The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1891-12-19

What VIII Ito Ire trade majority ~
the house do about the tariff? Rest as
sured, says tlAe Economist, they will
neither have the courage nor honesty to
declare their policy, In - general tariff
bin. Free trndc organs have Tor some
time been warning against such ~ course.
They hope Ia divide the forces 81 proicc'
ton by attacking the tariff item byitem.
A bill nbolishing the duty on coal would,
they say, enlist the support OF New Eng
land Republicans, aud. II II passed both
houses, the President would hesitate to
Ia ALLEVIATE tIuir support by vctoinc it-
So they reason OF iron ore, tin plate,
binding Irvine. wool, salt, lumber and
other things. the duty ON each III which
is opposed by some sections OF the op-
posing party. Instead 81 a inir, open
fight, we are To witness "A guerrilla war
fare That this will be the plan adopted
Is very certain. The New York Times,
of November %, said;
| 10 make M y general bill for their opponents
TO puck 90 plecss. 60 assume a defensive position
aud leave the aggressive one they now occupy, 70
the Republicans. would Ice policy ON the part
OF the Democrats that would be very agreeable
aud advantageous 20 the party of which Mr.
sherman n Is AN honored leader, aud we cannot
blame him for suggesting IT,
But the policy OF evasion and conceal
mcnt will best subecrvc the ends 81 the
free trade party. IL was always SO. The
Evening Post OF November 81, had this
advice togive:
The objections 10 a general tariff blu nc this
time are In our Judgment quite overpowerine
II Il an objection. In the first place, that u
wastes a great deal OF time and strengthwithout
producing any result, or giving the promise Of
any. II IL quite certain that the Senate Is nov
constituted will not agce 10 any tarin bill which
the House would pass. The scnate wonldeither
put u on the shelf substitute the Mckinley
bill for H.. or kill IL by majority vote. And
what would happen next The bill with It's two
or three thousand Items would become the pa
bulum Of the campaign. Every paragraph In Il
would bee attacked separately, ndwould require
60 be defended separately Even II AL were dc
iensible, only few persons would know how 20
defend them. The fighting would no longer be
aggressive on the part OF the Democrats They
would be on the defensive from the day the bl
was reported by responsible committee The
loss Of position might be fatal. II might even
be decisive OF the whole battle, Not only wonG
II be necessary to defend each reduction OF duty
made. but also each separate retention OF duty
We can hardly conceive Of anything more bee
widerng Undoubtedly the time VIII come
when this risk must De taken but that should
be n time when the party can pass billthroueh
all its stages aud put II in practical operation.
In other words, we must carefully con
zeal from the people our whole purpose,
says this Mugwump free trader. until
such n time rs we have frec trade sen.
ate and n free trade president. Then
there win be no obstacle Go balk our free
trade scheme. The Commercial Bulletin
OF New York, is OF the same opinion. On
December z, il printed the followin, |
statement from its Washington CORES
pondent:
Mr.. Mills was disposed at first 10 favor the
policy OF "A general BILL aud some Of the friends |
of Judge Crisp. IN the canvass for the speaker
ship tried TO use this fact against him. under
stand however, that Mr.. Mills Is now disposed |
10 favor the policy OF passing number OF sepa
rate bills each dealing with single article Il |
Is only recently that he has given the subject |
careful consideration and after taking with &c
tive tariff "reformers" Ia the east. he has de-
cided that the policy OF assault in detail Is better
than that Of general legislation.
That means, OF course, that Mr. Mills
found out in his ramblcs through Tia,
west and east, that the country is moi |
yet prepared 10 support his policy OF
absolute free trade and he has been
forced TO modify IL. The World OF New
York, is in perfect accord with the scni
mcut Of the other free trade dalies al
ready quoted. II said on December 7 H.
its evening edition:
TO seek To repeal the Mckinley bin entire, witt,
a Republican senate and president. seems too
much like buttlng ones head against stOlc
wall simply 10 show that he dctests the obsta
Gle. TO knock out separate stones In the weak.
est places, with n view TO preaching the wall.
would seem to be better tactics.
Ii is quite natural that n majority
elected through ialsehood should place
deception and equivocation above hon.
csty and square dealing as campaign ex.
pedients. But the people will hardly be-
deceived n second time on the same ques-
ton. In the long run rs surely ms we
expect the dawn Of another day. we can
look for the permanent triumph 81 the
party that never yet stopped to deceive
or dissemble, or Jailed icarlessly and hon
estly TO define its position ON every ques-
ton with which IL had 90 deal