The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1886-12-01

n matter who may desert or who
may falter, the great fight for re-
form UfU go on"
The friends of tariff reform are
not eudeavoring or desiring to
abolish customs duties" as "TaX
Payer" OF the HeqGtd enormously
assumes. The grand army of tariff
rcfOrmcrs is composed of two par
ties-the tariff rcfurmerS who
would effect Il "discreet tariff re-
FORM" and the free traders, who
favor the ubo!ishing of "customs
duties" and a resort to II direct tax.
The writer cannot 20 SO far as to
favor free trade. | am in favor of
Il "discreet tariff REFORM" not, how
ever, to be confined to "imported
articles" as "TaN Payer" proposes.
a great work has been achieved
throughout the North in the last
few years in the way Of disscmina-
ting useful information, OH not only
the tariff, but taxation generally
and all economic subjects. An
efficient and well organized society,
with headquarters in New York
City, has been in operation ever
since 1881 for political education.
This society was organized by the
CT lightcncd aud conscientious men
Of all partics-Dem0crats, Repub-
Leans and lndependents-who,
while differing amongst them
selves as to parties, believing that
all parties are but means to an cRd,
and not themselves an end, and
that all parties need to be re-
strained within the bounds Of mo-
rality. The cardinal principle Of
this society is that a wholesome
and active public opinion, unhamp-
cred by "hossiSm" and party "ma-
chine" is the true safeguard Of
is managed by an executive COM
mittco of twenty-five persons, e
lectcd from different sections of
the United States. The society
works by publishing from time to
time, i'm cheap form, standard books
of sound economic and political lit
erature. These books, pamphlets,
tracts, &C., are selected and printed
by the managers above mentioned,
and sold to members, and others,
at the smallest possible advance
beyond actual cost. In addition to
the Importance of u wholesome
and active public opinion, unhamp-
cred by party hos ISM" another
prominent principle of said society
is, that "trade has the right to the
frccst scope unfettered by taxes
except for Government expenses"
This, il will be seen, is plainly
against protection. The president
of this society is the Hon. David a.
Wells, of Connecticut, a Rcpubli-
can or national reputation. Be
sides the chief publishing house of
this society, located in New York
City, the society has two other
publishing houses, II in Chicago
ana the other in Boston.
Without going further into par
ticulars, the reader can sec ~ very
good u for the recent tariff re-
form triumphs in the North. |
must add here, that one Of the most
active and ardent workers in tariff
reform is Rev. Henry Ward
Bcccher (of Sharpe Rifle noto-
riety), who has for years been
president of Il Free Trade club in
Brooklyn. Further, the New York
Times, one of the most influential
Republican papers of the Union, Is
an active pa"'iZnn Of free trade.
So of a large number of Rcpubli-
cans. Indeed, many manufacture
CrS arc ardent tariff rpfOrmrrS, and
cIcn free traders, because the pres
cnt rate Of tariff taxes are so high
that they restrict the importation
of raw materials Of many kinds
necessary to successful manufac.
turing. The division thus caused
among manufacturers themselves
and the regular, ~pcrScvrring or
ganizcd effort Of tho society above
spoken of, is telling upon the pub
lie opinion of the North. And it
will not be many years before the
m~onStrositics Of the present tariff
will he numbered with the past
not by abuliShiug the customs
houses, | would say for the salts
faction Of "TaX Payer" but by Il
diScrect tarif reform, reducing the
present rates down to Il revenue
standard.
At the risk of being thought by
"Tax Payer" "voluminous" and
consuming a good deal Of time
tpN Hl'tN', illuSt MN lttN' W IT,
cur to this subject again next week,
when we will give some reasons
for not accepting "TaX Payers" re-
commentator of an effort "to re-
peal the Internal Revenue Tax"
We repeat, us we have said in a
previous communication, we are
for tdriP rcform, but not for free
r0dc. We can join hands with
"raX Payer" i'm "a discreet Tariff
Reform" without establishing GUS
toms duties"
But we must insist that "TaX
Payer" tell us what amount in
tariff taxes the people Of Iaurcns
county annually pay to the Federal
Government? This Is the qucs-
ton he promised to have "Pcrry or
George TjUmaD. our CDnprcSSmpno