The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1884-03-22
SPEAKER CARLISLE ON THE TARIFF,

| II bears Il strong rcSem Dlance 10 the
drowning man catching at StrawS TO see the
eagerness with which republican organs Of
! a certain class seize upon the fact that
Speaker Carlisle made "A speech at a ban
auet of the Free Trade Club in New ! ork
city last Saturday night, and in it made
some pretty strong uiteranceS in favor OIL
not free trade but-tariff reform. The
speech the papers referred To gleeiully en-
claim cannot fail to give mortal OtfenSe tn
the X ndall wing of the Democratic party
and thus lead to its disruption.
On looking up the speech in question in
the New York papers of Sunday we find
the principal utterance of Mr. Carlisle at
the banquet afotoresaid he reported as
follows
When manufacturing interests have grown
up under high protective tariff system, or
through a series of years, and those engag
ed i'm them have become accustomed to lean
upon the bounty of the government for sup
port, il might he injudicious and even dis
astrous to them suddenly to repeal or great
" reduce the duties Such acourse would
seriously alarm many who have ample ca
pital employed in these enterprises, and
when capital is really alarmed even though
il be without cause, the result is far time
as bad as if there really were cause for
alarm For these reasons for all interests
it has always been my opinion that it was
the duty Of Congress TO proceed carefully
and conservatively in its legislation upon
this subject, paying due regard at every
step to the large interests involved. In 9th
or words, | am in favor of reformation
not revolution. Mr.. President, this process
of reformation must 90 on until the power
of taxation is used only for proper purposes.
There must be no step backward. There
must be no deviatian from correct principle
and sound policy.
If the Randall, or any other, wing of the
Democratic party are unable to stand that
kind of talk and demand its Reputation by
the body of the party as their condition of
remaining within its pale, all we have TO
say is, the sooner they get out the better.
The Democratic party, by every National
convention it has held in the last 40 years,
stands pledged to the doctrine of tariff
substantially for revenue only, and from
1912 up to the civil war the financial policy
Of the government was conducted ON that
basis, and never in its whole history, in its
prpat industrial and commercial interests,
has the country been 80 prosperous as dur
ing that period. The war, with its awful
exigencieS, financial difficulties and numer-
Gus questionable eXpedients and shifts left
the government at its close in the grasp of
the money kings and monopolsts. The
twenty years since then have been strug
gle to get ont of their clutches, Yet in all
these years, with the single exception OF an
abOrtive and fraudulent pretense AT tariff
reform by the last republican congress, not
a single step has been taken to deliver the
tax payers of the country from the mountain
of oppression, injustice, iniquity and false
prctence involved in the tariff legislation Of
congress during and tolerated on on
the plea of the overwhelming eXigencies
of the war, The country still demands that
release 1t wants no sudden revolution but
Il sure, steady movement towards reform.
And whether the Randall wing, on any 9th
er wing, like it or not, that movementmust
and will 90 on. There must he no step
backward There must be no deviation
from correct principle and sound policy