The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1882-07-26
THE TARIFF.
TRUST ITS FATE ONLY To ITS REAL
FRIENDS.

1t Is the common plea OF those
| who are directly or indirectly aiding
to bring about a Democratic tri-
umph in Pennsylvania, that a Dem.
: ocratic victory in this State cannot
in anv way affect the tariff, as the
Democrats are as good Tariff men
as the Republicans, and that Tariff
} will be as safe in their hands as in
, ours. Even, they say, if a majority
of the delegation i'll Congress from
Pennsylvania should be Democrats,
their election can in no way imperil
the safety of Protection.
To some this may seem plausible {;
but when carefully examined, it has
not the merit even of plausibility.
The difference between the Re
publican and Democratic parties,
stated broadly is this: That while
. the mass of the Republican party is
for protection. with here and there
an occasional Free Trader, the mass
of the Democratic party is for Free
Trade, with here and there an occa-
sIonal ProtectiOnist, as in Pennsyl-
vania. New Jersey and New Eng
land. The Republican Congress
man, therefore, who is a protection
lst, has his party behind him to
back him up and sustain him, and
the Republican Congressman who is
a Free Trader, has his party against
him with the effect to render him
nearly powerless. The Democratic
| Congressman, on the contrary, who
Is q prOtectionist, has his party,
with Its organization, Its caucuses,
its power and its influence allayed
against him, and he is as powerless
in his party for good on the tariff
question, as the Free Trader in the
Republican ranks is for evil. Each
is permitted for party reasons to
differ from his political associates
on that question, but each is without
influence in his isolated condition.
| Now, while it is true that Penn
/ sylyania Democrat in Congress feels
compelled by the force of public
sentiment at home to vote in favor
OF Protection, when occasion offers.
I 1t Is equally true that he is not al
lowed to shape, or aid in shaping,
the policy of his party on the tariff,
and all the force he has to WELD or
can WELD, is his vote on the final
passage of revenue bills. The only
force he can cooperate with, is that
to be found in the Republican ranks, /
and as, III so cooperating, he loses
political caste in his own ranks, he
Is naturally unwilling to be found /
working with Republicans unless
when driven to do it by the stern
necessity Of keeping mis- Tariff record !
clear.
An instance of the total inability I
OF Pennsylvania Democrats in Con I
gress to maintain effectively their /.
assumed position as Protectionists, /
is furnished by the Forty-fourth /
Congress. That Congress, as is well .
known, was largely Democratic. In /
the Democratic caucus to nominate /
a Speaker, there were two candi- /
dates, Kerr, OF Indiana, an avowed .
Free Trader, and Randall, of Penn
syivania, nominal protectionist. /
The Democratic members from
Pennsylvania supported Randall /; /
but they were utterly helpless and
were outnumbered in that caucus.
The free traders rallied around Kerr
and nominated him.
What did the Pennsylvania Dem
ocratic members do ia that emer-
gency? They knew as every one
else knew, that the Speaker would
appoint ali the committees that
the committees shape and control
the legislation Of the House that
Free Trade Speaker would appoint
a free trade Committee of Ways and
Means and to vote for such man
for Speaker, was to put all the pow
er OF the House into the hands of
the enemies of protection. Yet,
with this fact staring them iii the
face, and with the full knowledge
that they were in effect playing into
the hands of the Free Traders by so
doing, they, erery one, leith0at fiacbing
or baking, coted for Kerr, and volun-
tarily placed in his hands the power
to shape the legislation of the House
i'll favor of Free Trade.
A vote tor Kerr in this case. was
practically a vote for Free Trade.
The Pennsylvania Democrats in
that Congress, prOfessed to be Tariff i,
men, just as they profess to DE now, ;
but they were Democrats, and they
had to follow the lead of their or
ganization. In the next Congress,
if it is Democratic, they will have to
do the same thing; and when the
of the House is shaped
in favor of Free Trade through their v
agency and by their aid, they will {
have the poor privilege Of voting \
against the legislation they have d
nded to frame. The real bulwark t
against free trade, will be, in that i
ease, the Republican Phalanx, and
not the few scattering votes from the c
Democratic side.
Every one who has watched legis- :
alton at Washington closely knows p
hat there are many occasions in S
which a member is called on to vote,
besides those in which the yeas and b
lays are taken. When in commit
ee of the whole, when all Tariff leg Il
Station is considered, there can be C,
10 yea or nay vote, and the same is
rue when the House merely divides h
Without call for the yeas and nays.
n nearly all such cases, where there v
,e no record of votes, it has been h
.Oticed by observant men, that the E
Democrats, protesting to be Tariff
sen, frequently either do not vote, 81
r vote directly with the Free Ira Il
ers. There is abundant oppor.uni-
V in this way to keep up their g,
tatus in their own party, without
eing liable to be called to account n
Or it by their constituents at home.
The fact is. they are, at least most
f them, Tariff men only because -
hey have to be, and not from con-
iction. They are not at heart de- 10
oted to the principle Of protection. pt
hey know that their party lost a