The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1892-07-22
THE COMING ISSUE.


Ye Is Protection Against Free Trade-Cob-
denItes Cannot Hide This Year I3ehind the
Mask of Tariff {" Reform" as They Did In
1SSS-Their Platform Commits Them to
Absolute Free Trade-This Is q Protec-
Zionist Country and Defeat Stares Them
In the Face.
It is reported that a canvass of the
delegates to the National convention in
Chicago showed that every one of them
favored a revenue tariff, which is mere
" another name for Cobdenism, or En-
glish free trade. Indications are that
the democratic party will in this cam
paign take bolder ground on the tariff
question than ever before. Hitherto
there have always been some democrats
who Indignantly denied the charge that
their party was committed to free trade.
But each succeeding year the number
with the requisite cheek to keep up this
denial has diminished, till this year it is
not likely that any self-respecting dem
ocrat will be found to disclaim for his
party its manifest radical Cobdelistic
tendencies. Democrat and free trader
have come to be almost synonymous
terms.
We welcome this uncloaking of the
free trade party. We have no fears as
to how the people will decide when
asked too choose between protective
and free trade tariff The only dan
ger in past contests has been the re-
luctancc of the democratic leaders to
take an unequivocal position.
Though employing the arguments OF
Golden and Bright, OF Sumner and
Perry, of Carlisle and Mills, all of whom
are avowed free traders, uncompromis-
ingly hostile TO protection in any form,
democratic orators and editors have dis
claimed that they were teaching free
trade To their success in persuading
the people that they were opposing only
the abuses of protection, not protection
itself, has been due whatever impress
sion they have been able TO make on the
popular mind.
For this is a protectionist country.
Let no one forget that. Itstarted in as
protectionist under Washington and
Hamilton and Jefferson and Madison.
and it continued such in later years un-
der the teachings of Jackson. Clay and
Webster Nor has it forgotten that
Lincoln and Grant and Greeley taught
the same policy.
And to-day it sees the greatest and
noblcst of its statesmen advocating its
continuance. Many years will have
passed before the American people dc
sert these statesmen for the shallow
school of American free traders, repre-
sentcd by Cleveland, Carlisle and Mills
So the palmer the issue is made, the
better it will suit us. And it must Of
necessity be made plain in this cam
paign. after the many rabid free trade
speeches and editorials which have been
put forth in defense of so-called tariff
reform" After the bold free trade
declarations from the recognized lead
ers of the democratic party during the
past four years. the party managers can
hardly have the impudcnce to insult
the intelligence OF the people by in
structing their paraders, as they did
four years ago, to cry in unison:
Don't. don't, don't be afraid;
Tariff reform is not free trade
AS for the republicans. they cannot
hedge if they would, and would not if
they could. Their Mckinley tariff is
there to define. their position more
clearly and forcibly than it could posi-
blv be defined in mere words. There IS
not a line of it which is not protective,
and he who attacks it at any point is
attacking protection.
Let its enemies come on. The people
of this country know what it has done
for them, particularly the working peo-
pie and the farmers, and they will
know enough to recognize in its assail-
ant the enemy of their own interests.
There will be no snap judgment like
that of 1890 in this election. Let the
free traders keep that in mind In the
words of President Harrison, 'In 1890
it was conflict of predictions, now our
adversaries must face trade statistics
and prices current. Econo-
mist