Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1892-11-17
ErI1ttnttt Gltrpttirlf.
PUBLIC OPINION.
DEMoCRACY's BIG CONTRACT.
o;,tshuryh CommereiaI Eazatta

DEMOCRACY BIG CONTRACT.
Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette
The Democratic party has undertaken
a very big contract if it really means to
carry out in good faith the pledges it has
made to the people. 1t laid down GER
tain principles it its national platform
and expressed the belief that 1.-The public
welfare demands that these principles
be applied to the conduct of the federal
government through the accession to
power of the party that advocates them"
The people have taken that party at its
word, and it will accede to power in both
the executive and legislative depart
ments on the 4th of March next. Let
us refer to few of the pledges which
the party has made:
1t pledged to destroy the fraud" and
robbery" features of the present tariff
by a return to the only constitutional
method of levying tariff duties s-"for the
purpose of revenue only" This is notice
to every beneficiary under the Mckinley
act, be he manufacturer, farmer, wage
worker or producer of any protected
commodity, that the robbery" praeticed
for his benefit must cease, and that the
"many" shall hereafter be relieved from
the taxes now imposed for the benefit
of the few" The working classes have
been promised cheaper clothing, cheaper
food and cheaper commodities of all
kinds classed as necessaries of life, and
at the same time the same relative
wages are to be paid. Manufacturers
are to be given free raw materials and
in return therefor they must go without
protective duties on their products. The
country has been told that there has
been no increase in prosperity" under
the present tariff, and that the evidence
of that was seen in ''the dullness and
distress. the wage reductions and strikes
in the iron trade" Under the promised
revenue tariff there is to be increased
work, no reductions in wages, no strikes,
and an increase in the purchasing power
of the money earned.
Another clause in the contract is the
destruction of "sham reciprocity" and
the substitution of the time honored
doctrine of the Democratic faith-"trade
interchange based on reciprocal advan-
tager to the countries participating"
rathea than custom house barrier of
prohibitive tariff taxes.
Still another pledge is the abatement
by law of the worst evils of trusts and
combinations, (which was a natural
consequence of the prohibitive taxes
which prevent the free competition
which is the life of honest trade"
On the question of State banking there
is not an absolute demand, but a recon-
mendation 'that the prohibitory 10 per
cent. tax on Stare bank issues be repeal
ed" This recommendation will no doubt
be carried out tothe letter. 1t is fair
inference that within the first session of
the Fifty-third Congress there will be
little left of the chief features of the
Mckinley tariff act to curse the country
and rob honest labor. There are other
radical reforms pledged, either directly
or indirectly, but these will suffice for
the present.
This, we take it, is very big contract
all the bigger because in its execution
the wage workers and manufacturers of
two continents are to be benefited. The
mill-owners and workmen of England
are as jubilant over the election of
Cleveland and tariff revision as the
Democracy of the United States can
possibly be. Just how both classes in
both countries are to be helped without
detriment to either is to be revealed
under the policy of ''free competition"
based on tariff for revenue only, in
which all monopolies, trusts and COM
binations will wither and die.
In view of what has been said the
nation, under the instrumentality of the
Democratic party, is soon to enter upon
the most gigantic experiment of the
century. There is to be free raw mate
rials, free competition as between re-
ciprocating countries, no discriminating
duties for the benefit of either labor or
capital, but tariff for revenue only.
This is the contract which the supporters
of Mr.. Cleveland have voted to ratify,
with free silver and free State banking
thrown in for good measure. The car
rying of this contract into effect by
Democratic Congress and a Democratic
President will b. watched with absorb
ing interest. Let the promised golden
era of prosperity be ushered in as soon
as possible. The sooner the better.
When the contract shall have been full
filled and the pledges redeemed the
floating vote" will be ready for another
change.