The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1882-02-09
Republicans and the Tariff.

The Republicans are not a unit on
the doctrine of protection. There are
many of the leading journals of that
party who do not believe that it is
right to tax the people of the whole
country for the benefit of a few manu-
featuring monOpolies. and the number
is on the increase.
The Iowa Homestead is Stalwart
of the Stalwarts, and its editor is q
great friend of Roscoe ConkliDg, and
vet the Homestead gives forth no un-
certain sound on the tariff question.
1t says:
"During the session of the recent
tariff convention at New York 1t Is
stated that not less than nine hundred
million dollars was represented on the
floor of Cooper Institute at one time,
and every man of them wanted the
tariff on the goods he was manufac-
turing. Why don't Congress suspend
it's ordinary business and increase the
tariff on everything poor man has 10
| buy and a wealthy manufacturer has
to sell?
eff the Republican party wants to
bury itself in the grave dug by the
common people for the old Whig party,
let it plant itself on a high tariff plat
form.
A protective tariff that protects does
its works by virtue of laws that take
money out Of the pockets of the mil
lions of consumers, and with a subsidy
| thus wrung from the people, builds up
a MONOPOLY of manufacturing cOrpO-
| rations. While we would encourage
manufacturing by every fair and leglt-
| innate means, as we would every other
| commendable industry of the country,
we hold that the day of subsidies has
passed-and we hope it may never be
resurrected."
The Osceola Sentinel, a leading Re
publican journal in Iowa, thus defines
it's position:
There is, throughout the count y,
great deal being said on the tariff
question, and the papers generally seem
to be drifting into the notion that we
ought to have high protective tariff
The Sentinel does not propose to dis
cuss the question now, but can very
easily define it's position. We favor !;
low tariff:-a revenue tarlff-One nc
higher than is necessary to raise a rev.
enuc to defray the necessary expenses
of the government.
This policy of protecting hal
million of New England rich men, al
the expense of forty-nine and hal
| millions of other people, looks to Us
like IA good thing for the few, but 8
little rough OH the many. When man
ufacturers are few and weak, it may
be good policy to protect them, but af
ter they become rich and powerful. anG
able to stand alone, then let them take
| care of themselves IL it is right t(
protect other enterprises, why moi
protect the newspapers? If the boarG
of supervisors of Clark county viii
| protect the Sentinel and Democrat
| by charging all foreign papers tarlt
of ten dollars each "A year for the priv
ilege of selling their papers in this
county. the two town papers having s
monOpoly on the business, could charge
six or eight dollars year for our pub
lications, and get wealthy fast. ant
build up home Industry Such :
protective tariff would be II nice thing
for the publishers of the Clark comfy
papers, but hard Oh the publishers o
other papers and the reading public
that would have to pay six or eighl
dollars year for papers, or go without
any, Give us a tariff for revenue, bu
none for protection. Protection is in
the interest of the few, is class legisla
ton, is to make strong monopolies anG
CORPORATIONS stronger. This, we sus
pect, is not good Republican nor Dem
ocratic doctrine in New England, bu
we cannot help that. Till the Sentine
becomes convinced that a high pro
tective tariff is a good thing for tn
m asses instead of only for the few
we will be opposed to it, no matte
which political party advocates It,"