The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1894-03-30

cSNAh ~ AOAS$I lhSAA PAOAAS~S NA-N~ -
principles and doctrines adopted by its
platform before coming into power, and
in order to carry out their professed prin-
ciples they have to be constantly remind
ed of their promises and told what their
doctrine and principles are. The Wilson
bill is a step toward free trade, to the
adoption of advalore1n duties, and plac-
ing raw material on the free list. There
can be no halfway ground between the
doctrines of free trade and protection.
| 1t must be either the one or the other. A
| tariff for revenue only means free trade
tariff, for the reason that it is intended as
tariff to be levied upon such articles as
| we demand for consumption and which
| we do not produce, as tea, coffee, etc. A
tariff for revenue with incidental protec-
ton is a protective tariff for the reason
that it recognizes the principle of pro-
| tecting such industries as need the foster
| ing care of the government. We mean
| by the advalorem duties that duty is
charged upon goods imported based upon
particular standard-a yard or pound.
We can readily see that through the ad-
va1orem duty system the government can
be defrauded, as an article worth ten
thousand dollars night be valued at five
thousand, and thus the duty which should
be paid upon ten thousand dollars valua-
ton is only paid upon one half its true
value, and the importer gets the benefit
of it. 1t is matter of history that the
republican party has been identified with
all great movements Of progress and re-
form and since its origin. When the re-
publican party first came into power,
this government under the administration
of Mr. Buchanan was heavily in debt,
with not enough revenue to meet its de-
mands; its bonds bearing high rate of
interest sold at discount; it was difficult
to obtain sufficient revenue from the gov
ernment to meet its running expenses.
FINANCES OF THE GOVERNMENT
1t was following this state of affairs, and
surrounded by these unfavorable circun-
stances that the republican party came
the expense of the government, there
was incurred the enormous expense of
carrying on the greatest civil war in the
history of the United States, and the
greatest civil war in the history of the
world. In order to meet its obligations
it was compelled to issue greenbacks,
and to raise money by income taxation; !;
these were adopted as war measures.
When the war closed the national debt
was two and a half billions dollars.
Greenbacks were selling in very short
>I time thereafter at thirty-seven and half
per cent. But the republican party, hav-
ing faith in its ability to meet it's obliga-
tons, declared in favor of the resumption
of specie payment, and in 1879, resump-
ton became all accomplished fact and
from that time on greenbacks have been
as good as gold, and worth dollar for
dollar. The republican party continued
in power twenty-four years, and when it
turned the affairs of government to the
democratic party there was money i'll
abundance. It had the hundred million
reserve still intact, and sufficient funds
besides to meet the current expenses.
Government bonds bearing interest at
the rate of three per cent were selling in
the market above par and it had paid off
the national debt to within billion dol
lars.
HARRISON AND CLEvEI.AND's ADMINS
TRATIoNs COMPARED.
In this healthy state of affairs, we
turned over the administration to the
democratic%party. They found plenty of
money in the treasury; in fact, there was
at this, time, to use the language of Capt.
Humphrey, more money than the rascals
knew what to do with, and in spite of
democratic management the surplus cor-
stantly increased during the whole of
Cleveland's first administration, but
President Harrison, when the republican
party returned to power, reduced the sur-
plus by paying off the national debt. At
the end of his term of Office, when he
turned the affairs of government over to
Cleveland again, he had reduced the sur
plus to fair working balance and still
the reserve was intact. Within nine
months after C1eveland's Inauguration
public confidence was shaken to such an
extent that for the first time since the
establishment by John Sherman in 1879,
of the 81, ,ooo, 100000 reserve for redemp-
ton. the same was reduced below that
amount, and the government found itself
unable to meet the necessary running ex-
penses thereof without resort, to the
selling of its bonds and an increase again
of the national debt. AS a comparison
of Harrison's and Cleveland's admins
: trations we have but to note the fact that
the Democratic party went into power
under as favorable circumstances as have
existed in the history of the government
After nine months of the Democratic ad-
ministration our tide of financial depres-
sion has come like pail down upon the
people ofthe United States such as has
never been known in the history of the