Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-10-31
ABSURD ON ITS FACE.

The claim that the democratic party is party of free trade, and that it is seek ing in this campaign to inaugurate an era of free trade, is absurd on it's face. Some weeks ago Governor Hill in an address de- livered in the Academy of Music in New York city stripped this silly accusation of its plausibility in these words: "It is the very height of absurdity to suppose that the democratic party, of all others, would adopt free trade policy. The dem ocratic party is largely made up now, a5 it always has been, of the masses of our population. It is the party of the truest protection to American workmen."
 Nothing could express more purgently the position of the democratic party. The governor has not only expressed the an tagonism of the party to free trade, but he has pointed out the reason why that an- tagonism exists. The democratic party relies for it's strength on the common people, on the men who earn their liveE- hood by the toll of their hands and the sweat of their brows and that being the case, nothing but the maddest insanity would ever prompt it to adopt policy whose consequences would be injurious to the interests of its best supporters and staunchest adherents. Free trade would certainly be such policy, and consequent ly to free trade or to anything approach ing free trade the democratic party is nat urally, necessarily and unalterably oppos- ed. A reduction of existing tariff rates by an average of five per cent cannot be tor tured into free trade except by the most distorted and disingenuous process of reasoning. As long as the dem ocratic party remains in power neither American labor nor American workingmen need fear that any protection, be it tariff or legislative, will be ever re- fused by the party, or that any barrier requisite to shut out hurtful foreign com petition will be ever removed. The party of Jefferson and Jackson, that has held out it's succoring hand to the alien and made him welcome on American soil, clothing him with the sacred prerogative of Ameri- can citizenship and guarding his public and personal rights, is not pointing the dagger at it's own heart by stabbing the men who are it's alpha and omega, whose interests are its interests, and in whose fealty it lives and moves and has it's being Furthermore, it is because it is the party of the masses, and therefore solicitous fol the welfare of the working classes, that the democratic party favors such revision of our present unjust and unfair tariff system as will enable American labor to enjoy the fruits of it's toll and industry without being compelled to shoulder use less war taxes or pay tribute to monopolies trusts, syndicates and combines. It de mands true protection for the American workingman, not the sham sort which the republican party foisted upon the count, ) for the benefit of corporations and wealthy combinations, and all assertions that it i: trying to introduce free trade are atrocious ly false and absurd.
 The democratic party is not a free trade party; neither is it committed, inclined ol pointed to free trade. It is for reasonable protection to labor rather than monopolistit protection to capital. And labor knows it. It is not scared by this absurd clap trap about free trade.