The Portland daily press., 1894-04-03
THE BETRAYAL OF THE DEMOCRACY.
An Honest Democrat Denounces the Will
son Tariff as the Finished Product of
Ignorance, Cowardice and Corruption.
louisville Courier Journal. ]


When the Courier-J Journal specific
the deficiencies and inconsistencies OF
the Wilson bill as it came out OF COM
mittee, predicting more and worse to
come, first in the House and then in the
Senate the drum majors of tariff reform
exclaimed. we cannot get all we want
at once. This will do for Il beginning.
Better things hereafter" 1t is safe to
say that whatever act is finally passed
will be infinitely more Objectionable
than as contemplated by the darkest
forebodings of the friends of real reform;
and yet, Already, we hear it on every
hand that, with this measure Of Demo
| cratic justification, this finished product
of ignorance, cowardice and corruption,
this ubiquitous offspring of the black
mailing manufacturer and the political
harlot, the whole question must go to
the rear, making way for other ana more
| urgent and Important issues
There is reason to concede only too
much force in this plea. No one will
deny, no revenue peformer has ever de-
| MED that uncertainty as to the tariff is
a source of business disquiet. The need
of fixed tariff policy is obvious. Better
high protective policy, better ires
trade policy, than a shifting, ever
changing policy. Hence the irrepressl-
BILE conflict betweensthe protective policy
and the revenue only policy of the last
| ten years.
| Can any Democrat see this battle end,
with protectionism in complete possess
| ion of the field, without amazement and
diseust? Can any Democrat fail to visit
| upon the author of this infamous sur
render of great cause his everlasting
| contempt? When the Incapables and the
rascals whom we sent to Washington,
charged with duty as specific as words
could make it, have yielded all that the
people won when, partly through iack
of sense and courage and partly through
venallity, they have given up to mo-
nopoly what was meant for the masses;
when they have fed ingloriously from
a victorious field, leaving guns that were
spotted with the ball cartridges OF truth
to be spiked by an enemyswe had driven
before us; and when, bringing with
them only the white feathers of the
coward, or the black plumes OF the
mercenary, they come home for their re-
ward, what shall they encounter, WhaG
have they right to look for, except
political damnation and death2 The
people should accept no evaslons or ex-
who puts up a poor mouth and says he
did the best he could is fraud. He
could at least protest. The man who
eoulvocares is either mercenary or
delinquent, and libelier both, With 9th
Protectionist money in his pocket. Fro
tectionist promises in his ear. IN word,
if the people do not mean to abandon
their right to govern and their power. to
make themselves felt by the men they
put in office, they will sweep away the
whole ships crew visiting upon the
silent equal condemnation with the
If we have government of the people
it is time the fact was made manifest.
II we have merely government OF
shams, honeycombed with Especial priv
ileges which we are unable to dislodge,
let us know it. If thespeople are slaves
and vassals. if the Democratic party is
the sport of a few little lordlings who
have managed to sneak into office on
false pretenses, let.us know that. But,
for COD sake. let us have done with
cowardice and lying!