The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1886-10-29
he Egis and Intelligencer
Why Farmers Should Vote for Hon:
Frank Il. Shaw.


be over-estimated. The tariff question,
which has been smothered out all these
years by agencies directly interested In pre-
serving the present system, which robs the
many for the benefit of the few, will inevita-
bly, come up. Republicans as well as Demo
Gratis are interested in a fair and equitable
adjustment of the tariff tax on imported arti-
Giles, and the demand for revision of the
tariff is too loud to be longer ignored. Both
parties in their national platforms of 1884
pledged themselves to an equalization of the
tariff burden; but the only effort yet made in
that direction in Congress has been by Dem
ocrats. At the last session Mr.. Morrison, of
Illinois, presented in the House bill for the
reduction of the tariff, but the Republican
minority, by the aid of such recreant Demo-
Gratis as Randall and Findlay, killed the
measure outright The larger number of
Democratic members, we are glad to say,
were true to the platform of their party and
voted for revision of the ubiquitous system
which robs the poor of their hand-earned
wages under the guse of protecting" man
ufactures The excuse of the Republicans
for classifying the pledges of their party was
that the time was too short in which to con-
slider subject so vast and important as the
tariff; but if they had been in earnest in wish
ing to carry out their party pledges they
would have taken Mr.. Morrison's PROPOSE
ton as basis and by postponng it until the
next session, given time for consideration of
it by the country. The truth is, the Repub-
lican leaders do not want any change in the
tariff. SO many of them are interested in
mammoth manufacturing enterprises and
collect enormous profits from their fellow
coantrymen by means of the high tariff that
they are naturally opposed to any thing
which would curtail their profits.
Those most concerned in reduction of the
tariff are the farmers, whose interests were
not consulted in the slightest degree when
the present tariff schedule was made Now
the farmer must pay the manufacturer, not
only legitimate profit on every manufac-
tured article he uses on his farm or in his
family, but an additional charge, imposed.by
reason of the so-called protective tariff This
additional tax is added by the manufacturer
to the price of his article and the farmer
must pay it. If this tax were lowered or
abolished, it stands to reason that the manu-
featured article, being then subject to foreign
competition, would be sold at lower price
without decreasing the legitimate profits of
the manufacturer.
Every attempt to equalze the tariff so that
the agricultural interests may stand upon the
same footing as other classes, is met with the
cry that manufacturers must be protected"
But why should they be protected" and ia
vored at the expense of the farmer, the pro-
duce of whose labor is the basis of all our
prosperity? Let taxation be equalized as
nearly as possible, we say.
The government now collects more than
one hundred million dollars annually from the
people, in tariff and revenue taxes, over and
above all its expenses. 1t requires no argu-
ment to convince any one that no more
should be collected from the people than is
needed for the expenses of government,
economically administered. Therefore, it is
admitted that this surplus should be reduced.
The friends of protected" industries want
the revenue tax on whisky and tobacco
abolished, in order to decrease the surplus
and thereby make the present tariff more of
necessity than it now is. But this would
afford no relief to farmers. Cheap whisky
would scarcely be considered q blessing to
them; nor would cheaper tobacco be q boon
to be ardently desired. What they want is
cheaper agricultural implements, cheaper
clothing, cheaper coffee and tea, cheaper
medicines-cheaper necessares of life of all
kinds, in short. This result would follow if
the tariff charges were formed for the benefit
of the many and not for the emolument of
the few, as is now the CASE
Hon. Frank L. Shaws record on the tariff
question is clear He is in favor of an equi-
table revision of it-not revolution that
would embarrass manufacturers and stop the
wheels of industry, but q reduction of the
duties on the necessaries of life, in order that
farmers may not longer have more than their
share of the burden to bear
On this ground even Republicans can vote
for DIR. Shaw. He is true to the interests OF
farmers and farmers should support him.
d.