Huntsville gazette., 1893-11-04
a CONSTITUTIONAL" TARIFF

The Deceptive Representations of the
Democratic Platform.
Tariff making for the democratic
congress would be a simple matter if it
were to follow rigidly the pledges of
the national platform. The argument
is presented with great persistency by
the New York Sun, which noTiGas
the democratic party, day after day,
that there can be only one constitu-
tional tariff, according to its. solemn
declaration which the people have rati-
fed. That is a tariff for revenue only,
so framed as entirely to eliminate favor
to any especial interest. The platform
is cited as follows:
1--WE denounce republican protection as
fraud, robbery of the great majority OF the
American people for the benefit OF the few
We declare it to be fundamental principle OF
the democratic party that the federal govern
ment has no constitutional power to impose
and collect tariff duties except for the purpose
Of revenue only. II. We denounce the Mckin-
ley tariff law, enacted by the Fifty first con-
gress as the eliminating atrocity of class leg
islation And we promise its repeal as one
of the beneficent results that will follow the
action of the people in intrusting power to the
democratic party"
This declaration and this solemn
promise, it is urged, utterly forbid any
discrimination in favor of anybody,
either by imposing greater duties on
competing products imported or by
granting cheaper raw materials
through removal of duties, because the
latter kind Of favoritism would only
compel the imposition of higher duties
A%l~ ..Io 4a~, 81
The party has but one honest course,
it is reiterated to find out what rate
of duties on imports will yield the re-
quired revenue, and then to impose that
rate on all imported articles alike.
That and no other would be ''consti-
tutionar' tariff. The attempt to make
any other is not only ''unconstitu-
tional." but direct violation Of a SOL
emn pledge.
1t is necessary to admit that this rea-
soning has great force. If it is to be
supposed that the democratic party was
at all honest in it's declarations in it's
platform, it is difficult to see how any
other kind of tariff than the one thus
described can be imposed. Yet every
one knows that no such tariff was ever
intended, even by those who voted for
the majority resolution in the demo-
cratic national convention. If it had
been understood that this was the kind
of tariff required by the resolution
adopted, probably it would have re-
ceived but an insignificant fraction of
the vote. The unavoidable conclusion
is that the platform was intended to
deceive. Those who voted for it did
not mean to do what the words for
which they voted distinctly promised,
nor did they, in fact, believe what they
explicitly declared, that any other kind
of tariff than the one so described
would be unconstitutional Mr.. Neal,
of Ohio who is just now running for
governor, was the special champion of
this declaration, and in his great fight
for its adoption he spoke more frankly
and boldly and went much further
than any other speaker; and yet even
Mr. Neal took care not to make it
known that the language he proposed
would exclude as unconstitutional the
favoritism of admitting materials free
for some industries, as well as the favor
itism of imposing protective duties for
others. 1t is for him to explain whether
he did not know the meaning of the
words he used. or intended to deceive
the voters.
The other wing of democrats is at a
sore disadvantage when the platform
and pledges of the party are consid-
cred. Crooked explanations and shifty
devices of cunning Interpretation can
be found. of course, to reconcile pro
posed action with past pledges, but the
exhibition is nevertheless pitiable
one. Thus it is said that a tariff for
revenue only applies to such articles
only as it may be thought expedient to
subject to taxation, and that it is nc
violation of the declarations of the
| platform to favor some industries by
giving them raw materials free, at the
expense of higher duties on other ma
| terials and on products of industries
Or, again, it is said that the rate which
| will yield the largest revenue is not the
same for different articles, and thai
low duties may yield the best return il
| some cases and high duties in others
| But if it is intended, in any case, by
| maHing raw materials free, or by ad