Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1892-03-17
4 sTRa,eHrroRwARD COURSE.

a sTRa,eHTFoRwARD COURSE
Ths Democratic Party Has Steadily Or
posed Protective Taxes
The proposition that the democratic
party shall abandon revenue reform
| and take to the woods is one Of those
! preposterous suggestions that come
i only from men who are ignorant of
! political history or devoid of political
principle. Mr.. Crisp and Mr.. Springer
| could not if they would, and would not
| If they could, abandon revenue reform,
| or reverse the position of the party
From the time of jefferson to Cleve-
land the party has been consistent in
its opposition to protective taxes The
! declaration of independence was the
| formulation of demand for free trade.
The first democratic platform adopted
by the party called republican to dis
tinguish it from the federalist. came
from a congressional caucus at Phila-
delphia in 1900. the year when Jeffer-
| son ~as first elected president Its
second resolution is as follows:
Free commerce with all nations,
political connection with none, and lit
tie or no diplomatic establishment"
In 1901 jefferson, in his first annual
| message, declared: agriculture. man
fractures, commerce and navigation,
the four pillars of our prosperity. are
most thriving when left free to indi-
vidual enterprise" In our early his
tory, when no nation feared our
| strength or regarded our rights. every
reasonable effort was made to develop
our resources in order to make us indie
pendent OF all nations This was done
! in some cases by small import duties,
such as now would be considered
ruinous. Jefferson, Madison and
Monroe ever manifested disposition
to encourage agriculture, manufacture,
! commerce and navigation, as the
means of increasing our war resources,
but Jefferson was particular to say in
1905 that 1.-The remaining revenue on
the consumption of foreign articles is
paid cheerfuIly by those who can afford
to add foreign Iuxuries to domestic
comforts" In 1906, referring 20 GER
tain duties, he insisted they be re-
tanned, because they are LEVIED chiefly
on luxuries.' -
The war of 1912 caused an increase
of duties, interrupted and destroyed
foreign commerce and called for war
tariffs
Then, as now, the beneficiaries of
the war tariff were reluctant to sur
render their war privileges, but. IN
1929, Jackson insisted that revenue
was the first consideration, and all in
terests should be equally favored. In
his inaugural he said: with regard to
proper selection of the subjects of
lmpOSt, with a view to revenue, 1t
would seem to me that the spirit of
equity, caution and compromise. in
which the constitution was formed, re-
quires that the great interests of agri-
culture, commerce and manufactures
should be equally favored, and that
perhaps the only exception to this rnle
should consist in the peculiar encour-
agement of any product of either of
them that may be found essentiaTto
our national independence"
In 1882, Jackson, in his veto of the
bank bill, said that most OF. the diff
culties surrounding the government
and most of che danger threatening
the union came from the abandonment
of the legitimate objects of govern
ment. ''Many of our rich men," he
said, shave net been content with
equal protection, but have besought us
to make them rich by acts of congress"
In 1882, in his annual message, he in
sisted that Americans might be willing
for awhile to pay higher prices. in
order to encourage the establishment
of factories, but, at the same time, he
emphatically repudiated the idea that
such a policy was to be permanent
But" he said, for this purpose, it is
presumed that a tariff of high duties,
designed for. perpetual protection. has
entered into the minds of but few of
tat no no
anticipated is a temporary and gener-
ally incidental protection, which they
maintain has the effect to reduce the
price. by domestic competition, below
that of the foreign article"
Jackson, in his other state papers,
was consistent in his opposition to all
class legislation, denouncing every at
tempt to build up one interest at tho
expense of another, insisted on relief
of such necessaries of life salt and
coal from tariff taxation. and in his
farewell address said: ''The govern
ment has no power to raise a revenue
or impose taxes except for the purposes
enumerated in the constitution.
The vigorous intellect of Jackson.
his determined character. his broad
sympathies with the people. left their
impress on the democratic party.
In 1910 the democratic convention
met at Baltimore and adopted a plat
form declaring that Justice and sound
policy forbid the federal government
to foster one branch of industry to the
detriment of another" and the fifth
resolution was emphatic in the demand
that mo more revenue ought to be
raised than is required to defray the
expenses of government
In 1914 the fourth and fifth resolu-
tious of 1910 were reaffirmcd.
In 1s4S the party platform declared
that ''the fruits of the great political
triumph of 1S44 have fulfilled the hopes
of the democracy of the union in the
noble impulse given to the cause of
free trade by the repeal Of the tariff of
1912. and the creation of the more
equal, honest and productive tariff of
1886"
These principles Were reafirmed
every four years until 1864.
Here is record SO simple, so direct,
so consistent that no man need mis-
take it From the beginning until now
the democratic party has been the OPP
ponent of the principles underlying
the whole system of protection. On