Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1890-05-22
THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE READS
ITS PARTY A LESSON.
The Republican Party Not Carrying
Outs its Pledges.
[FrOm the Chicago Tribune, Rep.l

From the Chicago Tribune, Rspl
On this policy ofreduction and revis
ion of the duties on the necessaries %
life the Republican party girded up iti
loins, made desperate effort, and
won. 1t carried every western State
including Indiana, the home of the
President. 1t was not to the vote o.
the city artisans, however, that it owed
its triumph. Though they have always
been held to be the chief beneficiariei
Of high protection, they repudiated II
and voted for Cleveland free trade and
against the "protection of American
labor" The Republicans were victori
Gus because the farmers believed theil
promises. Thanks to them the Re-
publicans have the President, the SEN
ate and the House. q
What is being done in Washington to
keep the promise made to the farmersi
The Committee on. Ways and Means
has reported bill which largely in
creases the duties on and cost of nearly
all the necessaries of life-of cotton,
and linen goods, hats, caps, blankets,
carpets, of hardware, cutlery, crockery,
glass, tin dishes and cans, fertilizers,
and on almost every conceivable article
used by the farmer. 1t is proposed to
make this bill a caucus measure, and
thrust it down the throat of every Re-
publican member, so that men who
two years ago favored reduction all
along the liuen may now be forced to
vote for higher duties all along the line
except on sugar.
The Mckinley bill does not carry out
the policy which saved Illinois to the
Republicans in 1888. Nor is it even in
accordance with the Mckinley plank.
That spoke of reducing the revenue by
taking off taxes on tobacco and whisky.
Those on whisky have not been reduced
in the bill. It spoke of checking the
importation of articles like those which
are produced in this country. The bill
puts higher duties on carpet woods,
which are not grown in the United
States. 1t spoke of reducing the rev.
enues. The bill, under the pretense of
lowering them, adds heavily to them
and introduces the odious and danger
Gus bounty system which is SO likely to
encourage fraud.
The Mckinley plank fovored high
duties because they "gave employment
to labor" The farmers of the McKin-
ley bill have thrown that idea over
board. They had to in the face of the
general assertion of the town labor
classes that high duties did not protect
them, and that they wanted no more
of it, and wished to cut down the du-
ties. After the nearly unanimous vote
of that large protected" class for
Cleveland at the last election it became
an obsurdity to talk about increased
duties being in "the interest of labor"
which scoffed at and spurned them and
voted to cut them down.
What has the effect of the Mckinley
bill been in the West? How have the
farmers taken to it? How did the
spring elections in Indiana and Illinois
go? How did they go in Ohio and New
York? Very badly. Have the Repub-
licans held their own in the rural coun-
ties? 1t is notorious that they have not.
Nor is it to be expected. Since 1882
the price of the farmers products has
fallen one-third to one-half. Each of
the seven years has found farm pro-
ducts bringing less and less. Bewild-
cred and stupefied by this condition of
affairs he is told that the party chiefs
in Washington which promised to
make his burdens lighter having fixed
up tariff bill which will add to the
cost of nearly every article of necessity
he uses. He is told that as his income
lessons his expenses must increase. Is
it any wonder that he goes a fishing on
election day or wanders off after strange
Or that the recent cleo
tions have nearly all gone against the
grand old party?