The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-10-31
THE SOUTHERN TARIFF POLICY.

whether We accept the declaration of the
Chicago platform for tariff tor revenue
only, or Grover Cleveland's platform of
free raw materials with protection to
manufactures, is of Southern origin.
Jefferson, the founder Of the Democratic
party, was protectionist; Madison and
Monroe. his political heirs, were protec-
tionists, and stronger protectionist than
any of them was Jackson.
The free trade tenet of the Democratic
party has not come down from the fathers,
but is an outgrowth of the political, social
and industrial system of the South, which
grew up with the expansion of slavery.
ruled the Democratic party before the
war, and still rules the party through
maintenance at the Solid South Of sys-
tenn that makes labor there actually
cheaper to employers than when the
| laborer was property and chattel to be
bought and sold. As early as 1927 CAL
houn denounced protection as "a system
| by which the earnings of the South are to
he transferred to the North to support the
| Northern manufacturers and sacrifice the
| planting interest on the altar of monop-
| oily"
Protection, Calhoun styled in 1927, "a
| system Of fraud, robbery and usurpation.
| making the Union q most unequal al.
| lance by which the South has always been
the loser and the North the gamer, and
| forcing the South to choose between the
| alternative Of submission or separation"
From Jackson's time down to the out
| break of the war in 1851 the South con-
| tended for reduction of duties upon all
| articles that involved the principle of pro-
| lection. President Polk recommended
| that congress should fix a revenue stand
ard; the platform of the party in
1856 demanded progressive free trade"
and opposed internal Improvements as
unconstitutional. In i86o-6l the Dem
ocratic anti-protection senators and
| representatives abandoned their seats
in the national congress and in the
Southern Confederacy organized . free
trade government. In May, 1861, Yancey
| assured Lord John Russell that he prin-
| cipal cause Of secession was the very high
price which, for the sake of protection to
Northern manufacturers, the South had to
pay for manufactured goods. The first act
| of the Confederate congress was to abolish
these duties, and even Louisiana gave up
| the protection for her sugar she had en-
| joyed under the Union. Yancey argued
| to Russell that under the new tariff of the
United States British manufactures would
be nearly excluded from the North, while
under the Confederate tariff they would be
admitted free.
Gregg of South Carolina, declared in the
secession convention Of that state that it
was only the explosion of 1.-The war against
the tariff and internal improvements com.
menced forty years ago by Calhoun and
his associate nulIifers." Gen. Dick Tay-
lor, OF louisiana. who had been a high
the war. in explanation of the defeat Of
the rebellion:
| We made two great mistakes. Had we avoided
| them we should have conquered you. The first
was, we did not substantially DESTROY the pro-
teetive features OF the tariff in the winter ses-
| sion OF 1857 aud ls5s, by act which provided a
| rapid sliding scale 10 free trade. We
could have PASSED such law aud held it tight
Gu You TIL it closed the furnaces. workshops
|
works OF the whole North and West. and scat
tered your workmen over the prair!es and terri
| tories. When the war was ready for you. YOU
would not have been lily or the war. You
could nor have armed ana equipped snd nut in
the field large army nor built a large navy
You would have been without supp les, ma
chiuery AMI work men, AMI you would have
been w.thou, money and credit.
The withdrawalSo the Southern "free
laH
enabled the Republican party to carry
through congress laws to establish and
maintain the protective system. In 1887
the South for the first time since the over
throw of the rebellion felt strong enough
10 carry through congress measure look
ing toward the old policy of free trade,
known As the Mills bili Five of the
eight members OF the ways and means
committee that formulated this Mills bill
were Southern men who served in the
Confederate army and who fought for a
confeleracy founded on constitution
that expressly and absolutely prohibited a
protective policy.
This bill. which is Cleveland's platform
today, as Swallowed forth in his letter of
I
articles produced chiefly in the Northern
states, but carefully reserved protection 10
leading commodities exclusively Of South-
ern production. Il stood for free wool.
taxed sugar and WOODEN goods II nro-
tected the industries Of the South. with.
drew protection from the Western nro-
Queer Of rss materials and thus tried N
b-ibe New York and Connecticut bv
free raw materials and protected finished
| goods TO re-e.eci Grover Cleveland and
came dangerously near success. C,eye.
land, in his letter OF acceptance TODAY. re-
I news the offer Of his brioe Of lSSs "a the
doubtful. manufacturing states Of the Az.
lantie seaboard. The war for the Union.
gen. Logan. always maintained. shouid
have brought Us 1.-The triumph Of ths
American idea OF protective tariH. whose
chief object is the building up of Ameri.
can manufactures and the protection Of
the free work!ngman IN the essential MAJ
,ers OF education, food, clothing, rents.
wages and work"
| /; IS perfectly clear thai every agitation
for free ssade was made by the South and