Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-07-08
PROMISE AND PERFORMANCE.

A001Ocf0nC
Long" on the Former and short en-
the Latter.
The Democrats party has determined TO
narrow the coming campaign TO silgis
issue, The platform at St Louis follows
the example CT the Presidents message,
and IS limited, In reality, TO single plank
The other issues. real or pretended. which
have done service fer many a year are lost
TO sight The currency question lies dor
mant- BY the deliberate expression of o
platform which i is announced was ap-
proved before It's adoption IA every word
and letter BY Mr.. Cleveland. the Civli-Sery- .
ice reform Issue, which gave hirn. through
promises that he failed TO keep. so strongs
support four years ago, IS wholly aoaa
oened- TIE civil service part Of the pat
form commerds, as If IN 50 many words
the dispensatieu of public patronage fer Do
htfcal reward. The ta-lG AID the tariff only,
Is the point On which the Democracy vii
seek 10 win.
Now, II Is Tot necessary, saws the ST. Paul
P.ons,r Press, 10 consider for the present.
how far the positieI of the party and tho
Ll-concealed tendencies that are behind II.
lean toward free trade" The expression
Is not happy enc, though the ultra tarid
pro:estants do little 10 conceal the fact that
this is the goal which they strive 10 reach
as rapidly as possible. Nor need we even
take the Mills biIl, buhe;ed or berated BY
the representatives of every section and
every State, as the measure of the Demo
cratic idea Of tar:C reduction. Il Is true
tia. party whose best es-ort is the pro
duction Of q hlll which repels enemies and
friends alike, and which is fashioned Oh
principles so unfair ard partial that even
the man who VII vote for II Apologies IN SO
dong by saying that Il is al be can get,
is not party that'caa command confidence
when II proposes 10 remote. a great indus
trial system. But we may waive even tals
point, aud suppose, for the sake Of arga-
Eent, tina, the issue IS really tariff re1uc-
ton, and that the Democratic party contains
ability enough to reduce the tariff without
injustice or injury to the American indus
tres On the basis Of the hypothesis far
more favorable 10 the party that fair mind
cd men VIII admit 10 be the fact, let rs see
what reason there is why an honest taref
reformer should persuade himself that he
can or ought to vote the Democratic ticket
II is fact OF history which can not be
pordered too often or toe thoughtfully, that
the only reduction Of the tarli made since
the close OF the war was the work OF Re
publican Congress The profession q the
democratic party that II IS for low tariff Is
not thing OF recent date. The " tariff for
revenue only" declaration goes back grea.
many years. II ought 10 be, as much SIS any
thing. a cardinal principle OF the Demo
cratic fai b. II was fundamental plank OF
the platform in 1873 Aud. while processing
this opinion, the party has been in control
Of Congress several times. What has 10
done Nj performance Of its pledgess Not TO
so toe far back. we may note that the Demo
Gratis have been Q majority in the lower
House ever since 1883. II viii be six years
next March since the Republicans had a ma
joriGy OF the direct representatives OF the
people. Six years ought 20 DO long enough
10 test the good faith Of any profession. In
those six years, the eye Of tho poorest poll
tician could see that a reform of the tarcf,
independent of party considerations, was
becoming more and more OF principal i'm
portsnce. In al that tine. the public deet
was decreasing and the DANCE OF a Treasury
surplus was clearly apparent There Is no,
one item Of the situation as It Is to-day
which was not foreseer and predicted half
q dozen years ago. 1t was, then. the part
of those n power TO make All effort 70 pro
vide for what they saw coming To this
they were bound not only by the logic OF the
situation, but by the promises which they
had made over and over again CT completing
tariH changes.
And yet, IL all these years, with all their
platforms and party professions behind
them, no Democratic measure for the re-
ductlon Of duties has ever passed the
House OF Representatives. There have
been bills, there mas been agitation. there
has been unlimited waste Of timc ia gen
al Hstsu hqfs Of IL il
not profitable 10 consider whether tais. Is
due 10 deliberate intention 20 deceive or TO
mere impotence. In the Ugh, Of promise
made and abandoned, the question whether
the promlser uttered a lasehood or only
went beyond his ao.4lty 10 perform cuts 10
figure. For tals experience OF the past
foreshadovs the future. The elements Of
the party arc unchanged. Barapm and
German and Randall are Still IN tsc party,
and propose 70 resign 10 particle u their
influence il shaping It's course. There -
no more reason to-day 20 believe that the
Democratic party, II once more continued
II power. wO ID be faithful - - pledges O!
tariff reduction than there gas Ok or four
years ago, nay, there is infinitely less, be-
cause II has 0cen tired and found wanting.
il has been trusted and proved false Com
pairing promise With performance, we ask
any sincere advocate Of tarT reform with
what hope or grace Or conscience he can
vote the Democratic ticket This year.