Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1884-06-27

IdlDllldf WIFI uucSliOuS lcidlinS w
slavery, to war, to reconstruction;
but as these disappear by perma-
nent adjustment the tariff returns,
and is eagerly seized upon by both
sides TO the controversy. More
than any other issue, it represents
the enduring and persistent line of
division between the two parties
which in a generic sense have al
ways existed in the United State S
the party of strict construction
and the party of liberal construc-
ton, the party Of State rights and
the party Of national supremacy,
the party of generous income with
its wise application to public i'm
proyement; the party, in short, of
Jefferson as against the party of
Hamilton, the party of Jackson as
against that of Clay, the party of
Buchanan and Douglas ass against
that Of Lincoln and Seward. Taxes,
whether direct or indirect, always
interest the mass of mankind, and
the differences of the systems by
which they shall be levied and col
ected will always present an
absorbing political issue. Public
attention may be temporarily en-
crossed by some exigent subject of
controversy, but the tariff alone
steadily and persistently recurs for
agitation, and for what is termed
settlement. Thus far in our history
settlement has only been the basis
of new agitation, and each sue
cessive agitation leads again to
new settlement.
"After the experience Of nearly
a century on the aborbing question
of the best mode of levying duties
on imports, the divergence of opin-
ion is as wide and as pronounced
as when the subject first engaged
the attention Of the Federal Gov
ernment. Theories on the side of
high duties and theories on the
side of low duties are maintained
with just as great vigOr as in 1889
In no question of a material or fl
nancial character has there been
so much interest displayed as in
this. On a question of sentiment
and Of sympathy, like that of sla'
very, feeling is inevitable; but it
has been a matter of surprise that
the adjustment ola scale Of duties
on importations Of foreign merchan-
disc should be accompanied, as it
often has been, by displays of ex-
citement often amounting to pas.
sion.
"The cause is readily apprehen-
ded when it is remembered that
the tariff question is always pre-
sented as one not merely affecting
the general prosperity, but as
specifically involving the question
of bread to the millions who are
interested with the suffrage. The
industrial classes study the ques-
ton closely, and in many of the
manufacturing establishments of
the country the man who is work
ing for days wages will be found
as keenly alive to the effect of a
change in the protective duty as
the stOckholder whose dividends
are to be affected. Thus capital
and labor cOalesce in favor Of high
duties to protect the manufacturer,
and, united, they form a political
force which has been engaged in an
economic battle from the founda-
ton of the Government. Some
times they have suffered signal de-
feat, and sometimes they have
gained signal victories.
"The Landmarks which have
been left in a century of discussion
and of legislative experiment de-
serves a brief reference for better
understanding of the subject to-
day. Our financial experience has
been practically as extended as
that of the older nations of Europe
When the the Republic was organ
lied political economy as under
stood in the modern sense was in
its elementary stage, and indeed
could hardly be called a science
Systems of taxation were every
where crude and ruthless, and were
in large degree fashioned after the
Oriental practice of mulcting the
man who will pay the most and re-
sist the least. Adam Smith had
published his Enquiry into the
Nature and Causes of the Wealth
of Nations in theyear of the Decla-
aation,of independence. Between
that time and the formation of the
Federal Government his views had
exerted no perceptible influence on
the financial system of England
British industries were protected
by the most stringent enactments
of ParIiament,aud England was the
determined enemy not only of free
trade but of fair trade. The eman-