Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1882-02-17

liability VI buC VoioOo iAoHA WV ooUnoiSS
which have been so literally printed of
late.
It would be amusing if it were not ag-
gravating to witness the way in which the
two great national parties handle the
question Of a protective tariff. Their
manner of handling it is awkward enough
but the clumsiness comes because as a
matter Of fact it is not party question
and neither party is prepared with the ma
chinery to handle this ponderous and ma
nv sided question Of protection. A Demo-
GRAFT who is the owner of, not, mark you, a
workman in an iron furnace is pretec-
tive tariff man; while the Repub lican who
is the cultivator of the land and buys in
stead of makes his farm machinery should
be a low tariff man if not a free trader. and
vice versa.
The opposing sides are governed wholly
by self-interest. The political CANNON
about protecting the interests OF the work
ing men are of right the transparency and
torch lights of the hustings and should not
he yentured on in a reasonable discussion.
The workingmen who handle the plow are
left out of account while the workingmen
who make the plow are compelled to d.
vide their wages with the makers OF pro-
tected clothing, protected sugar and every
other necessity of life that has protection.
Every workingman in this country pays
exactly forty dollars out Of every hundred
dollars worth that he buys, for the benefit
of protected manufactures. Nothing that
he wears that is manufactured, escapes
this tax.
The principle Of protection runs par
allel pretty much with the old curse OF
slavery. While the constitution declared
all men to be free and equal. four millions
of people were legally held in slavery un-
der it, and while the undeniable right of an
American to buy where he pleases and sell
where he can is acknowledged by all, mil
lions of them are held in impecunlous bon
dage by the selfish and aggressive opera
lions of protection. 1t took a war to abol-
ish the one and it will take general up
rising of the ballot holders to wipe away
the other. One made great land holders.
the other makes great millionaires. A
protective tariff is no more adapted to a
free country than slavery was. When
England arrived at the point in her march
towards free government where the peo-
pie could be felt in her administration
protection was wiped out and free trade
stepped in. With free trade her ships do
the carrying trade for America; with free
trade she commands the whole trade of
our next door neighbor South America
and the Central American and Mexican
States, taking it from our very door step:
with free trade she is mistress of the world,
and with free trade she manufactures for
the morld.
But it is argued, and many free traders
are caught by thus temporising with the
inevitable, that with our present national
debt we cannot have free trade though We
might have a low tariff. Why not tax the
people directly The government has te
have just so much money for interest and
expenses. Why is it any easier to beal
because it is collected through custom
houses than if it was collected direct fro n
the people. Every free government ought
to have direct taxation. 1t is the only
system of book keeping by which each man
can tell exactly how much tax he IS pay
ing. Why be saddled with thousands OF
collectors of customs and as many more
collectorssof internal revenue, when direct
taxation to- be collected by the States
would do away with both ? Why keep the
people burdened with county tax collec-
tors. State tax collectors, revenue tax col
lectors and on top of all the. protective
tariff tax collection, except to support diff
ferent armies of office holders.
Protection breeds parasites who feed on
the labor of the people and in turn are fed
upon by other parasites. The woolen
manufacturer asks protection and gets it:
the manufacturer who makes the wooden
manufacturers loom and spiadles then gsts
1T for his work; the maker of dye stuffs
and chemicals then gets it; then the nail
maker and the lumbermen and the coal
men-all who furnish the wooden manu-
facturer, get it and on the price Of wool is
put all the profit of all these protected
men and the men who wear the wooden
coats pay tie price. Protection closes
foreign markets to our manufactures.
We are the rival of Great Britain in the
skill of our manufacturers, in the inventive
genius of our people, in everything but
having market for their results. That
she has monopolizsd. We cannot compete
with her in the markets of our own contl-
nent because she gives free admission to
the products of those countries, while we
meet them at our shores with the bar of u
protective tariff. If we do not buy the
wares and products Of other nations they
will not and cannot buy ours. In default
of these foreign markets our protection
advocates tell us they are creating a busy
home market and so they are. The over
production from which financial panic7
come shows it. With no outlet for our
manufactures how can it be otherwise?
The friends of the many and the sup
porters of the few are to have tussle in
Congress this winter over the tariff ques-
ton. The latter without regard to poit -
cal affiliations are combined, we'll organ
lied and aggressive, while the former are
divided on different schemes and for TIE
most part regard tree trade as wild I'M
practicable theory which it would be well
for conservative politician to avoid.
Next to free trade they rank tariff for
revenue only" as thing they may proper
ly offer to the American people with some
thing of an apology for its tendency to-
wards free trade. We do not hope for
much from these friends of the many. and
we fear that the few will manage before
81, ,onriop opdc to rot Gfrop rar thouob