Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1884-07-05

sAruRpAY wvrNrNo. JULY 8. 1884
a IeclarstIon They Wonld Get.

Mr.. Watterson is early in the field at
Chicago, with the one idea to persuade
the convention to stick to the tariff
for revenue only phrase In its resolu-
tions, which he was permitted to slip
into the last platform, without exciting
the attention OF the delegates to the fact
that It was departure from old Demo
cratic doctrine. Mr.. Watterson IS
botter known and weighed now than
he was when he undertook successfully
TO make new Democratic deliverance
on the tariff question, and all the iniu'
ence he at present possesses will not get
the party very far on the road he wants
&c TO travel. 1t is somewhat awkward,
it is true, for the convention ut Chicago
TO modify the declaration Of its predeces'
sor and charge it with the error it made.
Mr.. Watterson and Mr.. Morrison and
the other delegates who think the tariff
is great issue now, and that free trade
is the proper Democratic policy, will
have O great advantage in press
Ing their views upon the conven'
tion in the fact that they only
ask 1t to repeat the declaration of the
last national convention, for tariff for
revenue only. That declaration has
never since been acted on by the party,
and at the present session of Congress
even Mr.. Morrison and his friends re-
pudiated it, in preparing and pressing a
tariff bill which did pretend TO lay tariff
for revenue only. 1t was a horizontal
reduction of the present tariff that they
proposed, and no one denies that 1t has
been adjusted with view to protection
quite as much as to revenue. IL the
Chicago convention concludes that
tariff declarations in national platforms
are meaningless and that the party will
not be bound to make tariff for revenue
only, hereafter any more than heretofore,
because the party convention has de-
clared for 1t, 1t may renew the declara
tion for tariff for revenue only. But
everyone will understand that the party
does not mean to lay a tariff for revenue
only, as soon as it gets into power. 1t
simply means that tariff for revenue
only will be good thing in the future
when the country Is ready for it, and
that when that time comes the Demo
cratic party will enact It. 1hat is q
very innocent meaning, and one that
will disturb nobody.
1t seems passing strange that these SO
called free traders will persist in exert
ing themselves 80 violently in declama
tion, when they really want to do S
little, as was shown when they perfecte
the Morrison bill as the thing the
wanted to do. II they really wanted
tariff for revenue right off, as the
loudly pretend, they certainly woul
have proposed to lower the duties o
manufactures of iron, cotton, WOO
silk and material Of every kind, so as I
introduce the largest quantity, to pre-
duce the largest revenue. They wei
not crazy enough to propose any sue
immediate demonstration of their politi
cal principles. They proposed to &c
along to this end gradually
which was wise. And If they wer
consistently wise they would ask from
the Chicago convention declaration
that at some future period it believed
that the interest Of the country would
demand tariff for revenue only, but
that its present. need was still for a
revenue tariff adjusted to give fair pro-
lection to the home manufactures that
have been fostered thus far by the pro
tectlve policy of all parties that have
held power in this country and such q
sensible declaration they would get.