Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1890-08-14
Republicanism and the Tariff.

NNF0N~@N~N@@@N@=~ -
The full, free and honest discussion
of all public questions is the life of the
republican party. The republican
party has no rulers nor dictators.
Each individual republican does his
own reading and thinking and arrives
at his own conclusions upon the issues
of the day as they come up for de-
cision. There is no limit TO debate IN
the republican council chamber, no
fixed rut in which the rank and file
must walk. There never have been any
leaders in the republican party whose
word was law to the common soldiers.
Independent thought and action have
always been the peculiar Characters
tics of the party. Having certain
grand ends for humanity and good
government to accomplish, the MEM
bers of the party have, with one COM
mon end in view, all started out to &C
complish it. That the members of the
party have differed, sometimes materi-
ally, as to the best methods of bring
ing about the grand purposes of the
organization has added to the eff
cheney and completeness Of their work
in the past. 1t is this freedom in dis
cassion and judgment which has en-
abled the party to meet the great issues
and solve them to the satisfaction of
the people, which has enabled the
party to keep abreast and ahead of the
age in which we live.
This freedom of thought and discus
sion is unknown to the democratic
party. A half dozen men dictate the
policy, and mark out the line which
every good democrat imagines he must
follow without questioning the motive
or the reason for the course. The
ordinary democrat would no more
think of questioning the acts of Mr..
Carlisle, Mr.. Springer, Mr.. Breckin-
ridge or Mr.. Mills than would the
church member think of questioning
the authority of the bible. And when
our democratic brethren see Senator
Plumb and other republicans stand up
and discuss public questions as though
legislation was intended to affect all
the people, instead of the political for
tunes of few leaders, they are amazed
at the aEdacity of these men, and be-
cause in their own party councils such
acts would be called party treason,
they Immediately start up the howl
that Mr.. Plumb and Mr.. Blaine are
"deserting the republican party"
Neither Senator Plumb, Secretary
Blaine nor any other republican claims
infallibility. The design of the repub-
lican party is to enact such laws as
will rebound to the advantage of the
entire people of the United States. To
do so they propose that every aspect
and every phase of each issue shall be
carefully and thoroughly considered
and when the matters have all been
discussed the republican party will
evolve such laws as will accord with
the wishes of the people. Mr.. Plumb,
Mr.. Blaine, Mr.. Reed, Mr. Mckinley
and President Harrison are all working
for the same end. Upon the tariff
question they are solving the same
prOblem-how best to raise the reve-
nues of the government by such an adj
justment of duties laid upon imported
articles which compete with like arti-
cles produced in this country as will
afford reasonable protection TO our own
producers against the foreign competi-
tion-tO establish national industries
by diVersifying the employments of the
people-and to save our citizens as
much as possible of the work which is
to be done in supplying our home de-
mands without destroying our foreign
commerce. And our democratic friends
need not worry over any imaginary
differences of opinion between republi-
cans upon this issue. They will solve
the problem and this congress will en-
act tariff law which will meet the
appreciation of the masses of the peo-
pie both east and west.