The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1888-08-30
DEMOCRACY.
AS EXPOUNDED BY
ALLEN C,THURMAN
The Mastery Speech Of the
"0ld Roman at Pt.
Huron, Mich.
The Democratic Position on the
Tariff Question Expressed in Ian
guage Clear and Convino-
ing---The Great Speech
Of the Campaign.

VA uAS 0SAA HSA6As
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN-Will yon allow me
to keep my cap on? OF course; certainly: :
me some harm if 1 went bareheaded; ant
although am perfectly willing to uncover m!
head before the people; still do IN not want t.
[Voice-"Keep your cap on
My friends, this is the first time in my life
thatI have had the honor to speak in your city
have been invited again and again, but have
never been able to accept any invitation before
this. esteem it great privilege to be able tt
1t pleasure because know what an energetic
enterprising and intelligent population Michi
gan contains and know, too, that your people
are taking the deepest interest in the question:
that are being discussed this year.
In the brief time that shall speak I will oc
lions. 1 shall do SO because it is that in
which 50 much interest is now taken tai and M MupSSI or
which SO much is being said by speakers, by
writer's and through the public press
The Administration.
It Is not necessary for me, before proceed tc
that subject, to speak of the president of the
United States and his administration more than
regard for the truth to say that Grover Cleye
land has not made a good president of the
United States. Applause A brave, intelli
clean and upright and a successful administra
tion. (Applause and a voice, "Hurrah fol
In the Canvass that preceded bis election his
opponents predicted all manner of evils in case
he should succeed. He did succeed. and pray
is the the m ruin that was as to follow the election Of
Grover Cleveland? Where is the disgrace thai
was to follow his election? On the contrary
the country has been more quiet, more peace
able more prosperous than it has beer for many
years that have gone by. Applause Now,
my fellow citizens, that more upright and
wise man do not believe dwells within the
limits of the United States. lApplause.l And
he has noble band of counselors around him,
and not least among them is the distinguished
citizen of your own state, Mr.. Dickinson.
how to rule himself within the limits of the
constitution. but he knows full well how to
choose gocd constitutional advisers. Zap
plause.l
The Tariff Question.
Now my friends, having said this much about
the administration, let me proceed to that ques-
ta ts2 sG T9lGe o3eston there IS not
person within the sound of my voice who does
not know what is meant by the tariff. And yet
It may aid us to-day II give clear and precise
definition of what tariff is. tariff, my
friends, is nothing in the world but taxa tax
levied by the general government upon every
article of commerce that comes into the United
States and that is intended for sale within her
borders, and which incidentally raises the price
and therefore becomes tax or burden upon
every article of domestic manufacture of a like
nature with those which pay the tariff tax.
Now we have at this moment, according to
the last advices have seen, about S115,0OO,00O
called surplus revenue-that is taxes collected
from the people beyond the necessities of the
government.
Those dollars, 115,oOo,0oo. are lying perfectly
idle in the vaults of the treasury of the United
States-of no service to any human being, draw
ing no interest, earning no profits, but taken
from the pockets of the people where they prop
erlv belong, and where if they were now found
thousands and tens of thousands and hundreds
of,thousandS of the people of the United States
would put them to good use and improve their
condition and prosperity.
Now the democratic party says that this is a
wrong condition of affairs; that the money
ought not to be, like the talents of the man we
are ;oid of in the scriptures buried in the
krAund: that this is a very poor use to make of
lie money of the people; and therefore the
democratic party says that the surplus revenue.
