Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1888-02-03

the principle it believed to be right.
We are pleased to find an agricultural
paper, however, which is notable ex-
ception to the general rule in this re-
gard. The Farmer, published at st.
Paul, which is alive to all the material
interests of American agriculture, does
not close its eyes to the tariff question;
but. feeling confident that great benefit
would come to the farmers Of the
country through a reduction Of import
duties and the repeal of laws restricting
commerce, advocates such reduction
and repeal in unequiyocal and forci-
bic language. In an article headed
"War Taxes" The Farmer of last
week says:
The Farmers Alliance Of Nebraska,
in their resolutions regarding the tariff,
90 straight to the mark in earnestly
protesting against the removal of
taxes from whiskey and tobacco, " and
PRAYING as earnestly for relief from
taxation upon iron, coal, salt, lumber,
wool, woollen goods and sugar.
1t is incOnceivable that there are yet
some farmers in this country so blinded
by prejudice, or 50 stepped in ignor-
ance, as to be misled by the cry Of
those who, to save their beloved tariff
and their pockets from interference,
clamor for the repeal of internal rev
enue duties as war taxes. What are
the tariff duties but war taxes, with
this difference: that while the internal
revenue duties have been subjected to
such frequent pruning as to be barely
One-third of what they were, since the
tariff has been maintained very nearly
at the rate at which it was established,
as its venerable parent, Senator Morrill,,
declared, as a compensation to the
American manufacturer, burdened
with the extraordinary load Of internal
taxation entailed by the war? The
excessive internal revenue taxes were
the immediate consequence of the war,
and the huge tariff duties were che
consequence Of the excessive internal
revenue taxes. 50 clearly was this
understood that the high tariff advO-
Gates were constrained to declare that,
as int nal revenue taxes were abatel,
SO should the tariff duties be reduced
promise which, it is hardly necessary
to add, they have most dishOnorably
disrcgarded. On the contrary, as Mr..
Breckenridge stated at the tariff reform
dinner given last Saturday in New
York, everything on the schedule, if
it could talk, would tell tale of secret
lobby work for private interest and
this in spite of the fact, to quote an
other speaker on the same occasion,
that the tariff is limited by the con
stitution exclusively to public pur-
poses, and that, as it exists at present,
it was proclaimed by its authors a
temporary war cXpedlent."
The farmers and the workiugmen of
the country were for many years blind
ed and hoodwinked by speciouS argu-
ments and false pretenses; but at last,
here is no doubt, the increase of in
telligence and the growing habit of
Thought, WHICH ltI use 10 Jdht tillIlSo
for granted, and for every effect seek a
cause, have awakened them to sense
of the selfish, private ends which have
maintained a war tariff for over twenty
years, and in spite of the rapid reduc-
ton in the internal revenue taxes
which were made the 0stensible cause
of this protection of private interests
at the public expense. Taxes are for
the benefit of the whole people, and the
protectionist principle is doomed.