St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-04-27
DEMOCRATIC DIFFERENCES.

Our Republican brethren are getting
what of consolation there is for them in
their shipwreck out of the different
opinions Of the Democrats relative to the
tariff. They quote the conservative and
practical MORRISON, VINO represents
those Democrats to whom tariff taxation
is bull Apis, holy and to be revered,
and who would restore a small revenue
tax on tea, coffee and sugar, against the
opinions of WATTERSON, who stands
for the advance guard of the party, and
WIZ has his heart set on the abolition
OF tariff taxes. Because Of these con-
flicting views, our sanguine friends
draw the conclusion raShly, that the
Democrats don't know what to do with
the white elephant they drew last No
Vember.
If our friends were really studying
the Situation with view to get at the
real tendency. instead of hunting for
darts with which to annoy their Oppo-
nents, they would have no difficulty in
reaching a correct conclusion. To get
the bearings for observations from
which sound deductions may be made
it will not do to cOnfine the attention to
the present time. What may now seem
confusion and immobility becomes a con-
dition of progress when compared with
prior conditions. 1t is only necessary. to
90 back to the shameful straddle OF 1884
and set the tariff plank of that year be-
side that of the convention of '92 to see
how far III the direction Of free trade
the Democratic party has moved. And
not alone the Democratic party, but the
best thought of the nation. The decla
ration of the national Prohibition party
last year was strongly against taxation
on consumption and the exemption of
wealth. The strong movement out of
the Republican party of its best mate
rial Is due to this.
There can be no question that, had
the civil war not interviewed to stop the
trend of opinion then prevailing and to
give a fresh opportunity to the selfish
interests which are continually striving
to subordinate the government to their
own gainful purposes. the country
| would have long since been on free
trade basis. In 1858, after congress
had reduced the WALKER tariff 10 per
cent, special committee of the lower
house. appointed to consider the Ques-
ton. reported in favor of TesOrting lat
as early period as may be practicable
! exclusively to direct taxation" They
declared that ''the highest development
| of industrial resources of the country
is to be attained by the greatest
! freedom of exchange, which can only
be accomplished by the entire aboli-
ton of duties on imports" They rec
| commended an apportionment of the
| federal taxes among the states on the
constitutional basis, assigning to each
state the collection of its quota, ''thus
inSuring perfect equality, aud diSpens-
ing with multitude Of federal officers. F"
1t may not be amiss to add that the 10
per cent reduction of 1857 was made by
a congress in which the first Republican
speaker, n. 2. BANKS, presided,
1t is always condition of any great
movement in a party, any forward move
ment, that there will be differences OF
opinion ranging from the radical to the
conservative. 1t was so with the Re
publican party on the slavery question,
and it is so now with the Democrats. But
the conservatives in the Republican
party could not retard the march to
| freedom of men, and no more can now
the conservatives in the Democratic
| party check the movement in that party
whose destination is freedom of trade.