Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1883-07-06
DIrLSIO.yoa tie TiRIFF.


Politics are beginning to grew hot al
ove7the country. At present there is no
much more than picket firing and Skin
mishing. and lines are 50 badly marked
aud cOlors are 50 mixed that one hardl,
knows who are his fricnds aud who hi.
enemies. TIE people generally wbc
have heretofore been allied with one or
the other Of the two parties. still cling
60 the old names and listen for the old
war cries which are sounded from the
platforms Of party conventions an / howl.
ed FROM che stump bv th, adcrs in the
campaign. without considering how
meaningless and misleading mist Of these
terms have become hcdgel aounl and
laden as they are with qualifications and
promulgated and uttcrcl by men who
do not uuderstsn them or who use
them merely as catch words
We would be glad to know froul
SEINE honest, intelligent politician or
statesman exactly what are the lines Of
1arty-denArsAtioR in seLIs Of tbe most
important palitiso- sOonsnic questions Of
ths day the Tariff, Civil Service Re
form. the Rights " Sate,. There is a
popular belief that the parties are really
divided on the tsrifF, anil yet it Will be-
found that lealing men in both parties
are freq traders while others are pro-
tectionists, aud so also in the matters o. d
Civil Service Reform and States 9
rights which, for the present, W. viii !,
pass. a
IL would be difficult to determine the :,
exact standing of the two parties on the n
thrift from the records Of the last Con. 6
gress, except that the Republicans who
are responsible for the legislation of that II
congress distinctly committed them he
selves to revenue and tariff reform how co
eyer btitlngiy they may have done so or =.
however incomplete may have been the nj
reform. The Democrats, as a rule went Rt
further in dcbiie in favor of this reform an
than the Republicans, but it is not at all ", yo'
certain that if the responsibility Of legis ele
ton had been upon them they would ticl
have gone further, when Sc many Of the for
leaders avOwed that they thought every Ilk'
Congressman ought to protect and fos- om
Ter the industries Of his State ~
There is one thing that shouLl be onl
learned and lornc in mind, viz Sat obn
n the present complex con lition of civ our
hzation all governments and social sys- in
'ems are compromises We can not or ele,
ganlze Utopia in year and day; the pre-
is probably ages hence = WV WV
While every honest' stu'lento OF fonUeal 81,
Economy will assent to the PROPOSE of
tion that there should be free and IN I"
tranmeled commercial intercourse be 10
5weeu' the nations of the world. that g.,
man should be permitted to place his thu
goods where they will bring the highest thu
price without artificial restraint of any ma
-. l., thi
WV ty,
raised and he is apt to lean towards the lol
approval Of such laws as will foster hon e fro
industries. That duty on imports is an
the method of raising revenue which 'o'
bears least heavily upon the people is al Il,
most univcrs lily conceded As to fos we
tering home. industries unless an in a
creased duty induces the manufacturer I'M
to pay his labcrcrs higher wages and 49,
enables him to carry on larger enter lii
prises or unless his enterprises could not pc
be carried on at all without protection. Gu
we do not see that there is any justice ~
in passing special laws for the enriching R,
Of a few at the expense of the many. TOT
The true principles of Political economy lor
may be learned by any intelligent per- 'n
son, but not without diligent study, and ~
it is easy to state ono or two of them tn
when learned but how to apply these to
principles or whether they would be ap- fal
piled or whether they could be safely -"
applied in this country when the stud is
cnt becomes the politician or statesman, M,
the Congressman or President, is anoth- tn
or matter.
If some of our Presidential aspirants he
would in some of their letters and utter mi
ances tell us exactly whit they propose FRI
70 do when President, instead of rehash-
ing priAeiple or two Political economy -
as almsst any Of us can DO, it would be ri,
more to the point 1t is said that Han ye
cocks tariff letter killed him, and we fear tn
some others may die from the same ~
complaint. Still the tariff viii be one of
Of the leading issues in the next presi- yC
Dental campaign.
-
A citizen of Camden, Mo. recently
Gouul ,ock -, / ],