Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1884-10-03
REPUBLICANS AND THE SURPLUS

$10O,OOOO00 year. The reason Is that the
Republican party has no policy with regard
toit. The party does not favor a reduction of
tariff taxes, and without such a reduction
the surplus must continue TO accumulate.
Every Blaine paper and every Blaine stump
orator insists upon maintaining high pro-
tective tariff. 1t is now about time that they
should be required to tell tho people what
the Republican party proposes to do with
the surplus revenue.
ltistrue that Blaine has proposed that the
surplus shall be divided among the States in
proportion to their population, but what
right has the government to collect taxes for
no other purpose than to distribute money
among the States? If Blaine's plan were
adopted, how long would it be before the
government at Washington would absorb
whatever rights and powers which still re-
main TO the States? Was there ever before
conceived so shrewd scheme as this Blaine
plan for centralizing power in the general
government
Senator Bayard, in his great speech at
Brooklyn, said that political morality and
political economy were inseparable. With
$100000,000 more revenue than is needed
for the actual expenses of the government
how long will it be before there will cease
to be any pretense of administering the gov
eminent economicallyp Corrupt schemes of
all kinds will be proposed and thousand
hands will seek unlawful entrance into the
Treasury where one seeks entrance now.
The anxiety to share in the public plumber
will rob public men of their integrity and
destroy whatever there is of virtue in politi-
cal parties The star route frauds will sink
into insigniHcance in comparison with the
schemes that will be inaugurated to rob the
government Blaine's plan of solving the
surplus problem would bring about an era
of corruption that would threaten the exist.
ence of the Republic.
But if the Blaine party does not propose
to adopt the Blaine plan, what plan does il
propose to adopt? 1t would be interesting
to have this question answered now when
extraordinary efforts are being made tc
make the country believe that its entire
prosperity is due to the present high protec
) tive tariff
But is the prosperity which the country
has enjo yed in the past years due to a pro
tective tariff If it is, why is it that mill
and factories all over the country are clos
ing and thousands of workingmen in every
part ofthe country are out Unemployment Il
it not because our protective tariff shuts III
up TO home market, and that the produc
ton is greater than the home market car
absorb. Last year our exports amount
ed in the aggregate TO $SOo,OOO,OO0, anC
; of this amount less than $100,000O00 rep
resented the products of American manu-
featuring. Does this showing tell the story
why our mills and factories are closed and
our workingmen idle? We are by our tariff
system prevented from distributing our man
ufacturcd products in foreign markets.
The Blaine organs alarm the working
men by telling them that a reduction OF the
tariff means lower wages for them, but they
do not tell them that the protective system
threatens to deprive them of any wages
whatever They do not tell them thai
while they are idle their scanty savings art
being drawn upon TO help to make up the
$l00,000000 II year for which this govern
ment has no use? Let the Blaine stumI
orators speak out and tell what they pro
pose to do with this surplus fund.-
, McD0NALD'S DEFENSE OF BLAINE
Ex-senator Mcdonald, an Arkansas car
pet Dagger, makes the defense for Blaine I,
the charges that Blaine acted corruptly il
connection with the Fort Smith and Little
Rock Railroad matter. The defense is weak
and aims to excite sympathy rather thar
convince the understanding Indeed, it /.
difficult TO sec how defense could he made
that would be convincing in face of the
overwhelming and damaging evidence con
tanned in the Muligan letters
Perhaps there will be a general desire t.
) know whether ex-senator Mcdonald en-
joys such an enviable reputation for integ
rty that his word, unsupported by evidence
of any kind, is sufficient To show Blaine to bt
an innocent but badly slandered man. |.
not this Mcdonald the same one whose
name has been mentioned in very un
savory way in connection with the Texas
Pacific Railway charterY He was in the
Senate about the time that Tom Scott wa,
trying To get a charter Tor that road, and i
has been alleged that the charter cost Scot
good round sum.
But whether or not this Mcdonald has
good or bad record he certainly makes a yer,
poor defense for Blaine. For instance, h
says that Blaine had nothing to do with get
ting the Immigrant of the Fort Smith an,
Little Rock Railroad, and that he could no
' have prevented the revival of the grant if h
had wanted to. That may be true, but wha
has that To do with the charge that Bain
y sought an interest in the enterprise ON tn
ground that he had done its promoters
= great service by making favorable ruln
y. on the bill.
Blaine even went further than that, an
said that he saw many channels in whic
>, he could make himself useful il the pr,
/" moters Of the railroad scheme would max
y him partner.
They did make him partner and i
:, made himself useful One Of the ways
), which he made himself useful was that i
:. loaded u good many of his innocent an
. contlding constituents with the bonds of II
!, road at a price far beyond their real valu
The bonds were not worth great deal, b
cause the road was bonded for ever 80 niue
more than il was worth.
. Mcdonald says that blaine is entitled I
I, sympathy rather than blame for taking pa
in that railroad business because he WI
out of pocket in the long run about sec, 00
;, IfFsher's letters are reliable, Blaine, instea
!, of losing money, made n large sum, an
Fisher is clearly better witness than Nj
Donald. II is true that when the intere
on the bonds was not paid by the compan