which is pro duced in the main by these tariff
{. xes. ought TO be reduced and that the taxes
she uld be reduced so that
This surplus VIII Not Continue to Accumu-
late
lApplause.1 Our opponents on the other hand,
say it is better to let the surplus accumulate; it
is better TO take the money from the pockets of
the people; it is better to pile up in the vaults
of the treasury department. Although it does
better to do that than it is to touch the tariff
laws of the United States. We say, on the con
trary. to relieve an overtaxed people is to re-
duce the taxes; we say that the way to treat a
people honestly, fairly and wisely is to take no
more taxes out of their pocket than the govern
ment actually needs for its expenditures. lap
The issue, then, is fairly made up between us;
1t is between high taxation on the one hand
tween taking the money of the people out of
their own control, out of their own pockets and
burying it in the cellar of the treasury depart
ment or it is between leaving the money where
1t belongs,
In the Pockets of the People,
to be used by them as their wants require and
as their intelligence and honesty direct
Here gentleman on she platform raised an
umbrella to keep the sun from the speakers s
face, but was unable to do SOL
Judge Thurman: '.Well, never mind the sun
q damnorqf
Now, my friends, in the long political life
that have led have heard great many false
pretenses preached to the people; great many
intended to deceive and delude them, but in
all my life have never witnessed such audaci-
ty as have noticed this year on the part of the
advocates of High protective tariff-never be-
fore. And there seems to be a singular disre-
gard of the truth that has suddenly afflicted
them do not Intend to call people hard names
/ have all my life endeavored to keep civil
tongue in my head, and mean to keep it as
long as live, but do say that some people
sometimes seem to lose their senses, SO that
They Cannot See the Truth
and often unfortunately cannot speak it.
Laughter and applause]
are told that higher tariff makes the country
richer, as if it were possible to make country
rich by ,oppressiyely taxing its people. Zap
man rich? To run your hand into his pocket
and take out what you find there, and that
without any just reason whatsoever for doing
r'fa tbs hhipp5on1s point slight disturbance in the
audience interrupted the speaker
And yet that it is precisely the plan that these
people tell us is the plan to adopt to enrich the
country. That this country is to be made
wealthy by means of high taxation. Again,
they have the audacity to say that this tariff
tax is not paid by the consumers of the article
which is taxed. Why, if the consumers of
these taxed articles do not pay the tax, would
like to know who does? Do these protectionist
orators pay it? Do the manufacturers pay It?
T11r1 fhn pOTAla Tubn T1T1ln f1go
article are taxed do not pay it? No man can
answer that question to the satisfaction
(Here q note was handed the speaker.)
Judge Thurman-'Gentlemen, | am afraid
there Is high protectionist in the audience,
for note is sent up for me to read as follows:
thinks it is the high tariff 'scoopers'-I believe
It is or some such word. 1 hope that high tar,
iff fellow who has taken that lady's money will
be caught and made to refund before he
leaves Port Huron" lGreat laughter and
cheering.
ment you will see that it is necessarily the case
that
The Tariff Taxes Are Paid by the Consum-
ers of Articles
Which are taxed, and of all domestic articles
of like kind which are manufactured in the
United States. For it is curious fact and one
of the worst things about this tariff tax, that
while the government gets 81 resulting from the
tax the domestic manufacturers get s., as it is
estimated, that never goes in the treasury at all
[Great cheering Wen, how does this happen?
the United States to be sold. He cannot sell
yard or pound until he pays the tariff tax.
He pays the tax, therefore, and then sells to
the wholesale merchant. OF course he must get
this tax back in the price for which he sells or
he would lose money, and his business would
bring up at once. He would stop it. And
therefore he puts the tax on to the original cost
of the goods, and with that price added and
with the cost of Transportation and his reason
able commercial profits, he sells those goods to
the wholesale merchant. The wholesale mer-
chant sells to the retail merchant, and of course
the tax, which enters into the price, continues
in the price and to it is added the profit of the
merchant. Then the retail merchant sells to
you. and of course he must keep within this
price for otherwise he would sell for less than
he gave for the goods, and no man of sense
would do that. Therefore the tax is in when
the cloth is sold to you. in the price you pay
this retail merchant for the goods pay the whole
of the tariff tax, the importers profit, whole
sale merchants profit and the retail merchants
profit,
Besides Interest on Their Money
It is as plain as that two and two make four.