The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1892-09-29

THE EDEMOCRATIC POSITION.
In the imposition of necessary tariffs
there should be exercised a wise dis
elimination in the amounts eXacted
and in the articles taxed. What
should be placed upon the free list and
what should be most heavily burden
ed are question not free from difficult
ty and require the most careful con-
sideration.
The Mills bill of 1888 and the separ-
ate tariff bills passed by the present
Democratic House of Representative
indicate in a general way the Demo-
cratic position. They show:
First-That the necessaries of life
should be absolutely free.
Second-That luxuries should bear
the heaviest burdens.
Third-That there should be free
raw materials for the benefit of our
manufacturers.
Fourth-That the tariff upon man
ufactured articles should. as general
rule, be larger where similar articles
are manufactured in this country than
where they are not.
Fifth-That the tariff imposed upon
all manufactured articles (Other than
those which, for good reasons, are
placed on the free liSt) should equal
the difference between the rate of
wages paid in this and foreign cOun-
ties, so far as labor enters into the
cost of their production.
THE MCKINLEY BILL.
The disastrous defeat of 1888 brought
Republican President and a Repub-
can Congress into power, and two
years later, as reward to those bene-
ticiaries who had so largely contrib
uted to their success, our opponents
passed what is known the world wide
a ha MEX ip1pV tariff hill Tho Nc
kinley bill has not ruined the coun-
try, nor has it benefited it. 1t has in
| creased the burdens of the taxpayers
and added many of the monopolies of
| the land. There is no satisfactory
evidence that it has increased our
prosperity in any degree or advanced
| the wages of a single workingman.
Skillful statisticians, juggling with
figures, may assume to have more in
| formation than we possess and may
| figure out different result, but | can
| safely assert that it is the general un-
derStanding of the people that the
Mckinley bill has not increased wages
| either in New York or elsewhere.
THE FORCE BILL.
| There is another issue in this cam
| paign of equal, if not greater, impOr-
| tance than the tariff, which affects
the rights and liberties of every citi-
zen. The Republican party seems to
| be irrevOcably committed to the pas
sage of the Federal election bill, gen
orally known as the ''Force bill," and
although it must be evident to the
most patriotic and thoughtful mem
bers of that organization that it is a
| piece of political fOOlishneSS, only
| equaled by its mendacity, there has
| appeared for them no escape from its
advocacy. 1t is an impeachment of
the good sense of the Republican lead
ers that they should press the conSid-
Grafton of so offensive and unwiSe a
| measure at this or any other time, eS-
pecially in view of the fact, now APP
| parent to every one, that it absolutely
prevents their party from receiving a
| single electoral vote in a third of the
| States of the Union; and although as
partiSans we may rejoice at their fol-
ly, yet as citizens we deplore their
threatened attack upon the free insti-
tutiOns of our country, never before
SO imperiled.
A MENACE TO LIBERTY.
The bill has been well described as a
menace to liberty"-the liberty OF
the North as well as the South, the
liberty of the black as well as the
white, the liberty of every citizen, nc
matter to what party he may happen
to belong.
| Whence comes this Objectionable
scheme for federal interference in ouI
elections, and who are it's originatOrs
| and sponsors Until recently the
! author of the measure was supposed
to be the eminently respectable Henry
introduced the bill. But not long age
gentleman not unknown to fame
Mr.. John L. Davenport, of New York
City, the chief federal supervisor of
elections, and also United States
commissioner, a diminutive, polite
and amiable person, ''aS mild a man
nered man as ever scuttled ship OF
cut throat came to Washington
and appeared before the COMMITTEES
on immigration in behalf of another
project dear TO his heart-tO promote
the honor of examining him, and he
stated in answer to my question tC
the great surprise of the public that
he was the bold and sole author of the
notorious Force bill. The borrowed
pluInage was Immediately stripped
from the proud person of Mr.. Henry
Cabot Lodge and the bill has since
been properly styled THE Davenport
| Force bill' Permit me in this con
! nection to further state that Mr.
Davenport, on this same occasion
with brutal franknesS, avowed hi.
purpose to have his bill introduced
again whenever "a favorable OppOr
tunity" should occur, and when asked
what: he meant by "a favorable oppor
tunity," he unblushingly replied
'When the Republicans shall agaiI
I have majority, in both Houses O.
Congress" event not likely to Occul
L trust for many years to come. II
the open and public expression of hi:
intention to press the measure agair
it must be assumed that he spoke il
behalf of his party and reflected it,
sentiments.
THE SOUTH IS LOYAL.
The Democratic party desire free
honest and fair elections everywher
1t desires them net merely because
they would inure to it's benefit, but
upon the unself1sh and high ground
that they are essential to the preser
yation of our free institutions. There
has been no such condition of affairs
at the South as to justify the enact
ment of the Davenport measure. Ii
is true that the colored people in learge
numbers are there voting the Demo
cratic ticket, but this affords no suffi.
cient reason for taking away from
them, or from us, the control of theiI
or our elections.
The cOlOred people were not freed
from slavery to become the slaves OF
the Republican party. The South is
loyal, honest and capable, and if per-
mitted, as it should be, it will work
out its social and other problems in