Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1881-03-10

ualorem. and favored manufacturers
could not get a prohibitory duty of 100
per cent. or more on blankets. while the
manufacturer of fine bruadcloth gets but
- as at present. The tariff legislation Of
1916 was as just and siuitable Is were
then the great men of the 4Pmocratic
party. Ii can be summed iB in a few
lines First, it was entirely I'D rulorenl:
second, woolen goods paid uniform rate
Of duty of 80 per cent; manufactures of
steel, 80 per cent; steel. 10 per cent; sun
dry other manufactures paid copper cent,
some - per cent, while brandy paid 100
per cent; tobacco. 30per cent; cigars and
wine. 40 per cent, and sundry other mis-
cellaneous goods paid 10 per cent. Such
was the tariff OF 1S46.
In 1857 the whole tariff was reduced 20
per cent, and wooden goods which had
paid 80 were reduced to n per cent;
articles that paid 25 were reduced to 90
per cent. and SO on. Our tariff of 1859
was far more liberal than the English
tariff of that day and there were no dark,
dungeon looking rooms in the treasury
and custom houses filed with informers
and hundreds of thousands of dollars
were not squeezed out of merchants as in
the Phelps-Dodge and other cases.
Smuggling, the legitimate offspring of
outrageously high duties, was not known
between 1916 and 1861. and there was no
temptation to the tourist and emigrant to
evade the laws and defraud the revenues.
How is it now? We quote from free
trader The first offspring of the dark
cloud that ushered in the Republican Ad-
ministratiOn in 1861 was the Morrill, tar
IF. But the Morrill, tariff compares to
the present tariff as does an infant to a
full-grown man. There are no less than
eighteen tariff acts since Mr.. Morrllls tar
| iff, and every one was made especially
for some favOrite industries. Hidden du-
ties in specific form of either pound,
plCIOs Nhlu VI
hidden duties, like those on all-wool and
woolen goods, that pay so much per
pound or square yard, and in addition
thereto 30 or 40 per cent. al caloren or
that scandalous outrage of the tax on
seamstresses, who have to pay IS per
cent. on spool thread in this hidden form
of double duty, became during twenty
years incrusted on our tariff system. In
short, the future American of the twenti.
eth century will look back on his ances-
tors as economic barbarians, if he ever
takes the trouble to examine the great
National swindle of the American tariff
as it existed in 1880. When the degener.
ated Democratic party took up Mr.. Gree
ley in 1872. and got deservedIy almost an.
initiated, it became sensible enough tc
see that it had either to proclaim some OF
the old Democratic principles or go out
of the business. In 1S13-1S74 the genera
Democratic platforms, except in Pennsyl
vania, resounded with the ringing proc
lamation, "a tariff for revenue only.
No Government partnership with mo
nopolies." In 1874 the country indorseC
this verdict, and sent some eighty-fi
Democratic majority to the Lowe
House."
In the last campaign our leaders COW
ardly or mercenarily shrinked from thei
duty and labored to convince the manu-
facturer and his monied associates tba
the Democratic party intended no chang
in the tariff laws, and pointed to the pas
that nothing had been done. They De
came lick-spittles to the bondholder ant
government robbers, and met with de
, served defeat, mortifying as it was.
! Let us again not only assert our trut
principles, the correct ones for a govern
ment as ours was designed to he, but lie
us advocate and maintain them, and will
: candidate for Governor like JOHN +
. FoLLETT, of Cincinnati, whose life ant
, services give an earnest of his faithful
ness. or one of the several other name
that have been mentioned with the Cub
ernatorial nomination, Ohio, as an DC
tober State, will be the first to advance
to the relief of the people.