New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-07-08

The powerful minds Of several great states
mon M Chicago. IT IA stated, have been cohceh-
trntrd upon the preparation Of form of words
which may serve the Democratic party ns
tariff platform. Their principal dlIiculty II
seems. is with the word "Only.n That potent
word. thc4r statesmen are reminded, Killed
General llancocl, and brought 10 nnught n
Presidential campaign which sl'rtod with
shouts of joy over tl,o "ccrlaiuiy that hc WA
selected already II tho Democratic and DEE
pcndcnt organs of that day did not teal dreadful
fnlschood. The candidate must have run nway
from The winning post ut n rate msp,.
passed In wciug annals. In the opinion at
great Nat,m,u ut Chicago, nothing could have
nousht about ~ marvellous u change except
the little word "onlT' and The whole Demo
crnticpnrty is therefore now engaged I'm ,tiug-
Gle with that word, to get rid of II If possible.
4 pcrsal of the dispd,chc, leads to the inn
preston that the Convention may perhaps be
strong enough to put the disturbing word out
of the hall.
This entire performance strikes dispassionatr
Observers "a, funny beyond expression. IL Is
funny that the party should care anything
about the word, and nothing about the ciTcun-
stance that Mr.. Tildrn who put the obnoxious
word into the platform in 1875, is the de
clarcd first choice of cyclybody-cXccpt, posi-
bly,. himself. II is supcridtivcy funny that the
party should imagine that The word il of any
consequence whatever, in view Of the record OF
the past forty years. II was in ISL that
"Polk, Dallas and the Tariff If ~" cheated
the country. The repeal 90 the tariff of 1872.
which quickly followed and by the casting vote
Of Mr. Dallas, was the beginning of fifteen
years Of tariff for revenue only tauu liom
which the protective idea was expelled "s fra,
pos,ible. which Frustrated industries in 1917,
and a.ain in 1897, and which has nevertheless
been REGARDED by Democratic state mcn and
teachers ever since as a glorious example OF a
truly Democratic tariff I'm 1861 il was swept
away by the Republican party. and protective
tariff VA, enacted in spite Of Democratic votes.
Year alter year. until ,G7, changes We're made
TO render the protective system more elective
and complete, and every such change was re-
sisted bv the Democratic votes in Congress,
and denounced by the Democratic organs and
orators as an Infamous robbery of tine people.
During all the years since 1857 this dcnmcia-
ton has continued, with struggles by that party
in Congress to break down the protective sys-
TEN. Continually, in Congress ana in the press,
the old revenue tariff of Is rs has been held up
as the Democratic model, and the National plat
forms of 1876 and 1850, demanding in so
many words "a tariff for revenue only were
unanimously adopted as expressions Of the UNI
doubted will aud aim of the party. And this
very year four-ffths of the Democrats in the
House have voted for a laundering botch of a
bill, which they justified only on the ground
that'it was first firm step toward free trade.
Put lot of words into a hat, Mcssrs Demo
Gratis and shake It and draw out just what hap
pens. Your record will be exactly the same.
The country Judges your phrases exactly as you
do Mr.. Tildcn's letters, when YOU take it for
granted that he cannot be telling the truth.