The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-08-02
The Tariff Must be Reformed.

The republican papers are trying to
bulldoze the democrats into letting the
tariff alone by asserting that the present
financial distress is largely due to the
fear that the industries of the country
will be practically ruined by a reduction
Of the tariff. They will not accomplish
their purpose. Mr. Cleveland has said
that it is necessary to get the financial
question out of the way before taking up
the tariff, because it is the most pressing,
but he does not mean to be understood
that the tariff question is to be abandoned
He is just as determined now that the in
iquitous Mckinley tariff shall be re-
formed as he was during the last national
campaign.
And it is well understood that there
will be no tariff legislation that will in
iure the industries, The industries win
be dealt with fairly and in a way that
will place them upon a more solid basis
than that upon which they now rest.
Mr. Whitney, ex-secretary of the navy,
is of the opinion that before the country
can enjoy permanent prosperity there
must be a fair adjustment of the tariff. In
recent interview in the New York
World, he said:
THE country's prosperity will never be
| permanently established while an annual
| tax of three or four hundred millions is
! aid upon its industries. No matter what
disguise it may assume, our present tariff
| system is essentially tax upon the pro-
| ducing and industrial classes. The ma
tional government is supported by a tax,
! not upon property, but upon consumption.
! The tariff is assessed, not upon what men
owe, but upon what they eat and drink
and wear 1t is too largely per capita
| tax. Under it it is easily possible that a
| poor man, with large family, may be
| compelled to pay more taxes for the sup
| port of the national government than an
| economical millionaire with only himself
| TO keep. An average man in the middle
! and lower classes, making income 4 basis
/ of classification, spends, say - per cent.
! of his income for food and clothing. The
! average rich man cannot spend over ;
| per cent. of his income for the same pur-
! pose. National taxes being levied as they
| are, the general mass of The people, the
! producing and industrial classes and the
! great body of merchants, tradeSmen, and
| professional men, pay fifteen times as
/ much tax In proportion to their means as
the rich man. There lies the secret of
| national distress. The only permanent
]
! burden of taxation and equaliZing its
| pressure upon all alike. Other countries
! do this. There is no reason why the
! United States cannot. To such a reform
| the Democratic party is pledged. Upon
the strength of that pledge it
came into power. -Four years
/ before the Republican party had promised
to revise the tariff, and in the faith that
revision would be in the line of "A reduC-
! tion and an equalization of tax burdens
the people elected Mr. Harrison The
republicans fulfilled their promise by
passing the Mckinley bill, increasing the
tariff and perpetuating its inequalities
The next election practically wiped the
| Republican party as then constituted out
Of existence. The Mckinley bill mistake
of the republicans would be a mere quib-
bic compared with the monumental folly
of which the Democratic party would be
guilty should it ignore the issue upon
which it elected Mr.. Cleveland
There is no probability that the Demo
cratic party will ignore the issue upon
which MIR Cleveland was elected 1t will
take up that issue just as soon as the sill
YER question is out Of the way. The re-
publicans will, of course, make every
possible effort to stavc off any considera-
ton of the tariff by this congress, with
the hope that they will get control OF the
next congress. So anxious are they to
prevent the Mckinley tariff from being
disturbed that they would be willing to
delay the settlement of the silver ques-
ton If they dared. They would hardly
take the responsibility, however. of OBJ
STRUGGLING action upon thatquestion. They
would lose more than they could possibly
gain by doing So
The password to the convention of
! instinns Of the nnnnn If Atlnntn i. ~,