Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1888-11-04
wh,ssaaIs re Between Two Opinion,

concIsey as ! can, to give sa,ne reasons
why every NtrginIsn, whether interested IN
protected industries or not, shopld cote Tor
GIoSer Cleveland on next TUESDAY. Tho
democratic party Ia now aud always has
Deen Toe party % the people. For about
49, yu,Tters OF century the Democratic
pAIv ne'o sway In this country and con.
with splendid schievements; they form the
golden era In the annals OF our country. No
otner period Il marked by such splenuld ma.
etial progress; at no other PERIOD have the
1'gos and liberties OF the people been 80
!sNousiy guarded; at no other period has
Tue CONSTITUTION been 20 respected On the
o.her hand the Republican party IL the partv
OF rnoney-kings, monOpolipts. and trusts. >
JUS aseciional party; It had It's inception in
sectional issues, and It has sought TO Keep m
power ever since hy appealing TO sectional
ieellngs and preiudices.
lhete are two great issues involved in
ibis election. First-the tariff. Is there
anything 10 the position Of the Democratic
party upon The tariff that would Justify any
class OF our people IN Withdrawing their al.
leglanee from that party?
There Is no ground for the charge that the
Democratic party want 20 establish free
trade. No party must be Judged by the
utterances oi few extremists. There il no
free trade 10 our platform, and there il no
Tree trade IN the Mills bill. At no time I'm
the history OF our party during the last
hundred years has 1t ever been free.trade
party. There is no issue between free trade
and high protective tariff. There ia
scarcely prominent Republican politician
in the country who has not at some time De-
nouneed the iniqmties and inequalities Of
our present tariff system and admitted the
necessity OF revision. The present tariff
discrimlnates against the poor man ana in
favor OF the rich man. Articles OF luxury
are taxed less than articles OF necessity.
Nelveis and laces are taxed less than COM
mon flannel, and brosdcloth Is taxed less
than coarse w00len goods or coarse blankets.
IL will hardly he denied that these giaring
inequalities ought 10 be corrected, and /
think II j. equally evident that the present
tariff on many articles OF imported goods is
excessively high, and its effect Is 10 make
our people pay increased prices not only for
oil imported articles but for all similar arti-
Giles OF domestic manufacture, and 10 addi-
tiOn to this 1t annually wlthdraWs from
circulation an immense amount ri money.
IL Is estimated that the tariff increases the
price OF nearly every article our people use
10y fully one third. II needs no argument to
convince the great body OF our people that
their true Interests will net be promoted 10y
high taxat1en. DO the interests OF the
laboring classes demand the continuance OF
the present hIgh-tarif system? I undertake
to say that lower and more reasonable tariff
system will benefit the labOring classes.
Does high tariff make high wages? In the
first place. the great majority Of our labor
ers don't labor in protected industries, but
even in protected industries wages don't de-
pend upon high protection. In England.
where there is tax on only few imported
articles, wages are better than they are in
France. In france wages are better than
they are in Germany, where there Is higher
protection. In Germany wages are better
than they are in Italv, where there Is still
higher protection. Wages are somewhat
better In this country than in any European
country. II is due not TO high protection,
for even here in the same projected indus
tries wares are very different in the different
States. We have the advantage OF being new
country, with unlimited natural resources
ss yet only partially developed. We have
ireer institutions and more efficient and m
teigcut labOrng class than can be found
elsewhere. There is great demand for labor
here and the competition among labOreIs for
employment Il not so great here as In the
more densely populated countries OF Europe.
But The effect Of q lower tariff than the eX-
isting one has been submitted 10 the crucial
test OF experiment. From 1916 up to the
war we had low tariff in this country. IL IS
unnecessary 10 adduce proofs thit The low
tariff system adopted in 1916 was entirely
successful aud beneGceut I'm it, results, for
there are too manv men still living who know
that this low-tarG period was one OF unusual
prosperity and that The abOrlng classes re-
ceiyed better wages and were happier and
more conteured than they have oeen during
the high-taTilf period since the war. Statistics
taken from United states census reports and
other sources show that IN the lDw.tariii de-
cade iiOm 1880 TO 1869 the wealth OF the
country increased at higher per cent. than
1870 and 1870 TO 1870, and that wages in-
creased 60 per cent. during the low
tariff decade end only 81 per cent.
during the .high.iarif decade FOL
lowing, aud that during the low'tarif
decade from 1850 70 1860 the exports OF
manufactured articles increased III per
cent. and only 50 per cent. during the next
twenty wears OF high tariff. Our fourteen
years experiment OF low tariff has shown
that very high tariff Is not necessary even
10 the prosperity Of our manufacturing int
rests, for while giant monopoies were not
built up under the lOw.tarih system, while
manufacturers did not realize sudden and
eXhOrbtanl cams, and mIilOnaifes were not
made in few years, yet our manufacturing
interests were on solId bnsis and were en-
tirelv prosperous. The continuance OF the
nresent tariff Is demanded 10y The manuiactu-
yers. or rather by a certain class Of manu-
fac,ureIs not 10 enable them 70 enjoy reason
able profits dOr they did that under low
tariff, but to enable them to reap excessive
gains, and no matter what msy be toe profits
OF the manufacturer be does not share them
with the laDorer. lie gets his labor at Inc
ruling market price. and this, rs have
shown. depends on other causes than the
tariff. IL has been through the organization
of labor tha. wages have kept uD 10 the pres
ent standard during the high-t9r,I period.
The evidence is overwhelming that high
protection has not brought happiness and
prosperity to the American lsborer.
Can there be more convincing evidence OF
this than is furnished by the last annual re-
port Of the Commissioner OF Lahory lie
shows that IN six years. from 1881 II 1856,
there were strikes in $1,000 manufacturing
establishments and lock-outs in 2,lS2 esta0-
lisbments, entaiing upon the laborers loss
of nearly or quite $50 600. 600. All this
shows copclusivcly that the condition OF the
laborer under the present tarih system mas
been far from satisfactory, and that there Is
large percentage Of claplrap and hum
bugcery In this cry about protection to
American labor"
our laboring people are too intelligent to
be caught nv mere words and phrases. they
are examining into this question for them
selves and they are finolng out that they
have been fed on the husks while all the
substantial benefits Of protection have been
reaped by the Blainos. the Mortons, The
Carnegies, and others whom this class legis-
lation has made the money-kings OF The land
sECTIONALISM.
The northern papers tell us that the only
question OF importance involved IN this cam
yass Is the tariff. | do not think so; GER
tainlv 1t Is not true in our section OF the
country. The tariff. important as II Il, 50
Gar IA we are concerned. sinks into insignih-
cance in comparison with the supreme iIn"
portsnce Of exercising the demon OF section
slism aud keeping the control OF this Gov
erpment 10 the hands Of a party friendly 10
The people Of the South. WHICH OF the two
a.