The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-08-20
THE BLOODY SHIRT.

IL was perfectly natural for Whitelaw
Reid to wave the bloody shirt at Spring
field, Illinois. Thursday. Ever since he
succeeded in deposing the venerable Horace
Greeley as editor of the New York Tribune, a
paper which would most probably never have
| been heard of but for Greeley, be has been
assiduously engaged in the work of firing
the Northern heart until now the habit has
! become so fixed on him that it is second ma
ture. Whether writing an editorial or de-
Iivering speech. Reid could no more help
! from iudulgng in appeals TO sectional pre-
JUDGE than he could help breathing. In
fact, It is a safe prediction that most Of his
speeches during the pending campaign Will
be rehashes Of the editorials with which for
thirty years he has been filing the columns
of his South hating paper.
When. however. Mr.. Reid attempts to
arouse the prejudiees Of the Northern peo-
pie by telling them that the tariff policy Of
the Democratic party is exactly that Of the
Southern Confederacy. he is talking fool
ishy The Democratic position on the
tariff has long been well known. 1t was no
new thing for the Democracy of the United
States to oppose protective tariff levied
for the benefit of monopoly, even before the
Confederate Constitution was ever dreamed
of, and tariff for revenue only" has been
the Democratic doctrine ever since the Nor
rill Protective tariff was enacted. 1t is true
that for many years the Democracy fought
very shy OF that issue, and it was left for
Grover Cleveland to fearlessly advance the
Tariff Reform standard to the front When
he did SO. however. the Confederate Consti-
tuition never entered his head. and when
tie whole country Endorsed his position 30
overwhelmingly in 1890 it made no differ
ence TO them whether the Confederate
States prohibited in their Constitution tax
alton of the people for the benefit of mo-
nopoly or not. All they knew was that they
were as much opposed then to being robbed
of their earnings so that few wealthy man
ufacturers might be made still more
wealthy, as the Southern people were in
1860, and they feel the same way now.
They certainly will not let Mr.. Reid and
his psmpered monopolist friends continue
to levy heavy tribute upon them simply be-
cause the Southern Confederacy believed
that any such system of tariff taxation
was false inequitable and unjust. Indeed
unless they have decidedly changed their
views in the last two years, it is very likely
that they heartily approve the wisdom of
the Southern people, when they formed
their Confederscy, in prohibiting in their
organic law such impositions.
There is wholesome lesson which the
South, and especially that element of its
population which is inclined to help on Re-
publican success by abandoning the Demo
cratic party. 2an learn from the course being
pursued by Mr.. Reid. His appealing to tho
North to defeat Tariff Reform merely be-
cause the Southern States during the war
were opposed TO any such thing as McKin- !
leyism shows clearly the animus Of his |
party and himself when he asks the North |
ern public to oppose an economic measure
which is vastly TO their benefit, and which |
promises to relieve them from an evil Of |
which there is universal complaint only Oh /
sectional grounds. it shows that he counts /
upon exciting Southern hate as the winning |
card Of his campaign. And yet Southern /
Third party men have the audacity to say, /
in the face of such direct evidence TO the
contrary, that the Force bill is "bugaboo" |
and scare crow"