New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-10-23
THE ROOT or DEMOCRATIC DIFFICULTY.

TIE ROOT or DEMOCRATIC DiffIOOHii'
Tariff reform IS necessarily matter of de-
tails. and Mr.. MillS's bill of last year proved
that he and his party did not dare, when 1t
came 10 action upon details, to carry out the
principles about which they are still taking
so vociferously. Pretending then, as now 10
seek the prosperity of manufactures through
removal of duties on raw materials, WIN
corresponding reduction of duties on products
in order to lower their cost to consumers, Mt
Mills and the Democratic majority in Congress
did not dare to apply that principle to the
largest and most important of all the indus
tries. because Virginia and West Virginia, Ala
bama and Tennessee were interested IN the
production of iron ore, as we'll as New ofK'
Connecticut and New-Jersey.
II is not to criticise the sincerity OF Mr. Niils
that this is said. If he were the most sincere
and the most patriotic man between the tWo
beans. he would still be obliged to consider
what his party could do rather than the ideal
thing which a theoriSt might like to do. Inc
voters employed in producing raw materials no"
dntiable were at least ,5OO0 600 at the census
of 1880. The voters employed in manuiactur-
ing those materials into dutiable forms were
males above sixteen, in iron 133,203, in wool
lens 75459, in cotton 40,74S, In silk ana
mixed textiles 26,846, and in other principal
forms of manufacture enough to make aDou
100000. Mr.. Mills can revise the figures as
he pleaSes. but can in no way make the num-
Der of voters employed in producing dutlabIe
materials less than twice the number OF voters
cmplcycd in manufacturing those materials into
dutiabIe forms. 1t is, in fact, about three
times as many.
Now the problem for Mr.. Mills and his party
is to satisfy the producers of materials, not
merely that they can exist and get employ
ment at all in those induStrieS-a sufficiently
difficult task-but that they can get employ
ment at decent wages, if exposed to unre-
strained competition with foreign labor OF tho
rudest and cheapest sort. 1t does not matter
lust now whether Mr.. Mills believes this or
not. The question is whether he can make tho
great army Of miners lumber-cutterS md saw
vers. wool-growerS and other produce of raw
materials believe it, and trust to that belief
against their past experience. He did not dare
10 try. as to the iron miners of the Nirginias
and Alabama. He tried as to the wool-grow-
erS, or rather dJltHlDJcu " SoV "i'AO''
their votes and was beaten.
But what has this to do with the principles of
tariff revision? This, that it is political idccy
for men to argue in favor of changes which they
would not dare to attempt if they had the
power 1t is idiocy to base political theory
upon the suppostiOn that certain changes are
possible which are known to be impossible.
That is the secret Of Democratic suicide. The
marty is not competent to deal with facts. 10
insists upon theories which, when it gets
chance to do anything, it is obliged to aban-
don, unless it prefers to court inevitable de-
feat For the instinct of the people is right;
the rudest and cheapest labor, which is neces-
sally employed in the production of materials
needs protection immeasurably more than tho
hi CHER grades Of labor which are employed in
the more advanced processes. If the object OF
a National policy is to defend and elevate
American labor, it cannot succeed at all unless
It begins with that which is at once the most
numerous and the most in need. The millions
who sustain the system of protection would have
good reason TO abandon it, and certainly would
abandon it, if it were so modified as to serve
only as bounty to a small minority of Ameri
can laboreis, and that a minority composed Of
the laboIers who, least need defence.