Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1883-12-08
TWIN RELICS OF THE PAST.

Fellow.citizens, I have endeavored
to speak to you tonight less as a doc
trinaire than as a patriot. No mans
faith can exceed the measure of my be-
lief in the dogma of free trade; and,
with entire confidence. that the COM
plete revision and reform of eur tax
system a not be leng delayed, and is
as sure as any future event can be, 1
have, i'm a general way had it inmy heart
and hope that the tariff and the debt
may GO out together. But in order that
we may consider questions of business
and commercial detail with intelli-
| gence and cand0r, we must have q clear
and an open field. There are at this
moment party forces at work to deny
us this. The pfotectionists dare not
| discuss protection. S~ectionalists are
too indolent, too ignorant, Or too ma
lignant to discuss anything but old
sores. 1t is the interest of the people
the past. It is particularly hurtful to
a sound public policy that the people
of one state, or one section, should dis
tress themselves about the domestic
conditions which exist in ether states
and sections. If 1 wanted to say
a mean thing in answer, for
example, to the frequent charge
that human life is held cheap.
er in tho south and west than in
the east-which is true-I might init
mate that men are at least as safe in
Kentucky as women seem to be in Con-
necticut. But what have I to do with
police duty and efficiency in Connecti-
cut. Those who are Immediately con-
cerned may be trusted and ought to be
trusted to keep their house in order. If
they do not surely no one else can.
The people of Massachusetts resent,
and very justly, the impeachment of
their civilization because ofthe Tewks-
bury disclosures; and with what great
er show of reason Or wisdom caa New
York sit in judgment upon the local
affairs of Virginia ? 1t is always easy
for q hostile spirit to make a case
against a distant object of assault. The
protectionists and the socialists have
therefore entered into q compact to
force the fighting next year upon worn
out lines of antagOnism in order to get
rid Of topics of present interest. The
sectionalist is a thorough Bourbon. He
fOrgets nothing and learns nothing.
The protectienist sees in him a Jury
mast whereon to prop his tattered CAN
vas. 1t is for the enlightened and the
patriotic among u public men to de-
feat this scheme for setting the clock
back by a demand, which cannot be de-
MED, for live issues. I am sorry to say
that there are members of my own
party who have allied themselves with
the agents of corruption and obstruc-
ton. Happily, there are not many of
them, and these will encounter a speedy
and q total defeat. We shall have a
revenue reform speaker of the house.
We shall have a revenue reform COM
mittee Of ways and a We shall
have a careful, thoughtful meas
ure of revenue reform. This measure
will plant itself upon the principle that
taxes are meant exclusively for reve-
nue. and that, when the government
has got its revenue, the tax shall stop.
With that we can go to the people con-
fdently, defying alike the socialist and
the protectionist. On that we can
make q good fight for the right. And,
if we fail, we shall have something still
to fight for, and can pick our flint and
try it again. And, if we win, we shall
come into power with a policy enlight-
ened, beneficent and just to all; in the
perfection of which we shall find, along
with everything the country needs,
much to lift US out of the mire of mere
spoil and into the higher regions of a
pure and useful administration of the
public service.