The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1892-07-08
THE DEMORATIC FREE TRADE
PLATFORM


The Tariff plank of the Democratic
platform means Free Trade, and nothing
less. The Convention Indignantly repu-
mittee, because it had few oily phrases
in it. The delegates were not disposed
to butter the Free Trade parsnip with
soft language this year. The action of
the Convention was most significant,
and it means war to the knife On pro-
tected labor and industries.
The Democrats have made Free Trade
their chief and almost their only issue,
and on that doctrine they have at last
got back to first principles.
For over 25 years they have been quail
flying their Free Trade declarations
with deceptive tricks and frauds of
speech, but they are done with that now.
They have caught their true voice and
talk plainly now as they did before the
war, when one of their leaders in Con-
gress-Garnet, of Virginia-announced
that Democratic policy aimed at duties
Imposed with single eye to revenue
alone, and not an iota for Protection"
Since the days when Tariff reform"
was advocated for the express purpose
of cheapening labor and reducing wages,
the Democrats have made wide diver
gence, but it is now ended in complete
return. They are tenting on the old
grounds of cheap labor. Once more
they even deny the Government the
right or power to protect labor.
Like the tailors of Tooley street. who
called themselves ''the people," the
Southern Democrats. possessed of cheap
''half-slave' black labor, declare them
selves the American people," who are
to be blessed by Free Trade, while that
Protection which sustains vast Northern
and Western industries is alleged to be
for "the benefit of the few" They say:
"We denounce Republican Protection
as fraud, a robbery of great majority
of the people (?) for the benefit of the few.
(?) We declare it to be the fundamental
principle of the Democratic party that
the Federal Government has no consti-
stutional power to impose and collect
Tatiff duties, except for the purpose of
revenue only, and we demand that the
collection of such taxes shall be limited
to the necessities of the Government
when honestly and economically admin
| istered.'
Glorious old Democratic doctrine,
| thisl
1t means not an iota of Tariff duties
for the protection of labor.
1t means that the American labor
unit and standard must be that of the
''half-slave" black toiler of the South.
1t means that the natural labor level
is that of the voteless Southern blacks,
and that Congress has no right to put
any labor ona higher plane than that.
1t means that the Southern Democracy
are determined to exploit labor in the
future as in the past, not only black, but
white as well. They demand the right
to exchange the cotton product of cheap
black labor for foreign goods and back
load the proceeds home under low reve-
nue. duties, and hence to sell at rates
Northern white labor cannot stand.
If there is no power in this country to
maintain duties for Protection, and to
keep Northern labor above the natural
level" millions who have known com
fort heretofore will know only misery
hereafter.
What is a Government good for if il
cannot impose duties to protect labor as
well as get revenue?