Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-08-06
DEMOCRACY'S NIGHT.
Hon. VIM. Prentiss at Moline Satur.
day Evening.
An Able and Eloquent Address From
Our Next COngrrssman---R
ny Francis Hoffman, T.. W. Hurst
and Eugene Lewis.

Saturday night was an important, as
well AS An enjoyable one to the demOcra-
cy of Moline, in that it witnessed the
first public appearance in that city of
Hon. VIM. Prentiss, of Macomb, the dem
ocratic candidate for representative in
congress from this district. During the
early part of the evening the Light Guard
band discoursed happy music on the
principal street corners and then led the
way by circuitous route to the city hall
square, where platform had been erect
ed and seats provided MI Geo. W.
NInton, president of the Moline demo.
cratic club, presided. and there were also
upon the platform, Hon. VIM. Prentiss.
Francis A. Hoffman, Jr, of Chicago and
Messrs. E. ". Hurst and B D. BufOrd,
of this city, and A S. Wright. Geo
Woodruff and Eugene Lewis, of Moline
VIM PENTISs' ADDRESS.
After a selection by the band, Presi-
dent Einton, in y few fitting remarks, in
troduced Mr. Prentiss, who was received
with tremendous ovation. Mr.. Prem
tiss expressed his pleasure at seeing so
large An attendance so early in the cam
paign. II was three months yet, he said,
until election, yet the large and enthusi-
astic gathering before him demonstrated
the fact that the people are interested
IN way that bids good for
the democratic party. Yet this was
not true of Moline alone. but the same
was true everywhere he had been in the
district thus far in the present campaign
The masses of the people have an espec
ial interest in this campaign. such as
they have not had before, not that any,
thing has arisen that threatens the de.
of our institutions, vet there is
a question Of vital interest to every man,
woman and child in the land to be settled
in this political strife This is a land of
all political parties, it belongs to the
people of all creeds and political atfila,
tons and whether politician OF not The
people are the sovereign the law mak>
ing power-snd if the laws are not prop
eriy executed. il Is really and in truth
the f4ult of The people the people be
ING those for whom The government is
made, and the government being of the
people and by the people, the burdens Of
government should be made to bear AS
lightly upon the people as possible
1t should bear most heavily upon
those able and less heavily upon
those less able te stand it The
city and county and state taxes are
according to the possessions
of the person taxed. Taxes are levied in
to the ability of those levied
upon, TO bear them. This is right But
while this just and proper proportion
is applied to municipal, county and state
taxes. it is not so with national taxes
Mr.. Prentiss then went into q lengthy
and thoroughly able discussion of the
tariff question. He held that the present
system of.so-called protection was simply
robbery, and the enormous taxes imposed
wholly unnecessary. He commended for
Only such taxes as were necessary for the
maintenance of the government. and it
was the policy of the government under
for the past twenty-five years to keep
the people in ignorance of the burde n
they uniustly and unnecessarily bear
1t had come from the lips of
such republican leaders AS Depew, ALI
son and Harrison, the present candidate
for the presidency, that it was the better
plan to deny the people a knowledge OF
the tariff manipulstions. 1t was these
unjust taxes which party bosses seek to
conceal, that imperilIed the property OF
our government. and yet it was neverthe
less an nnconcealed fact that more money
is being taken from the people than is
nece ssaTy. The speaker was for this
reason tax reformer-a tariff refOrmer
He favored such II revision of the tariff
laws rs would enable them to bear more
equally upon the people The greater
the burden of a man in the support of hi:
family, the greater his national tax The
masses of the people are the consumers
they pay the tax and sustain the burden
on the imported articles, and on the do.
mestic articles they pay the tax of the
home manufacturer. THIS is protec'
ton. Protection SIMPLY compels s
payment of bounty to a certain elias:
without getting any return. Mr.. PrentIs'
favored protection only so far as it pros
tected the great masses of the people
against the impOsitiOns of a few
He traced the history of the tariff
from its origin in providing taxes for tn,
maintenance of the government, wheI
duties were first levied on certain i'm
ports with view of protecting home in
dustries The first revenue or so-calleC
protective tariff adopted in 1876 proved
so destructive that in 1857 it was reduced
by republican house. The tariff shoult
not necessarily or justly be more than L
per cent on the average, yet we have on
now of 50 per cent.
In country like ours, where are com
bined the shrewdness, the skill, the sa
gacity of all the nations of the earth,
protective tariff was never enacted TO
the benefit of labor If the protective
tariff was made for the benefit of labor
then the manufacturer, who is the sol