Clarksville evening chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn) 1886-1890, 1888-10-16
BY A UNANIMOUS VOTE.

ILOulS ICAlOi1lAIdVCu nlLn
BY A UNANIMOUS VOTE.
Proceeding to the tariff question
Mr.. Thurman said:
"What is tariff? 1t is nothing
in the wide world but a tax. 1t is
a tax levied upon you people, and
when it is levied for no other pur-
pose than that of furnishing the
Government Of the country with
sufficient means to carry the Gov
ernnent on, no man of any party
makes objection to it, but when it
is used, not for the purpose of rails
ing in that way the necessary reve-
nue. for the Government, but for
raising millions and tens of millions,
nay hundreds of millions of dollars
of more Of revenue for which the
Government has no legitimate use,
then, my friends, the Government
puts its hands into your pockets
and robs you of your daily earnings.
[ Applause. say it is tax, and
it is tax paid in the most une-
quail degree by the poor man of
the land.
"How is this tax paid? Does the
tax-gatherer of the United States
come around and demand it of you
on your farm and in your workshop?
No, that is not the way. 1t is this
way. Upon every article of foreign
manufacture that is brought into your
country for sale
THIS TAX is LEVIED.
It is collected in the custom-houses
of the United States. 1t is first paid
by the man who brings the goods
here, the importer; and then, of
course, he puts that tax upon the.
price which he paid for the goods,
and sells it for that increased price
when he disposes Of it to the mer-
chant. Then, when the merchant
sells it to you here in this goodly city
of Shelbyville, he keeps on that tax
in the price that he charges you for
it, otherwise he could not carry on
his business twenty-four hours. Thus,
upon all that you wear, from the
crown of your head to the soles of
your feet, the burden of this tax is
laid upon you in the price you pay
for the goods.
"And there is this other thing about
this tariff, that, not only is the price
raised upon all the goods that are
from abroad, but it is raised
on all the goods manufactured in this
country that come in competition
with those goods that are imported,
and so it is that about
FOUR OR FIVE TIMES AS MUCH
as the money that is collected from
the people in these prices paid for
goods goes to private class in the
United States and does not go into
the Treasury at all.
"Well, now my friends, the effect
If this has been to create great sur
plus in the Treasury of the United
States. Democrats say it right to pay
axes to the Government to the
amount that the Government needs
10 carry on the affairs of the Govern
nent.
BUT 1T IS MONsTROUS
20 tax the people to the amount OF
300, 100000 or more in order that
may be withdrawn from cir
,ulation, withdrawn from business
md locked up in the vaults of the
Treasury.
"My friends, our opponents say
hat this tariff is for the benefit of Ia
boring men, as if it could possibly be
or the benefit Of laboring man to
ak him on all he wears, on all his
wife and children wear, on all of the
ools and implements of his trade,
md, when he dies, carry him in a
axed coffin to his grave.
But Republicans state that Demo
rats propose to break down all the
IN the country. My
riends, they would do no such thing.
hey mean to give the manufacturers
fair chance.
FOR AN HONEST LIVING,
nd when they do that they do all
hat an honest man can ask, that is
IL. The talk about our oppressive
r being enemies of the laboring
nan. Why, in the name of all that .
; true, of what manner of men is
he Democratic party composed? ? /
ave belonged to it ever since / was
nee high to duck, as we boys used
~. Applause and laughter 1 .
ave watched it, been of it, worked
18th it, and seen it under many and ,
lany an administration, and always ,