of its authors.
Otherwise he would not have assumed an air of
authority in dismissing the critics, malcOntents
and towards to the rear. He was confident,
supremacy confident that the majority of the
party would sustain him. And no doubt his
confidence was shared by Mr.. Proctor Knott.
Hence, when the latter offered his resolution on
the subject it must have been in the confident
expectation thai it would be passed without OPP
position. And the result must have somewhat
surprised him. Had the issue been made upon
the candidacy Of Mr.. Randall for Speaker, the
defeat of the free traders who opposed HIM rs
a protectionist would not have been so much to
be wondered at since many earnest free traders
might have voted for hil on personal grounds.
But this was just "a declaration that the party
had not changed its principles since 1880. II
could not have been more plausbly or shrewdly
put
But it did not go through so smoothly as had
been expected. There was not only hating and
hesitation over it--there was open opposition
and when the question was put, out of ninety
five Democratic members of Congress only
forty-two voted that the party was consistent
and honest and still held to the principle il
avowed ut its last National Con ention; fifty
three refused their assent A majority of the
Democrats in Congress, when brought face to
face with the question, deliberately vote to turn
then backs upon the only distinctive political
principle which the old party has left of its
original stock in trade. 1t must be very dis
couraging TO the free traders who expected vim
dication, and had laid out fine programme for
carrying the next Presidential election Oh this
issue. We offer our sympathy to Mr.. Proctor
Knott and send our condolences to Mr.. Waiter
son. The latter gentleman will have to revise
his general order. When it comes to reading
out of the party. obviously forty-two men can
not read out fifty three though, when it comes
to that Mr.. Watterson is a man of such album
dant resource and positive force that he would
not hesitate to read out the entire party and
stand. alone himself, IL necessary to the asser-