The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1885-02-04
Suggs' Sense.

Editor Herald:
1l74 years ago Tarik built a town
and castle at Gibraltar and called il
farifa. IL commanded the straits, and
compelled the vessels passing out of or
INTO the mediterranean ~ pay duty on
cargoes. IL was here we got not only
the word "tariff7' but the zone lunged
reptiles" spirit of robbery, which il
brought down to us impaired and
reduced to national fine art. Gem
turtles ago, among the craggy rock =
that Over-hang the Rhine above Co
lOgne, the plumed knights secure ia the
Robbers Cliff facilitated distribution
and incidentally protected the products
Of Europe by levying tribute on all
boats passing down from Germany or
up from France. This was tariff un-
adorned, in its pristine glory.
No wonder Watterson excIaims-
''that thieviDg tariff" The application
is seen when one threads through the
history of tariff from Gibraltar down to
the present.
I'm aware that taxation IN considered
as perhaps the most intricate problem
in political science but may not one
have an opinion of Euclid's 9TH prob
When We see thousands from all
parties whose ambition Is to tear away
from partisan prejudice, maintaining
that political education of the masses is
the only safe guard to our institutions,
and subscribing to such tenets as Trade
has right to the freest scope unfettered
by taxes except fO' government ex-
penses;" when We hear such men as
Minister Lowell, who presided at a
meeting in London no longer ago than
last Friday. say, i'm reply to a paper on
Wages and Labor read on that occasion
accusing American labor of degener-
ating, that tariff has injured Ameri.
can competition i'm iron ships but free
trade would make her a dangerous
competitor (Of England in the markets
of the WORLD" when we see the falIacy
of this talk about unprecedented ma
tiOnal prosperity by considering how
many distressing strikes, failures,
clamors for work and bread in the face
of three successive crops, and these
under the benign auspices of a high
protective tariff system, | say il il time
one should think tor himself Ii is time
tn have AN opinion when such states
men as Mr. Blaine tell us that "high
protective tariff enables us To live com
fOrtably. educate our children, and lay
by sufficient amount for the necessi-
ties of age" What mockery. Where
Is the laborer, however industrious, no
is doing this ? But you can take that
very speech and its figures show that
the manufacturer r, ceived So million
dollars more i'm net profits in 1850 than
the whole amount paid for all the labor.
Those very figures show that the labor
er's share of these great imparadising
years of plenty is only to the poor tune
of 81 o. a day, vet he on this pittance
is expected to educate his chiIdren,liv
happy, rise up and call tariff blessed,
and die rich on 81 o. day, 1921 a year
Something Is rOtt n in Denmark, and
il Is high time that the people should
not only thiIk but act for themselves,
whether they understand the situation
or not. Unity in the sOvereigns. har-
mODious and determined resistance of
the little insignificant wheels in the
vast circumference will at least check
that great unwieldy master wheel in
the center. and then they may reverse
Capitalization.
In the meantime let me suggest to
some Of WattersOn's would-be critics