Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1888-09-22
MIR. Cleveiand'S Letter.
Kansas City Journal.

L
Mr.. Cleveland's letter is out at last, and
it has not helped the situation single
vote. It is in one sense a rehash of his
message, and has all the special pleading
that the reformer has made SO dreary to
the ear of the Intelligent voter.
Mr.Cleveland reiterates for the ten thou
sandth time that a tariff is tax, and then
turns round and tells the people that the
revenue must continue to be raised bv
taxes. If million dollars in revenue, as
he says, collected at our custom houses
| represent many millions more" why
does not one of his millions have the same
effect as another? The man who at
tempts to put away grave public policy
by such stuff as that ought not to put in
communication from the president of a
great and intelligent people. For it is
too plain subterfuge to need showing
| up.
But there is one paragraph We desire to
call attention to which shows the policy,
and admits of no double construction.
1t is this one, and we give it every word
as it stands by itself: 1.-The cost of govern
ment must continue to be met by tariff
duties collected at our custom houses up
on imported goods, and by internal revenue
taxes assessed upon spirituous and malt
liquors, tobacco and oleomargarine."
There is no hope held out here for the
release of internal taxes or anything, but
the great whisky and tobacco trusts are to
continue to add taxes direct, while the
wool grower, the ore owners, the miner
and the producer of fax, hemp, iron, lead,
everything that by conversion employs
labor, must be admitted free. That Is the
argument, that is the policy, that is the
declared purpose of Mr.. Cleveland, and
the people can misunderstood no longer.
The radical difference between the two
policies was never more clearly admitted
than in this letter of Mr.. Cleveland-fo
he says: "We propose, therefore, to
stimulate our domestic industrial enter
prises by freeing from duty raw materials
which by the employment of labor are
used in our home manufactures" Iron
ores, coal, lead, zinc; copper, wool, fax,
hemp, potatoes, and, all materials from
the soil and the mine are to be admitted
free and hoated on ocean vessels to the
great manufacturing centers, while those
from our own soil and mines are left
without a market and untouched. A
more deadly blow at the rising manufac-
lures of the interior states was never
threatened than this policy of Mr.. Cleve-
land, thus openly declared in his letter of
acceptance.
In one sense, we are very much disap-
pointed in the letter OF acceptance. We
expected plausible argument to avert as
far as he could the opposition to his free
trade tendencies. But the letter is even
more pronounced than the message His
declaration in favor of the retention of d.
rect taxes, and his open hostility to the
protection of raw materials makes his
position an open one against the interests
oil labor.
Mr.. Thurman, in his speech at Port HUI
ron, endeavored to show that the labor
employed in the production of manufact-
ured goods was but small per cent Of the
working masses, and that it vas unjust
to the great army of workers in other
fields to be taxed merely to keep up their
wages. But Mr.. Cleveland argues that
by sacrificing this great body Of workers
outside the skilled labor Of factories, by