St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1888-07-12
Honesty the Best Politics.

The announced determination of
some of the political newspapers and
speakers to make the coming campaign
a clean one, has been hailed with ap-
prevail far and wide. The CaledOnian
suggests that it also be made an honest
one. For instance, some of the demo-
cratic press already speak of the repub-
lican platform as having "free
whisky" plank in it, while many re-
publican papers retort by shouting
''free trade" Now these charges are
neither honest nor fair and will surely
harm the party that Insists on making
them. The republican platform de-
mands the repeal of the tax upon
"spirits used in the arts and for me-
chanical purposes" Although this
may be impracticable and perhaps i'm
possible without opening the door to the
grossest frauds if not the evasion of the
entire whisky tax, yet the republican
party is not on record as in favor of
free whisky.
republicans that democracy is in favor
of free trade7 That bugbear, the Mills
bill, proposes to reduce the average
rate of duty on articles which it affects
from 66 per cent. to AZ per cent, which
latter figure is higher than any tariff
prior to ga, even higher than the Nor
rill tariff of 81. Can party be charg-
ed with advocating free trade when
their own tariff measure if adopted
exceeds the tariff of our own Justin S.
Morrill,
honesty is the best politics and that
false accusations and unfair charges,
like chickens, will come home to roost
Concerning Party Platforms.
Those who cannot understand all
the intricacies of the tariff question and
who cannot satisfactorily explain the
meanings of party platforms may find
comfort in the fact that makers of tariff
laws and builders of party platforms
do not themselves agree upon either.
The sugar discussion in congress on
Saturday is case in point. Repre-
sentative Canon of Illinois, republican,
favored a repeal of the duty on sugar.
Kelley of Pennsylvania, also republic
can, was for retaining it and charged
Canon with making an assault on the
II 81, Il
form. McKenna, republican, declared
Canon's proposition opposed to the
principle of protection and distinctly
and accurately opposed to the Chicago
platform. Canon retorted by declar-
ing himself in entire harmony with the
tariff plank in that platform. Gear
and Henderson of Iowa, both republi-
cans, were with Canon. Other repub-
lican representatives took equally pos
tive positions in holding that the re-
peal of the sugar duty was either in
perfect harmony with or Numerically
opposed to the tariff plank in the Chi
cagO document. The Boston Journal
and other strong republican and pro-
lection papers hold that there is no re-
publican objection to reducing or re-
pealing the tax on sugar, either to the
principle of protection or to the Chica-
go tariff plank. Where prominent pol
iticians of the same party disagree who
shall decided Those who are engaged
in the hopeless task of making party
professions and party performances
harmonic, that they may know where
TO place their votes, will do well to
heed the suggestion found in the re-
mark, that "there are many voters who
read the lives of candidates rather than
the phrases of platforms"