Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1892-12-07
hat It Means.

Beacon: Congressman Simpson siz
ed up the issue pretty well when he said
III Washington few days ago that the
democratic victory means more than
anything else, that the people of the
country want q very material reduction
Of custom duties. The cut should be
deep enough to leave an average duty
Of not more than 20 per cent What
ever may be said about the ACCESSIBILITY
ofau extra session of congress, there is
40 getting around thu fact that the
great majority Of the popular vote
against the republican party in the
3onth and west is opposed to the protec-
ton fraud championGd by the republi
can party and the sooner the tariff is re.
duced to revenue basis the better they
will he pleased. The democrats of the
entire country are sincerely in favor OF
tariff reform while the great mass of re-
publicans who have left their party
and allied themselves with the populist
movement are outright free traders.
When these republicans discovered that
tney had been deceived by the pluto
Gratis aud that the protection of Ameri-
can labor was merely subterfuge by
which the rich were enabled to appro-
pirate the earnings Oflabor they re
Dudiated the whole scheme. There is
10 doubt that this great element in the
outh and west will indOrse any radical
legislation proposed in the direction OF
ariH rfOrm. Jerry Simpson is pretty
good representative of that element and
20 per cent tariff would be fully high
enough to suit him. The fact, hOwev-
er, must not be overlooked that while
The democratic party is pledged to re-
form the tariff and the people under
stand that reforming the tariff is lower
ing the tariff, that also is committed TO
the democratic party the responsibility
Of administering the government. The
debts left by the billion dollar congress
must be paid and revenue must be
forthcoming to bear the expense of run
ming the machinery of government
These things must all be taken into con-
Sideration and met in a business way
which fOrbids anything being done has
tily and without delIberation."
Query. Is the democratic party be
ginning to hedge toward high tariff OF
are western democrats beginning t.
pave the way for ungraceful submls,
sion to the plutOcratic eastern wing OF
the party? With a low tariff our rev.
enues Will not necessarily be lower.
Our exchanges with foreign nations
Will be greater, our trade and commerce
increased in bulk, our navy revived.
And it they are lower than necessity 1e-
CURES why not apply the surgical knife
20 the evil, by experimenting with an
income tax, a tax that we believe will
receive the loyal Endorsement of west
ern and southern democrats as we'll as
peoples Inen. Knowing how loyal the
Beacon has been to the cause of the peo-
pie Of the west, we cannot suspect them
OF any Intentional trucking to the cor
porate influences of the east. But in
The spirit OF honest controversy let us
ask If it is not time, if the enthusiastic
support of the people does not justify
the democratic leaders in boldly adopt
ing a measure more complete and
sweeping by far than any compromising
Mills bill. The only legitimate excuse
for such bill was that 1t had to pass a
republican senate.