Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1883-12-15
THE DEMOCRACY. CARLISLE AND THE TAR
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The Jonesboro Herald and Tribune
which is owned by w. P. Brownlow
and is the most ably edited Republican
paper in Tennessee, bids us take down
the Ohio tariff plank from the CHRoN-
ICLE's masthead, facetiously asserting
that Mr.. Carlisle has smashed" that
piece of lumber with his little gavel
1t is easy to understand why the Re.
publicans wish to construe the cleo
ton of Carlisle as declaration of free
trade principles by the Democracy
! Such declaration would insure Re
publican triumph in 1884 and proba.
bly, perpetuate the party's lease on
power. But it hugs delusive hope il
it expects to win an easy victory by
such Misrepresentation. The Demo
cratic party stands squarely on the
Ohio platform and the election of Car
Isle confirms it in that position. Mr..
|
House of Representatives and he
ought to know that Mr.. Carlsle's tar
iff speech in that body was a fore
shadowing of the Ohio utterance on
the same subject. This is what the
gentleman from Kentucky said and
it sounds so much like the Ohio plank
that we are constrained to believe that
it served as a model for the platform
builders in the Buckeye state:
at am Ole of those who believe that
the power of taxation can be legiCi-
mately employed only for public pur-
poses, or, in other words, that the OBJ
iect of all taxation should be revenue
revenue only, if you please; but if
with this primary object in view, the
taxes or duties can be so adjusted as
to aid our industries without imposing
any burden upon the people beyond
what otherwise would have been nee
essary, there is nothing in the policy
advocated by those who demand a
reform in the tariff to forbid their
encouragement or protection to that
extent"
Had Mr.. Carlisle stopped at the
word @only" we might write him down
with the cranks of the Watterson
school, but he continued with a saving
clause which declared that this reve-
nue. tariff should be $50 adjusted as to
aid our industries" and in so doing he
expressed the escence of the Ohio
idea. We respectfully request our
Jonesboro contemporary to read the
above extract and compare it closely
with the first paragraph at the head Of
this column. If the hair-splitting in
telIect of the able editor can discover
wherein the difference between the
two lies, we hope he will have the
goodness to oblige us with the result
of his investigation.
The Democratic party will not be so
foolhardy as to make open war on the
manufacturing interests of the cOun-
try; it favors the encouragement and
protection of such industries, but it is
opposed to fostering monopolies with
oppressive taxation of the masses. A
revenue tariffproperly adjusted would,
in the language of Mr.. Carlisle, afford
all the protection that any legitimate
and well conducted industry needs in
this country" The intention of the
Democracy is to reform the tariff, not
to abolish it. The Republicans have
never regarded the constitution in
forming legislation and the fact that a
tariff levied expressly for purposes of
protection is unconstitutional is a
small matter to them. The Democrats
propose to levy constitutional tariff,
the leading purpose of which shall be
revenue, but it will be adjusted with
regard to the interest of the manufac-
tories and will not threaten the bust
ness interests of the country. On such
a platform the party is bound to win
and that will form the issue of the
next campaign.