Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1884-01-10
Tariff as an Issue.

prominent Republican leader in Con.
gre ., according TO World inter
viewer, gives up the sectional issue,
and this seems TO be the purpose OF
the influential papers and the real
leaders of the party. 1t would be
nursing cold corpse is the idea ex.
pressed as to the bloody shirt 1t is
further declared by this shrewd OBJ
server:
"You can never get ths people Of The
North to try any more experiments in
the way oi regulating the local sfisirs Of
the South. or to Try by legislation TO
hetter :he condition of the teRro. The
Northern people arc Indifferent. They
recognize the fact that YOU cannot put
the brains and superior intelligence Of
a community, even II II il IN minority.
under the control and domination Of
any inferior intelligence. That expert.
meut has been exhaustlgcly tried by a
powerful Government, backed by the
army and fierce party sentiment, only
TO fail wrptcheiiy. IT IL failed then,
what can any one hope To gam now ia
the reaatation of the question Ia the
face Of the Northern apathy on the
sui jeCDy The RspuhlIcans who think
the Southern business can he warmed
over again for use in the next campaign
are simpy Republican B5urbous who
refuse to see the tunes have changed.
The negro must take care Of himself.
lie cAnuo, be made an issue. The cy.
dence OF this ia shown in tho way the
civil rights decision Of the Supreme
Court hiss been received. Ten years
aEo this decision would have awakened
perfect storm of agitation. Now IL il
received with the most perfect iudiiIsr-
encc.
The prominent Republican be.
lieves the Tariff the impending issue,
but even here there are difficulties.
The We-,crn Republican. aud power.
fol influence at the East will not nc.
cept the Pennsylvania Republican
doctrine In Illinois, Iowa, Michigan
and other Western states the opfosi.
ton is as bitter a. that Of Pennsyl-
vania Democrats TO n tariff Tor re-
venue only" platform. Both parties
are undoubtedly considerably mixed.
The most remarkable tariff rezolu-
ton we have ever seen was the one
adopted by tho Greeley Convention at
Cincinnati in 1872, and afterwards
accepted by the Baltimore Convention.
1t simply remanded the tariff question
as local issue to the decision Of the
people in the election Of Congressmen.
That met the necessities Of the case in
& national platform, and expressed the
truth. 1t meant it vas matter Of
detail rather than national princi.
pie that il was 10 be decided by com.
promise and concession, having refer
ence to local as we'll as general inter.
ests. The citizen in manufacturing
state regards protection quite differ.
emily from the citizen of a purely
agricultural state 1t is q pscket-
question in both cases, and decided
according TO the universal law Of
human nature We don't suppose
either party viii 90 into the Presiden.
tial fight on such : sensible resolution
but nevertheless it expresses the truth
and clearly forecasts the action of
Congress on any tariff bill that will be
presented. Ifa majority of The people
feel that tariff for revenue only il 10
their pecuniary benefit they will have
II 80. If the varied interests benefited
BY protection are in The majority, that
system will be maintained. Our own
view Is that = vast majority Of the
people OF the United States want tariff
reform, of varying degrees (again
affected By local intsrests), - soon as
they can get 1t; that the discussion Of
the question is strengthening the 70.
formers and weakening the protection
lists; and finally. that the present de.
pressed condition of The manufactur.
Ing interests, as The climax of twenty
years of high and often excessive pro.
lection, and even of prohibition. hss
made and is to-day making more con-
verts TO the idea of a reformed re-
venue tariff than all the pamphlets
md speeches and newspaper leaders of
The free traders in The las. fifty years
It Is 3 solid fact appreciable by the
nillmen and day laborers, the miners
ind skilled mechanics that excessive
protection--the Pennsylvania ideal of
tarif-has brought about the same |