Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1883-09-20

Try has only recently emerged from the
agitation always incident TO ID general
revival of the tariff laws, and any at
tempt now to reopen the subject for gen
eral discussion iii Congress, MAY prove
disastrous The Democratic leaders Uf
the State feel the force Of this fact.
They realiZe that public sentiment Is
strongly in favor Of protective legis!a-
ton, and that the kistor. of 1ksir party
can not be defended Oh this sab jsct; cav
seque1tly, they are just now ressrtlrE
to the most contemplate piece VI dsma
gogiSm ever Invented 10y mAr. They |
profess great IympxtAy with the wool
! growers of The Stale, bscxuse tue duty |
on wool shared in the general reduction |
Of tariff sEd ether governmental taxes
made by the last Congress. Their speak
| kers GO about the coastry aosrhfully, |
and predict the hnal ruin Of this partic-
ular branch Of Industry, with the same
lugubrioHs eountenauces they wore
when predicting the utter ruin ef sil Ia
dustries, while John Sherman WAS slow
| ly working out the great problem OF
specie resumption. Hypocrltes. every |
one of then. They know that fully one |
| half ef their party to-day is in faVer OF
placing woods sH the free list, lsd that
nine-:epths 0f the other half are IN ia
vor Of further Tsd daetIon. What are
the facts? The enormous expenditures
of the general government consequent
upon the war OF the Rebellion. u xae ue-
ceSsary corresponding Increase in the
| tariff and other ssIies from which the
| public revssuxs are derived, but, since
the war, il Las EE+G possible t. grad ual
, ailv decrease lbrsS suiiS~. from time to
time, and the RrpuGiic4e p@Tty has act
ed promptly ia The niaI;.=T ~ .he end
that the Uurdra of NAT taxes might be
removed As speedily as poSSitle.' TIE
most burdeuBome OF the iuterA.! rtye
nue. taxes were first tHkss Uh. then
came the tariff euIiss Oh srtlcitS I'll
prime necessity, sach as sugar and eoi-
fee, ard finally, in 1880, by careful econ
! omy in expenditures and the d.relop-
ment of other resources OF the cosntry,
, the Republican party felt hat IL was
possible and safe TO revise aad rs-a1Just
the eAtire tariff schedule. Accordingly,
, 4 commission was created by Congress,
! com posed of educated representatives of
/. all the different business interests OF the
/ country, to ascertain on which items,
: and how much of reduction could be
5 made, and to prepare q schedule of tar
= if rates which would be most equitable
asd Just to the whole people. This
D commission, after hearing testimony and
. fully considering the subject, reported
e schedule which was substantially ac-
d ceptsd by Congress and enacted into q
i law, by which the people were rsllevsd
T of taxes estimated to amount to seventy
= million dsllars annually. Among the
g articles on which a reduction was re-
: commended was the item of imported
y woods, and this Was understood to have
been coscurred in by the President Of
/ the National Wool Growers Associa-
ton. Opposition. however, was mani
a tested In Congress to this particular re-
\ duction by two classes: those who be-
a lievsd and voted with John Shermad, in
q favor Of leaving the old rata unchanged,
= and those who believed aud voted with
+ Senator George II. Pendleton, in favor
Of further reduction. The final vote
4 on the passage of the general bill is ~
; criterion to Judge Of the actual ssuti-
q nents of party leaders, os any ore lien
of the schedule. The must rampant free
q traders voted against it in hopes Of se
curing q more radical reduction, while
O protsctionists, like Senator Sherman,
. believing it to be just aud fair in the
q main, voted for it, although dlssasisned
with some Of its features. Its passage,
= therefore, does not change or alter ths
r. broad aud historically defined distiuc-
II tioH between tks two political parties on
a this subject. Examine the details of the
Il ysting ia every instance, where ths
A question has bssn squarely presented
. either in Congress or in our State Legis-
+ iature, and the Transparent deinsgogism
:. Of the Democratic howl about the wool
tariff will ut once be apparent.
On the 9th Of February last, the Gen
eral Assembly adopted the following
r Joint Resolution, offered by the Senator
from this district:
,e Instructing Ohio Senators and Representa-.
,r tives in Congress to oppose any redue-
d ton in the existing tariff duties
a on imported wool.
p ,"NHrREAs, The interest Of the wool grow
"a ers Of Ohio are seriously endangered by the
.r contemplated reduction in the tariff duties OF
:, imported woods; therefore,
Bet resOIoed By the General dsscrn6ly of th,
state of Ohio, That our senators and represen
- tatives in congress be and are hereby request
cd TO vote against, and to use all honorable
1t means to prevent reduction in the existing
10 tariff duties On woods imported from foreigr
r countries, and that the governor Of Ohio b.
y requested to forward copies Of this resolution
-e to the presiding officer Of each house Of con
d gress, and to each Of the senators and repre-
f. sentatives from Ohio"
@. In the senate it received emily three Demo
IF cratic votes, while in the house the hepubli
le cans, to secure its adoption, were compelled
"A to resort to the previous question against tn,
A. illibustering tactics OF the Democratic mem
- bers under the leadership Of representativ,
n L. 81. -,
10 his admiring constituents. Senator Johl
Sherman, and not senator George II. psndle
Is ton, formally presented the resolution to the
ot Senate Of the United States, during the pen
or dency Of the bill for the grnoral revision o
y. the tariff, and moved substantially to strik,
ss out the clause reducing the duty oa wools
Of and received only three Democratic votes
o Just the number the same proposition had re
y, ceived in the Ohio senate. The other 26 goo,
~ and true Democratic senators voted no. A
= early Is August, 1882, Senator Bayard, o
Delaware, offered a resolution to reduce tn
q : tariff on woods to 25 per cent I'D Talorem,
| third less than the present rate, and supporie,
or 1t with an able speech in which he declared
'd it to be only step toward putting woods Of
to the free list, and every Democratic senator
Is. save one, voted with him. Senator Geo
Is Pendleton, OF Ohio, stood with his Democrati
~ colleague from Delaware and voted for tn
IN resolution which was only defeated by tn
~ solid vote OF the Republican senators, inclu
~. ding John sherman These were test votes
:. and they reveal the startling fact that In tn
-. senate OF ths United States, and In the senat
-. =. of the state of Ohio, the wool growers coul
W find but three frienss among the Democrat
= rembers-only three who would stand u
ie and vote squarsly for their interests. Thin
I'd of it-only thrce-enough in number to hav
or saved ,Sodom and Gomerroh, but not enoug
hs to save she Democratic party from the jus
To- indignation of the wool growers of tn
~ State, whom they first betrayed, and nov
mt seek to deceive. Away Win ssh hJpocrltl
cal prcteuses Of friendship.