New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-04-08
III UOCRdTS GAINING LIGHT

Americans NAV take some comfort. even III
ia. :. DAYS. ir,m the thought that response
bility cducate- 1t does not educate all men
alike and some men il Il O. not educate at all.
but in every 81 Il. party there are many who
Lc.in 70 looI, AT question in a new light when
they have t, act thereon Knowing that their
own prosperity and that of their nclghbjrs,
their cities and states and the whole coun-
try. will be affected by their action. II has
ben said that i, was misfortune for the coIn-
,Iy that the Democratic party, aS punish
ment for all its faults and sins. was excluded
firm power 80 long that lis members lost the
educating influence Of responsibility. Even It's
most picjudced and ignorant voters might have
known Il little more than they now know and
its better men would have known much more,
if they had been obliged t. consider the prac
teal consequences Of the measures they advO-
Gated.
For the first time in more than thirty years
Democrats know that the business and indus
try. the wealth and wages and prosperity of
the whole country, depend upon what their
rariy NAV do The SOLDERING effect Of this new
position is felt by me already. There is cen
siderably less bumptous assumption that De-
moclacy will change everything and euro all
evils There is more sober reflection about the
practical Consequences of measures which Dem
ocratS have been urging in vague and general
terms "a a matter of habit or of party feeling
Here and there men begin TO grasp the truth
that the policy Of the Republican party cannot
be rapidly and suddenly changed without much
loss and great risk 10 the country, because
whe her on some accounts Objectionable or not
that policy has worked out great good which
the Nation cannot afford to spare Thus a
Democrat Of somo distinction, who mas been
locking into the tariff question with now in
tcrcst since November, recently explained his
position somewhat as follows in private con-
vcrsatiOn
81 see one thing which, | did not see be-
fore, that there was certain philosophy in tho
Republican policy of putting heavy duties on
most of the articles which bear duties at ALL
For We must have n certain revenue, and some
thing like half of it, say $500 ,00O, 900, must
come FRI IN customs. In 1892 we raised SI92,-
736,92O by duties on 1898, 1896 worth of
dutablc imports. Now if we raised the same
amount by duties averaging only % per cent
the dutabe imports must rise to Sill, OOO,-
900, which would mean the closing of 50 many
works, and the discharge of so many hands
now engaged in producing goods which would
then be imported, that doubt whether the
people would be able to buy or the country to
import such greatly increased quantities of tho
same articles. But if we start to put back
duties on articles worth S4s2, 23S, 1886 admitted
free llst year, there would not only be no end
of hornets nest politically we should put
| burdens either on industries which should not
have 10 bear them, or upon classes of consumers
who have been, it seems to me, wisely relieved.
$50 it looks as If we must actually attack
existing industries in this country by causing
an increase of nearly 100000, 900 in the
value Of competing goods imported, in order
to raise needed revenue by low duties. Now
we Democrats have been saying that we did
not intend to break down any existing indus.
trfes and that is very like an admission that it
is good for the country that these industries
| exist. II we cannot afford to break them down