The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-09-17
INCONSISTENT DEMOCRACY.


Protection is unconstitutional; pro-
lection is robbery; protection is antago-
nistic to the principles of our party,
shout the Democrats in national conven-
ton assembled. If that be so, or if the
Democratic party believes it is SO, then
| they should stand by it all over the
| country. They should stand byit as Loyalty
in Connecticut as in South Carolina. If
protection is robbery it is robbery every
where. If it is unconstitutional it is I'M
constitutional all over the United States
of America. If it is antagonistie to the
principles of the Democratic party it
can't be made consistent with them.
Now one of the things which the Nc
Kinley bill did was to increase the duty
on Sumatra tobacco, and the reason it
did it was a reason that ought to find no
favor with Democrat who be-
ieves that protection is unconsti-
tutional and that it is robbery. The
duty laid upon tobacco was not
imposed for revenue only OF for reve-
nue. chiefly. 1t was laid avowedly to
shut out to greater extent than before
a foreign grown tobacco which COM
peted with a home grown article.
1t was shut out in order that
the domestic producers of tobacco
might possess more exclusively the
home market, and therefore get bigger
sales and better prices for their product.
Now this duty had precisely the effect it
was intended to have. 1t contributed
the two most essential conditions
to material prosperity, namely a bet
ter demand and remuneratiye
price. The Democrats acknowledge
that this duty did help the farmers,
they acknowledge that the Connecti-
cut tobacco growers have been this
year more prosperous than ever before,
and that their increase of prosperity has
been due in large measure to the McKin-
ley bill.
What do the Democrats do about it?
What they ought to do is obvious. They
should boldly go to the Connecticut
farmers and speak thus: The Mckinley
tariff has enabled you to rob your
countrymen; the Mckinley tariff has en-
abled you to grow prosperous in viola
ton of the constitution of the country
the Democratic party proposes if it gets
control of the government to deprive you
of this opportunity to rob your country
men, and to take away from you so
much of your prosperity as is the out
growth of violation of the constitution.
That certainly is what the Democratic
party ought to do if it really believes the
declarations of its national convention.
This, however, is something very diff
ferent from what it has done. What it
has done is this: It has declared THAT
is, the Connecticut branch has de-
clared] that s'they THE farmers] are en-
titled to all the favorable legislation
which has been, or may be, adopted,
whether it refers to the tobacco leaf or
to their other products" The favorable
legislation referred to is undeniably apro-
tective duty, which the national Democ
racy said was robbery, which it said was
in violation of the constitution of the coun-
try; it is the protective duty of the Nc
Kinley bill, that aggregation of abomina-
tions; yet the Connecticut Democrats de-
clare that the farmers are entitled to it,
that is to say, farmers are entitled to rob
their fellow men, to violate the constitu-
ton of their country. Of course it is I'M
derstood, though the platform does not
say SO, that the Democracy will not con-
slider farmers entitled to rob except there
are enough Democrats among them to
make it an object to relax the moral and
political principles of the party. OF
course if all the Connecticut farmers were
Republicans, or should become so, then
this favorable legislation which they
are now entitled to would become rob-
berry again, antagonistic to the constitu-
ton and to Democratic principles. Where
there are no votes in DESERVING their prin-
ciples the Democracy will stand, by
them but where the contrary is the case.
then Democratic virtue will part with
sufficient of its stiffening to make it con-
form to existing conditions.