Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-01-12
TIE TARIFF IN THE SENATE

would like to have the protection adjusted
in different way. The weakness OF the
Democratic position is twofold. In the
first place, it puts the party in the attitude
of copying its rival, though at some dis
lance in the second place, the arguments
which the Democrats derive from the re-
suits Of Free Trade in England arc value
less as applied to any kind of protective
system. II those arguments demonstrate
anything, it is the folly and injustice of
Protection. Fer those who cite them,
therefore, to announce that though they
believe what they say to be true, yet they
are not opposed to the principles whose
fallacy they are engaged in exposing, is to
commit disqualification, and to leave
themselves in the position of deliberate
hypocrites. It is certainly not worth
while for anybody who is prepared to vote
for protective tariff to preface his action
by arguing against the wisdom and equity
of such measure yet that is what Sem
ators Beck and Bayard have been doing.
Political requirements are no doubt fire.
guently incompatible with the maintenance
of complete consistency or honesty. The
Democrats appear to have come to the con-
clusion that Free Trade is not popular
enough for them to carry any longer. They
continue to believe in its doctrines, but
they realize that any fight made on that
basis must be uphill and tedious, and they
have been out of power SO long that their
patience is exhausted. Ii we read them
right this is something like their mental
attitude, and while we are not prepared to
say that it is an unnatural one after twenty
years of disappointment, we are satisfied
that the hunger for Office has in this case
once more blinded the Democratic leaders
to their best interests. The fatal hinder
ance to their progress for many years past
has been the belief that they had no con.
victions. They have justified that belief
scruple for the sake of popularity. And
now again we find them trying to hunt
with the hounds and run with the hare
at the same time. And in doing this they
are ignoring the plainest indications of an
anti-tariff movement in the West. Per.
haps as yetitis not consciously a Free Trade
movement, for the prejudices of genera
ton are hard to overcome. But it is GER
tainly movement hostile to Protection,
and it is based upon the very considera-
tions which Senator Beck referred to in his
speech on Tuesday.
The great West is being educated on
this subject. 1t is coming to understand
that the tariff means for it heavy burden
only. That in order to bolster up very
few New England manufacturers, millions
of producers are being forced to pay nearly
twice as much as they should for all the
clothing they wear, all the agricultural
machinery they use, all the furniture and
household goods they purchase. And the
great army of workingmen is also begin
ming to understand that all the pretense of
maintaining their wages by Protection is
claptrap and humbug for that while wages
in America are not fifteen per cent. higher
than in Free-Trade England, the cost of
living in America is from forty to fifty per
cent. higher so that in the end the Ameri-
can workingman is worse off by far than
what the stump speakers are SO fond of
abiding to as the pauper labor of
Europe" The plain truth is that the
shilling of the English workingman goes
nearly as far as the dollar of his American
colleague, and that therefore comparison
of wages without comparison of prices in
the two countries, is only misleading. Nor
can Protection promise any better condi-
tions than those which now exist. On the
contrary, since it always tends to raise the
cost of living, and since it compeIs the
consumer to literally waste full third of
his earnings, and since what it returns to
the Government is not above thirty per
cent. of what it destroys, it must continue
to deprive the producing aid lsboring
classes of large proportion of their right
full gains.
This is all it can do, and therefore
proposition for " incidental Protection "
deserves no sympathy. The truth is that
there is no logical or rational stopping
place short of Free Trade. OF course
revenue tariff is necessary. Nobody de-
MES that. But there should be no pretense
of Protection in it. It is better to pay
any amount of taxes, knowing them to be
taxes, than to be bled to death by sneak
ing imposts which make believe to be
blessings in disguise. As to the Commits
sion business, the present indications are
that if Commission is appointed it will
be Of such kind as only to postpone tariff
reform. Having stood the abuse so long,
however, the country can stand it little
longer, and perhaps postponement will
have the effect of increasing the sentiment
in favor of reform. It is possible also that
the present prosperity will not last. There
are certain ominous signs in the commercial
horizon which speak of stormy weather in
the near future. Should it come we may
be sure that the people will remember the
anti Tariff facts which are now being
placarded SO freely, and will insist upon
some measure being taken to stop that
drain upon the national vitality.
THE BoDY-sNATcHIEG PANIC.
1t appears that they are suffering in