Sharp County record., 1890-06-05
LOOKING BACKWARD.
"Reminiscences Recalled by the Report OF
McKmley's Tariff Committee.

Every body remembers JAc loIuly anu
supercilious tone in which the Repub-
lican organs Of the tariff rings discussed
the Democratic efforts to reform the
revenue system two years ago The
Democratic members Of the ways and
means committee-MesSrs. Mills, Breck-
inr!dge, Bynum and others-devoted
two or thrce months to the preparation
Of tariff bill, and the Republican
organs reproached them for their dlla-
toriness. The organs pOked all sorts OF
fun at these gentlemen because they
did not report a bill within week or
two after they had taken up the ques-
ton, and declared very broadly that
their failure TO do so was due to their
lack Of general intelligence and ability
to do such work, as well as to their
shocking ignorance of practical buSl-
ness conditions and their want of famll-
iarity with manufactures. The journal
of this city, taking the cue from the
Eastern organs of monopoly, printed
the figures showing the insignifcance
OF the manufacturing interest in the
Mills and Breckenridge districts, and
insisted that as Mr.. Mills and Mr..
Bteckinridge represented farmers prin-
cipally, and Southern farmers at that,
it was monstrous efrOntery for them to
assume to know any thing about the
principals of taxation or to have any
thing to say about the amount Of tribute
that the protected interests should be
allowed to levy upon the masses OF the
people.
The Democratic members of the ways
and means committee two years ago
agreed upon a bill before submitting it
to their Republican colleagues. For
this they were tiercely denounced by
the New York Tribune, which charac-
terized the Mills bill as "a dark-lantern
bilr'-a phrase which was echoed and
re-echoed by all the other organs OF the
tariff rings.
When the Mills bill was reported the
Republican papers, before their able
editors had had time to read it, assaulted
it in unison in an attack upon the busi-
ness interests Of the country, which, if
successful, was certain to throw the
whole commercial world into confusion,
close mills and factories all over the
country, throw thousands of working
men out Of employment, reduce the
wages of the rest and play smash gen.
orally There were some people scat.
tered around the country whose unCOn-
scionable dividends the Mills bill would
have cut down. Some Of these people
! called themselves Democrats and they
hurled imprecations at Cleveland, Mills
and the rest of the tariff reformers,
whereupon the monopoly organs shouted
in chorus: "Behold now the Democratic
party is torn up and likewise split wide
open. Lo it is demoralized and rent
with internecine strife. Tariff tinker
ing has done the business for it. The
Democratic party always was an ass.
That is why it tackled the tariff. There
is nothing like being a grand old party
and possessing all the wealth, patriot
ism and intelligencein the country, and
being led by friends of protection to
I American industry Grand old parties
like that know enough not to tackle the
tariff, and that is why they are always
Or almost always-on top"
We are led to indulge in these remi-
niscences by survey of the spectacle
now presented at Washington. The
majority of the ways and means COM
mittee- composed of friends of the
TARIFFS students Of markets and not of
maxims"-gentlemen with highly-pro-
GJtected potteries and such things in their
districts, and therefore familiar with
the business interests Of the country
and competent to make scientific tariffs
after working on a tariff bill twice as
long as poor, ignorant Farmer Mills and
his associates worked on their bill
have finally produced an abortion. They
, thought they had q bill several times,
but they changed their minds, and not
until few days ago did they know what
they were going to do with sugar, wool,
hides and dozen other things. Their
bill is a dark lantern" bill, because
they did just what the Democratic mem
bers Of the committee did two years
agN-framed their measure without
consulting their Democratic asso-
ciates. And what a plight they
are in. The leather, woolen and
iron manufacturing interests Of New
England have been up in arms for
weeks because of the additional bur-
dens sought to be placed upon them
the carpet industry of the country pro-
tests that the Mckinley measure, If it
becomes law, will involve it in abso.
luto ruin; the sugar planters of Louis.
lana and the beet root theories Of Kan.
sas and other States are in condition
bordering on insanity; The canning in
tcroSts arc pOralyzcd, The e, o. p. is
utterly domorali2cd throughout the coun.
try; the President docsn' seem to know
whether he is "afoot or u horseback"
blaine, Buttcrworth and Hit are talk.
ing FREQ trade, while Crazy Horse Nc
Ktnlcy is vNinly striving to apply his
absurd protcctionist theories to actual
business conditions.
In view OF the assumption Of superior
intelligence and capacity to deal with
revenue questions, in which the Rcpub.
licon leaders and newspapers INDUCED
two years ago, the existing situation
would be incXprossibly absurd, II H.