The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1884-02-08

III
which the article abounds. The Col.
treats of national, economic question,
,n the determination of which the
interests of 100000 of people arc to
be affected for the better or for the
worse, and yet his answer is addressed
to wool growers. only, who constitute
only about one in fifty Of the population
of the United States. Now, the hod
carrier. the plow holder, the wheat
raiser, the cattle man, the hog raiser,
the mechanic, the merchant, the lawyer
and the millions of day laborers
throughout the United States, are all
equally interested in the settlement of
this tariff on wool and all other articles
upon which it isSplaeed. Col. Lang
entirely ignores the existence Of these
several classes that constitute the great
body of the people of the country, and
yet these classes are citizens-the peers
in rights and privileges of wool grow.
ers. They, too, voted for Slater with
the understanding that t1ey were to be
represented In the Senate by him.
Senator Slater's position, that, in treat
ing of the wool tariff question, it should
be done in connection with the interests
of every other citizen of Oregon, is
absolutely unassailable, and yet the
Sun stretches out over three columns in
pleading for the building up Of a special
interest, represented by one-Sftieth Of
the people, and that, too, at the expense
of the other forty-nine fftieths. The
San insists that Slater was elected to
represent a "district." Pray, what
district does the Sun mean Evidently
Wasco county. Aud not only would
the Sun confne the Senator to the in
terests of the people of Wasco county,
but to the interests of one class, alone,
of the people of Wasco county. Now,
the farmers, hop growers, hod carriers,
blacksmiths and mechanics of all kinds,
as well as the thousand and one labor
ers Of the Willamette, Valley, Eastern
Oregon and Southern Oregon, have ell
the time believed that Senator Senator
was elected to represent their interests,
as we'll as The wool growers Of Wasco
county. And, as an old Republican
said to us recently, "there are more
men engaged in raising wheat in the
Willamette valley alone than are en-
gagged in raising wool throughout the
entire state, and that whether they be
Republicans or Democrats they will
stand by Senator Slater in the bold
position he takes that be was elected
to represent the whole state The
San applies the term ''free trader," !"
more than once to Senator Slater, and
this it does with the evident purpose Of
deceiving tits readers and creating a
prejudice among Democrats of Eastern
Oregon against the Democratic party.
Now, We undertake TO say that Senator
Slater has never announced himself q
"free trader In the sense in which the
Sun uses the term-that Of a removal
of all tariff duties. There is not one
Democrat in 9 thousand whs is
"free trader" in that sense Of the
word, and the Sun knows this we'll
when it talks about opening our ports
to Stree trade" It should be remem-
bered that the Sun in this article, (and,
in fact, in nearly all of its articles, }
pleads for the interests of wool growers
and ignores entirely the great necessity
of establishing wooden manufactures
here on this coast, which cannot be done
unless government throws its protect
ing arms around those who attempt it.
And to legislate so as to increase the
price of wool, would certainly not be
furnishing our infant Industries that
protection.
The Sun, which in its every Issue
stamps itself as the organ of special
interest, would levy tribute upon fifty
millions of people in order that one
million may coin money for their own
pockets. The Democratic position is
that duties upon imported goods be laid
high enough SO as to produce sufficient
revenue to pay the current expenses Of
the government economically admins
tered, and interest upon the public and
the debt itself as fast as it becomes due.
These duties should be SO distributed
as to afford protection incidentally to
such articles as need it, bat not to pro-
duce, monopoly in the manufacture OF
production of such article. IF congress
by tariff duty protects one citizen SC
as to increase his profits id his private
business, then,upon the highest grounds
of good conscience, fair dealing and
public duty, it should equally protect
all other citizens. for in contemplation
of the organic law of the land all men
are equal, and all taxation should be
equal. Therefore, we should protect
the wheat grower, the blacksmith, the
merchant, the rail maker, the farmer
and the mechanic equally with the wool
grower and the manufacturer. But the
Pretectionist will say that by protecting
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