Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1893-09-01
A STRIKING PARALLEL.

A STRIKING PARALLEL.
l. sst November the American peo-
pie turned down the harmful old
system of commercial restriction for
the more beneGeent system of COM
mercial freedom. The issue was fairly
drawn, and the result was decisive.
But the high takers, who were out
voted at the polls, have seized upon
the present financial depression and
seek to use it as an argument for call
ing a halt in the country's progress
towards revenue reform. The Chicago
Inter Ocean, the great northwestern
representative Of high tariff taxation,
even goes SO far as to ask congress to
pass 4 joint resolution declaring that
the present tariff laws will remain
untouched for two years. But every
great reform in the worlds history has
met with just such opposition; and,
as in the past, it will at the present
time prove futile. Repeal is the
watchword Of the peoples representa-
In the fifty third congress now in SEES
sion at Washington. They have set
their seal of condemnation upon the
unjust compulsory silver purchase law;
and will without delay proceed to deal
in spirit Of fairness and justice with
the Ill important subject of tax re-
form. While there is no reason to
doubt that they will continue in this
line Of duty steadfast unto the end,
there is good deal of beneficial in
struction in the following from The
Boston Herald, showing how another
victory for glorious liberty was sought
to be thWarted by the same kind of
tactics as are now employed by the
defenders Of the spoliation system:
The parallels in political history are
remarkable, and they are always inter
csting to the careful observer We
have more than once had occasion to
point out the parallels that exist be-
tween the antl-slavery agitation in
this country of thirty or forty years
ago and the tariff reform movement
that has succeeded it in our day.
Both were enterprises alike literally
and in spirit in the interest of freedom.
The one was an effort to make the
men free who We're actually in the
subsection OF slavery; the other is the
attempt to increase mems freedom of
action which is under restriction from
government. Both were revolt
against the fayors of a privileged
class in the nation, though, of course.
the wrong done in taking from
man his liberty altogether is vastly
greater than that in only curbing him
Of il portion Of his liberty is justified
BY the same kind of arguments that
are used for the depriyal Of liberty al
together, and that the giving men
special privileges, though the wrong
done in this way may be much greater
III some instances than in others.
The curious feature in this parallel
to which we now refer is cen in what
followed the great and decisive victory
over slavery in 1860, aad that which
has succeeded the tariff reform victory
Of 1892. In bot. instances a loud
call is found - come to the victors
to abandon the fruits of their triumph
in the interest Of public prosperity.
When the eaders in the contest for
the Mckinley tariff who were in a
minority last year in a fair contest of
100000 in the popular vote of the
country now ask of those who are de
puted to give the country the fruits of
this verdict that they shall abandon
such action and continue the country
in the policy which this 100000
majority decreed that it should not
follow, they are only repeating exactly
what the men who were defeated by
Abraham Lincoln and the Republican
party asked to have done after the
contest of 1860 was ended Then, too,
a great victory had been won-not as
decisive as the present one, it is true.
bit still not without an emphasis of is
own. Tlen, too, in precisely the same
way that these modest representatives
of defeat are now doing, the van
pushed party came forward with the
amazing proposition that the victors
abandon all they had been instructed
by the people to do, and yield up the
control of affairs to those whose policy
the people had condemned. 1t is less
difficult to believe this possible now