The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1893-12-21
DEMOCRATIC DocrR1nE.

Ace0htiJ Hiodo III thiS pdpef. One
was that Iron ore and wool are to
go on the free list. They ought to
have been there long," the other was
that Those Alabama mine owners
who object to taking the tax from
iron ore are not genuine Democrats"
Our Baltimore friend agrees with
US that wool, which has ste;a Oily
declined in price, should be duty free,
but he opposes our opinion tina iron
ore should be duty free. He states
that he is "a States-rights Demo-
GRAFT in full accord with all the teach
ings of the Democratic party" and
adds that any nickname such as
"Old Hunker," or Bourbon" he
does not get angry at. But when
called a free trade Democrat" he
continues, 81 put on my war paint,
for there is no such thing as a free
| trade Democrat. My doctrine is that
every article of trade should bear it's
just proportional share of the bur-
dens of taxation, and class legisla-
ton should not be countenanced,
that there are some exceptional
commodities that should be placed
on the free list for expediency. Iron
ore is not among them for thereby
we give to foreign miners employ
ment We should give to our own
labor. By admitting this ore free of
duty we practically subsidise the few
furnaces on the coast and render the
furnaces in our own mountain unable
to compete with those on the coast.
This is class legislation and con-
trary to every principle of Democ-
racy. The result OF free iron ore will
be the stoppage, to large extent,
of our mountain furnaces and con-
sequently of the mines themselves;
thousands of laborers will be thrown
out OF employment, our iron ore
lands reduced in value, and all con-
tiguous lands will suffer thereby.
The iron trade exercises such power
ful influence on all the industries of
the country that such adverse legis-
latlon will tend to place on all kinds
ot business. To make good business
for any length OF time i'll one section
We must have general prosperity.
All laws, in order to be Democratic,
must be made for the good of the
greatest number. | would, therefore,
not recommend ID protective duty ON
iron ore, but place such duty DIT
point which wall give the government
the greatest amount of duty consls-
tent with the ability OF the people to
pay. This can best be accomplished
by very moderate duty"
Mr.. Floyd fears that We have been
carried away in the direction of a
Free Trade policy instead of the
Democratic doctrine of a Tariff Tor
Revenue Only" We say in reply
that We are opposed to all violent
changes in tariff duties, because these
unsettle trade, nor do we look upon
absolute free trade in any other light
than an evolution OF the do Grimes of
commercial freedom which many
years hence will probably be estab-
.ished in this country. We turn to
the platform of principles, adopted
at ChIca go in June 1892 and Tt ad its
denunciation of the Mckinley tariff
law, and it's endorsement of the
efforts made by Democrats sin the
direction of free raw materials" In
the very same paragraph is this
statement: "And we point to the
dullness and distress, the wage
reductions and strikes in the iron
trade as the best possible evidence
that no such prosperity has resulted
from the Mckinley act"
1t will be observed that the iron
trade is singled out as the one par
ticular example which disproved the
Republican theory that high duties
signifed prosperity. We feel that
Mr.. Floyd, by an argument which
certainly does not lack plausability,
falls into the error of making a
special plea tor a special industry,
and we say tha6 multitude OF such
pleas make up the enormity of
Mckinley tariff. Mr.. Floyd argues
that the coast furnaces, but we be-
lieve his predictions will not be full
filled to such degree as that much
harm will result to the mountain
furnaces. Winston enjoys superior
in he tobacco business
to Petersburg, for example, but the
should not interfere to
benefit Petersburg at the expense of
Winston. 1t is not the governments |
business.
We are among those who place |
little faith in the wages and labor
bugaboo. If our labor is higher
priced, it is also more skilful and
and we are impressed |
with the statement made by an ex
part merchant 10 the latest issue of
5he Forum that 1.-The Tears our man.
1iacturers have OF foreign competi-
ion are totally without reason"
We favor free raw materials, because
We believe it makes possible an en-
of our foreign markets