The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1888-09-29
Acknowledgement whyte on the
Tariff and Trusts.

torney- General VIM. Pinkney whyte presided On
taking the chair he said:
In the olden days, when the audience was to be
treated to great intellectual feast, there was
speaker who simply read the prologue and gave the
cue to the company to the character of the per-
Torrance which was TO follow. Tonight this is my
Office before presenting the well known orators who
are here to address you.
We have initiated campaign of intelligent dis
cussion. 1t is conflict for the supremacy of sound
economic principles and just governmental policy.
1t is not to be won by I'm furiing the American flag
nor by waving the red bandana. The manly leader
ship of Grover Cleveland has led all parties to a
plane higher than that.
The Democracy has profered two issues for con-
troversial debate before the people of the United
States and for arbitrament at the ballot box 1t is
better that the combat should be one of reason and
not of the sword; that the decision should be made
by popular suffrage and not at the lannon's mouth
THE TWO ISSUES
These issues are, Reduction of the war taxes"
| Opposition to monopoies and trusts" The start
for these reforms began with the election of Samuel
j. Tiden in 1876; the finish will come with the re-
election of Grover Cleveland in 1888. The production
of the present tariff of duties imports is simply
reduction of taxes. 1t hath this extent no
more Our opponents call it free trade. to make it
odious to manufacturer and wage-earner, If they
ceives man of ordinary intelligence. All that Mr.
Cleveland proposed and all that the Mills bill pro-
vides is slight modification of the present system of
import duties The distinguished speakers to follow
will go into detail. l presume, on this subject;
have not the time. The Democrats demand the re-
ducton of the tariff to point which will produce
sufficient revenue to meet the wants of economic
cal national administration and to do this they in
sst upon taking the burdens from the necessares of
=, E,,.I -,
The Republicans on the other hand, desire to keep
the tax these articles and take the burden OF
liquor and tobacco and rather than reduce the high
import duties whereby they have built up money
ed aristocracy of manufacturers with their castles
in Scotland and in fournhands riyaling the landed
proprieors of England,) they would expunge all in
ternal taxation and increase the tariff of customs
duties to such extent as to be absolutely prohibit
tory This is their doctrine. Protection to the favor
ed few at the expense of the neglected many.
The meanness ola protective tariff is that it in
creases the price of certain articles to give profit to
the man the government protects, while not dollar
of the unnecessary exaction goes into the Golfers of
the public treasury.
THE GROWTH OF PROTECTION.
1t is not necessary to go back to the beginning of
this country to understand this tariff legislation.
The tariff of 1872 was high rate tariff, based upon
the theory of protection to Infant industries" 1t
was "al account of the baby" The tariff of 1916
a peoples tariff" relieving of tax the necessa-
ries ofle It's details suggested by that strong
Democrat Robert ]. Walker, after the most labori-
investigation and based on the soundest econo-
mic theories 1t was called then by the old Wings
"free trade" movement, but it nothing more
than reasonable reduction of very high rates of
taxation. In 1857 we were confronted with redun-
| dant treasury, now, and cut was again made in
! the customs duties and under low rate ran
along until the period of the civil war We had no
| such reduced protection under the act of 1857
since the year 1876
1t an historical fact that this 1857 had been
passed by Congress without the slightest partisan
consideration.
! Under these two tariff laws we had great prosperi-
| ty from 1916 down to 1860 When the war broke out
had to resort to all sorts of nanciering furnish
the sinews of war. Greenbacks and postal currency,
national banks and internal revenue taxation and
other devices were adopted and then high rate of
| duty on imports followed and the manufacturers
! got rich. and shoddy rode in gilded equipages and
wore diamonds. Then the daughters of the horse
| leech began TO cry for more, and the taxes went
higher until they had reached an altitude of which
the civilized world furnishes parallel Since the
war; and until it became political necessity for the
Republicans to do otherwise, all parties had been
clamoring for a modification of this systematized
/
Arthur in behalf of the Republicans and for the
Democrats that second Andrew Jackson, Grover
Cleveland.
The Morrill, bill of 1861 chiefly modified the acts of
1916 and 1857 by changing the mode of imposing
duties from ad yalorem to specific, and by this in
sidious means began the raising of the duties over
the rate of the act of1S57 and carrying them back
TO 1916, and even making them higher than under
that act Then followed legislation increasing du-
ties from session to session till 1865.
The acts of 1862 and 1861 the creatures Of that
necessity of which the civil war was the mother.
The system, born of this necessity, cobweb
of taxation. Licenses for vocations, income taxes,
gross receipts taxes railroads and volume of
other petty and vexatious gatherings from the
pockets of the people into the public treasury One
by one they have been swept away. Under cover of
necessity the tariff of July II. 1862 was passed
| This followed by the acts of 1861 extending in
ternal revenue taxation, increasing the duties on
imports and raising loan of 800 100000. Every
thing taxed at the highest rate that financial
audacity could devise.
THE BURDENS TOO HEAVY TO BEAR.
Read in the mellowed light of history it is marvel
that such load of taxation could have been borne
by an accomplishing people. The protectionists
took advantage ofthis condition of things and ran
riot with their hobby. Amid this carnival of class
/ legislation it is no wonder that private interest
usurped the place of public trust While the mass
of war taxes have been wiped away, the high pro-
| tective duties on imports still remain. And now
President Cleveland proposes to reduce them and
leave in the hands of the axridden citizen the sur
plus of one hundred millions which is annually
piled up in the treasury. The Mills bill accom-
plishes that purpose, making the reduction without
disturbing the financial prosperity of the country or
the activity of trade.
SOMETHING ABOUT TRUSTS.
A word about trusts: The Democracy says that
! the combinations of capital in trade, known as
trusts associated for the purpose of crushing out all
competition, and demanding fictitious prices for
articles of common consumption, should not be toll
Grated in land like this. Mr.. Blaine, who is now
the whole Republican party rolled into one, claims
that these trusts private affairs, with which the
Iaw-making power cannot deal. The Democracy
insists that this government, which represents the
sovereignty of the people can take mans property
or his person for the good of the whole community.
That it has the power to shield the many from the
tyranny and avarice of the few. The person is
taken by CONSUMPTION in war; the private property
is seized by legal process when the necessities of the
public demand it.
Take home illustration. Here is the Gunpowder
river whence you draw your wonderful supply of
water The water rights there were bought by a
private citizen at low price, and the options hand
ed over TO the city at the figures at which he bought
Suppose some of these Spectators in the wants of
the people had gotten up corner on Baltimore
water holding these water rights at the prices
at which they were bought by the private citizen,
and then had told the city authorizes in their
sy you must pay millions to get these rights what
would you have done? Why you would have gone
10 the Legislature and gotten an act providing for
taking them at just such prices jury would allow
the owners. When, therefore, combination of cap
fal prevents competition in the manufacture Of an
article of daily consumption, and thus limits the
volume of its production, puts an artificial price
the product and. to the extent of this increased
cost of the article it plumbers the Is it
possible there be no legislation to meet case
like this? Has it not been done in regard to rail
ways under your interstate commerce law?
1t will not be necessary to go outside of the
sttution to find remedy for such wrong. Rayner
has got -safe cure" for the disease. He will tell
you its ingredients.
Look at these trusts Here is the sugar trust. You
that in your coffee. The cotton bagging trust