Middletown transcript., 1892-10-06
JEFFERSON AND PROTECTION
J. A. B. DILWORTH.

The leading speakers of the Republi-
can party are endeavoring with great
earnestness to prove to the people, that
Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and
Andrew jackson were protectionists,
and they frequently quote utterances
from those statemen to prove their
position. Jefferson, the chief apostle
of freedom in America, the man who
gave utterance to the thought 'sthat
the earth in its usufruct belongs to the
living, the dead should have no control
over it." is quoted by Mr.. Blaine. as
expressly supporting tariff system OF
protection to prevent the destruction
or crippling of established industries.
do not propose to dispute Mr..
Blaine's statement nor his quotations
from Jefferson. Mr.. Jefferson was a
progressive statesman, and consequent
" the finest utterances. of his mind
were made long after the period that
Mr.. Blaine's declaration was attributed
to him, but the statesmen of the time Of
Jefferson, and of Madison, and of
Jackson, were reared at period in the
worlds history when freedom among
men was less general in the world than
at any other period. All Europe was
ruled by the iron heel of despots, and
the simple will of the individual man,
was the law which governed millions;
in the mountain Businesses Of Switzer-
land, there was some semblance of Re-
publicanism, the last in Europe; the con-
stitutional government of Poland had
been crushed out of existence; the con-
stitutional government of Norway and
Sweden, had given place to the despotic
rule of Napoleonian General; and
Holland, free Holland, was no longer
her own master, while England had
not yet emerged from the superstions
that hedged in king with divinity,
and the system of taxation and politi-
cal economy was attuned to the selfish
purposes of the governing class.
II is fair to assume then, that even
great liberal minds had not fairly eman-
cipated themselves from the bias of
their earlier education, but to assume
that any stateman of any other age in
the worlds history than this, ever get
forth the proposition that the better
plan of government was to tax the
people far beyond the requirements OF
an economic government; that GER
tain class of the people, limited in
number. should be made rich and pros
porous, is simply to set forth an absur-
dity without any authority in history
to sustain the proposition
It is true that Jefferson. Madison,
and Jackson, and in fact most all OF
the earlier statemen of the century.
saw no injury to the public weel in an
individual manufacturer in America
being able to sustain his particular
industry because of moderate tax on
a like article Of foreign production oi
ten or twelve per cent, and the amount
of money derived from such tariff
was almost as economically collected
as from any other source. To bs
exact, l will state that if there had
been imported into the country 80 per-
cent, of the cloth used in the country
and only 10 percent. of it manufactur
ed in the country, then, of the taxes
collected from the people, 90 percent
was returned to the people in the shape
of government, and but 10 percent
was given by the people to sustain oI
foster industry. 1 doubt much whether
such industries were fostered by any
such means, but it may please the
people to think SO. This small los:
could be easily borne by them and il
was worth while to try the experiment.