The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-09-16
FRAUDULENT PROTECTION.

We denouuce the republican protective
tariff as a fraud upon the labor of the grea1
majority Of the American psople for thu
benefit OF the few. We declare II to be q
fundamental principle Of tho democratic
party that the federal government has moi
the constitutional power to impose and col
lect tariff duties except for the purpose Of
revenue only, and we demand that the coll
lection Of such taxes shall be limited to the
necessities Of the government when hon
estlv and economically administered
National Democratic Platform.
The oft repeated republican charge
that this means free trade is an utter
perversion Of the truth. The amount
OF money to be collected from customs
duties should be a sum just sufficient to
pay the expenses Of an economical gov
ernment, and not one dollar more. But
in adjusting taxes duties can be so
levied as to give all the protection that
is needed, that is to enable the Ameri-
can manufacturers to pay the higher
wages that obtain in this country.
This is the policy of the democratic
party, and that is what the plank in it's
platform means. The republican party,
on the other hand, does not stop with
this, but takes in addition hundreds Of
millions more from the people to dis
tribute in bounties among the manufac-
turers. Tt does this because it is thus
enabled to secure for itself, in every
campaign, a corruption fund large
enough to purchase a further lease of
power. 1t gives mon like Carnegie in
ome of several millions a year, only
requiring them to give up a few hundred
thousands each in every political cam
paign.
No defense has ever been successfully
advanced for this monstrous perversion
of the taxing power. 1t cannot be de-
Tended except upon the plea that a
powerful and %protigate political party
must have money to keep itself in power.
The entire proposition is summed up in
these strong words from our ablest
writer on economics, David A. Wells:
To seek to make taxation, which is a fit
contr:vance only for raising revenue. an in
strument for effeoting some Interior pur-
pose, be it never so just and legitimate; to
seek to use it for the attainment of any
other advantage than the obvious one o:
raising money, is to lose sight of a funda-
mental system of every free government
to forbid all expectation of recognize
ing any other basis for the exercise of this
great sovereign power of the state than ex-
pediency, which in turn will depend upon
the actions. passions and prejudices of
Legislators, who may no be the same in
any two successive legislative assem- blies.
such a perversion of principle, further
moe. reaches its climax of absurdity in
when its immediate beneficial ries
to be the only proper persons by
the incidence and amount OF taxa
lion can be intelligently determined, a
,lalm that is practically equivalent to the
that privilege should take pre-
,edence Of right in the theory of govern
nent.
The idea of using the rover of taxation
'or other purposes than that of obtaining
'evenue for defraying the necessary OK
of the government was one hos
lie at the outset to all the beliefs and
habits of thought of the American people;
'"o 'Ss"AAe AAouo Wltu IL 6OClhl anu
political system which they instituted and
expected. and was reluctantly admitted
lnder the idea that the industries of a new
country might need some temporary slim
Illus and assistance at the outset. It was
lot until after our late war that ANYBODY
'entured to openly maintain or defend the
proposition that protection was other than
he Incidental and not the main object of
he exercise of the taxing power.
And the people are going to return to
ret pripr,p1oo