The west Tennessee star. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1888, 1888-09-07
OPENING THE CAMPAIGN.
The First Gun Fired by the Old
Roman at Port Huron, Mich.
The SOphistries of Protected Manufactur-
ers and Their Republican Allies
Swept Away - Why Laboring
Men Should Be Democrats.

The first campaign gun of the Nation,
echoing the policies of the tickets from an
authoritative source, was sounded at Port
Huron, Mich, on August p, by the Demo
cratic candidate for the Vice Presidency,
Ex-senator Allen q. Thurman. The "Old
Roman said:
/ defy any man who has any regard for the
truth to say that Grover Cleveland has not
made a good President of the United
States. Cheers. A brave, intelligent,
level-headed, noble man, he has had
a clean, an upright and a successful
Administration. loud cheers.J Four
years ago he was elected. In the canvass
that preceded his election his opponents
predicted all manner. of evils in case he
should succeed. He did succeed, and pray
what has become of their predictions
Laughter and applause.l Where is the ruin
that was 20 follow the election of Grover
Cleveland? Where is the disgrace that
was to follow his elections On the con-
trary, the country has been more quiet,
more peaceable, more prosperous than it
has been for many years that have gone by.
Now, know the man, know him well, and
tell you, my fellow citizens, that more
upright and wise man 1 do not believe
dwells within the limits of the United
States-[loud cheersl- land he has noble
band of councillors around him, and not
the least among them is the distinguished
citizen of your own State, Mr.. Dickinson.
LApplause. Cleveland knows not only
how to govern himself in the limits of the
constitution, but he knows full well how to
choose good constitutional advisors.
LCheers.l Having said this much about the
Administration, let me proceed to that
question to which I alluded in opening,
which is commonly called the tariff ques-
tion.
We have, according to the last advices
I have seen, about Sis, 900, 600 in the
NatiOnalTreasury, called surplus revenue
that is, taxes collected from the people be-
yond the necessities of the Government.
Those S115, 600, 600 are lying partly idle in
the vaults of the Treasury of the United
States, of no service to any human being,
drawing no interest, earning no profit but
taken from the pockets of the people,
where they properly belong, and where, if
they were now found, thousands and ten
of thousands and hundreds of thousands of
the people of the United States would
put them to good use and improve their
condition and prosperity. Applause The
Democratic party says that this is a
wrong condition of affairs-that that money
ought not to be, like the talent of the men we
are told of in the Scripture, buried in the
ground =; that that is a very poor use to
make of the money of the people; and,
therefore, the Democratic party say that
this surplus revenue, which is produced in
the main by this tariff tax, ought to be re-
iduced; that the tax should be reduced SO
that the surplus will not continue to accu-
mulate. Our opponents, on the other
hand, say it is better to let the surplus ac-
culmuTate; it is better to take the money
from the pockets of our people; it IS better
to pile it up in the vaults of the
Treasury Department, although it does
no good be- whatever, but rather does
great harm; it ia better to do
that than to: touch the tariff laws of the
country We say, On the contrary, that the
way to relieve the overtaxed people is to
reduce the tax; that the way to treat q
people honestly. fairly and wisely is to
take no more taxes out of their pockets
than the Government actually needs for
expenditure. Cries of "Good," That's
right" and applause.] The issue, then,
is clearly made up between US. 1t is be-
tween high taxation on the one hand and
reasonable taxation on the other. 1t is be-
tween taking the money! of the people Of
their own control, out of their own pock-
cts, and burying it in the cellars of the
Treasury Department. or leaving it where
it belongs-in the pockets of the people, to
be used as their wants, their require
ments, their intelligence and interest di-
rect.
1t is a curious fact, and one Of the
worst things about this Variff tax, that
while the Government gets 81 resulting
from the tax, domestic manufacturers get
S. as it is best estimated, that never goes
into the Treasury at all How does this
happen9 A man called an importer brings
goods into the United States to be sold.
He can not sell a yard or pound until he
pays this tariff tax. He pays it, therefore,
and then sells it to the merchant. OF
course he must get this tax back in the
price for which he sells or he would lose
money. His business would break up at
once, Therefore, be puts the tax en- the
original cost of goods, and with that price
added with the cost of transportation and
his reasonable commercial profit he sells
the goods to the merchant. The merchant
sells.to the retail merchant, and, of course,
this tax which entered into the price con
tinues in the price and to it is added the
profits of the merchant. Then the retail
merchant sells to you and of course he
must get in this price, for otherwise
he would sell for less thar he gave
for the goods, and no man would con-
sent to do that Therefore the tax is on
when the cloth, for instance, is sold to you
and in the price you pay this retail mer-
chant you also pay the whole Of the tariff
tax, the importers profits, the wholesale
merchants profits, and the retail mer-
chants profits, besides the interest on
their money. 1t is as plain as that two
and two make four. If / was a school
master and boy of ten years could not
understand that after ten minutes teach
ing 1 would give him up as a hopeless
idiot TLaughter.l That is the fact in re-
spect to this branch of subject Now, how
much do you pay4 The amount of duti-
eble goods imported into the United States
10 1887 was in value $3.50, 900, 900 in round
numbers. The duties collected on these
riff Naz nd
fraction. Therefore, in that single year
tax was levied on the people Of the
United States by the operation of this tariff
law Of S212, ,0OO, 600 and fraction, which
went into the Federal Treasury. But that,
as have told you, was the least Of the
burden. The domestic manufactures of
the same kind of commodities amounted
that year to Sc, $50 OO0, 600, and as the price
of those goods was raised bY the tariff In
nearly or equal proportions to the price Of
goods that were imported, the amount
which the people paid by reason Of these
high prices Of what they had ~ buy or had
10 use amounted TO 81, 100000, coo. That
iB about Eve times as much as the tax re-
ceived BY the Government for the uses Of
the Government. In other words, the
whole community was taxed about 81, ,0O0,-
OO0, 600 for the benefit Of comparatively a
small portion Of the community. And that
is said 70 be Just; that Is said to be fair
play; that IL said 70 be for the benefit Of
the American people. Why don't they
oarry II out furtheFf When they find In
Port Huron lawyer speak kindly Of q
lawyer because am lawyer myself-the
proceeds Of whose profession do not afford
him and his family comfortable support,
why don't they tax you AL for his benefit
so as to protect him. When they find a
doctor whose income Is not sufficient for
himself and family. why don't they tax all
the people Of Port Huron in order to add
10 the e5salth OF that doctor1 And 90 on
with every body else. Why don't they do
it, Because they know perfectly well that
the people would not stand it. And yet
they do tax a man. or did tax him, and do
vet, pretty highly, sometimes on the modi-