The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-04-26
1T IS THE TRUE POLICY

yOT IeFeHm UWy.
1T IS THE TRUE POLICY
Of government Even this club in It's con-
stitution, to which I subscribe as mem.
ber, says in the ninth section: "Tarif for
revenue only at the earliest practicable
period consistent with all due regard for
existing interests and the financial needs
Of the Government; and Immediately such
revision Of the present system as shall
fairly and equitably distribute burdens"
You have no right TO tax one man to help
TO make another richer; but is it necessary
for us Us Democrats to put "a tariff for
revenue only" in our platform OF to day,
and to declare we will bring 1t about at
once? We do not know what Congress
may do in the next two years. Congress
may 80 reform. ornlpyise, or remodel the
present perniciOus tatitf as to eliminate the
whole question. But will 1t do II? Go
ask them there what they are doing to-day.
Are the Democrats in Washington all OF
one mind on the question OF tariff? Here
is my friend, Mr.. Springer. Ask
him Il every Democrat on the floor Of
the House OF Representatives Is man
for tariff for revenue only. He will tell
you no. A Congressman from Virginia
wants to protect some commodity for tariff
because his constituents demand it. But
lCe may. LreOk dOlgn the monster Mdt q now
building up The reaIM Of he JeW al The er.
pense Of The many, and that is by reforming
the present tariff, reforming it so as 10 take
of the burden Of the people, and then you
have living principle, living issue to
fight for, and not a thing OF the dead past
that we have hauled up for years and paid
noattention 10 when we got TO Washington,
! believe in living issues, believe in the
Democracy. do not want the dead issues
Of the dead past. do not want to tie
myself to dead corpse that lying yonder
in the distance, that we haye trodden over
and the sod is
GREEN OVER ITS GRAVE.
l want to be tied to living issues, and there
are plenty Of them that we may go before
the people and win on. One OF them is
thorough reform in the tariff, a reform
looking for tariff for revenue in the future,
when it can safely be reached; and another
Of them is TO do away with this thing OF
royal Presidency. ... .-.. \
But saw some OF my friends shake their
heads because say don't put in your plank
the tariff for revenue only. l wish TO say,
MIR. President, that no man in this audience
tonight believes less In protection than |.
l believe ii Is fraud on the masses. 1t is
q thing gotten up 10 make the poor man
poorer, and tberich man richer. But the
poor man working day by day for his bread
Is more or less the machine and the tool OF
his rich employer. We have seen it here
In Chicago; We have seen it elsewhere.
The ether day the Democracy OF
Chicago rolled up 4l,000 votes.
In the Presidential election In
1880 the Democracy had hut 81, 900 What
caused this difference? We are not more
Democratic to-day than we were then. But
it was because monopoly crushed the la
borer and made him vote with it. Look
at this last election here few days ago,
when circulars were issued by the Repub.
lican committee circulars addressed TO
every rich employer in the city, telling
bin TO see to impressing on his employees
the necessity Of voting for that ticket.
What does that impressment mean? It
means 10 impress him by letting him know
that his moirow's employment depends on
how he votes to day. Then why array
this terrific factor against us? Let the
newspapers do their duty, let Congressman
preach 1t, and scatter over this land the
true doctrine that tariff for revenue is the
best in the long run, and that protection is
robbery. Spread that doctrine ever the
country through your speeches, my friend,
Senator Bayard. Scatter that literature
over the country, educate the people, and
when we win the Presidency then we
will have tipo to look at true relornil
in the policy Of tariff. But don't put a free
trade plank in The platform HOp. Did we
not offer reform this other day? I1ave we
the tariff? Ewill ask my friend Mr..
Springer, Did the last commission reform
the tariff. or did 1t not2 Your speeches
said that it was fraud. The Republicans
say 1t is right, and they have got the press
Of the North. You can only contradict the
influence OF that press by your speeches in
Congress, Scatter them over the land.
Let Mr.. Wheelerissue from his bureau in
New York proper documents that will in
struct the people, but do mol IlrO,O aWdy H.e
chances cf thinning PTetidcncy and giving
to the people Jelersonian Democracy by
asking for something that you cannot get.
Let every Democratic oiliceholder declare
"that in matters Of trust he never considers
his own interest"
THANK you for your kind attention and
will close. VIZ