The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1894-09-05
The presldent,s Letter.

The Presidents letter on the
tariff bill exhibits him In an unset.
tied frame of MUD, He is our
president, we elected him. His
election was the triumph Of two
leading ideas Of governmental
policy. First and foremost in the
public mind was the substitution
of a tariff for revenue in place of
the Mckinley law; and second
only to that was the reopening Of
our mints to the free coinage Of
silver. II Is unnecessary at this
time to more than briefly allude to
the immediate betrayal of the peo-
pie on the subject of silver coinage.
1t was such betrayal of the peo-
ple's hopes and was certain to bring
such blight upon the land that it
would have justified resort to the
ultimate right of revolution. A
patient and noble people met it
with noble self.repression and bid
ed their time.
And now the Administrator has
disposed of another branch of the
business for which it was called in
to power. 1t has obliterated the
Mckinley law and has substituted
another. 1t makes a general re-
duction of the duties on foreign
goods, and in that regard very fair
ly meets the expectations of the
people. This must be SO because,
of all the many articles made eth
er dutiable or free, the President
and his opponents find themselves
differing on two articles of import
only. The President participated
in the drafting of the Wilson bill,
and the only material alterations
made by the House before passing
that bill was to put sugar on the
free list and to encorporate it in
the income tax provisions. Mr..
Cleveland advocated Il duty on
sugar, and carried Mr.. Wilson and
the Committee on Ways and Means
with him. BY the aidonly of Re-
publican votes was sugar made
free in the House Mr.. Cleveland
favored a tax on the incomes of
corporations. The House agreed
with him, and went a little further
by imposing an income tax on in
individuals. Never has Mr.. Cleve-
land appeared as the advocate of
free sugar or the opponent of an
income tax.
The Senate passed the House
bill with 633 amendments, among
which was the duty on sugar. The
President agreed with the Senate
63l of these amendments, and diff
fered with them ON the other two.
The principal amendment on which
the two houses differed was that of
the sugar schedule, and Oh that
|. President Cleyeland took the Sen
ate's side. The only difference be-
tween the two houses. over which
the President feels sore, and on ac-
count of which he refused his APP
proval of the bill, were those of two
little items, which will yield an
nually on 100000.
The total amount to he derived
by the new act from duties on inn
ports will approximate 5000, 600, 900
The duties on coal and iron ore
will be 500, 900 of this amount. 1t
is the duty on these two articles
which has brought the President
to his present state of mind. II
coal and iron had been made free
to help out the poor manufacturers
he would to-day have been in an
ecstasy of delight over the triumph
of tariff reform. He made love to
the sugar duty and begged Mr.
Wilson, in his letter of July 2, not
to be afraid of putting duty on
that article. He said it was simon
pure. Democracy to tax sugar, and
that only foolish prejudice made
anybody oppose it. He said he
knew how much abuse of the trust
was being INDUCED in, but he said
the charges against that trust