Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1894-05-03
THE TARIFF IN THE SENATE.

AS the Philadelphia Times says,
the first streak of daylight on the
tariff question that has appeared
in the Senate for some time past,
developed on Friday last when
Senator Aldrich made his silly
bluff by proposing an Immediate
vote on the tariff bill, and was
compelled to skulk away from
his own proposition when the
Democrats accepted it. Thls1s
the first assurance the country
has had for months past that
Democratic unity is possible IN
the passage of a new tariff bill.
Tariff reform was the supreme
issue in the last national contest
Not only was the Congress
elected in 1890 overwhelmingly
in favor of tariff reform, but the
Congress elected in 1892, along
with a Democratic President and
a Democratic Senate, was a re
newed demand for tariff reform
with an emphasis that none can
disregard. With the Democrats
for the first time in a generation
possessing the Executive and
both branches of Congress, and
instructed with such distinctness
in favor of the reduction of tariff
duties, failure to enact a new
tariff law would be a public con-
fession of the Democrats to adj
minister the government in obe-
dience to the popular will. There
have been many points of diver
gence among even honest Demo
Gratis on the tariff, and less re-
putable considerations have
entered into the contest in the
Senate, but it seems now reason
ably certain that a tariff bill Will
be passed by that body, and that
a committee of conference may,
in a reasonable time, be charged
with the perfection of a measure
that will pass both branches and
receive the approval of the Pres
ident.
It is possible that even this re-
form may have within itself the
seeds of destruction in the odious
income tax. IF craftsmanship
could rule for an hour in the
Senate that feature Of the tariff
bill would be eliminated, not only
because it is wholly unjust to tax
seventy thousand people for the
benefit of seventy millions, but
because it cannot stand as the
policy of our government and its
overthrow must greatly endanger
the tariff policy with which it is
enacted. This is now the grave
peril to the permanency OF tariff
reform, and if the Senate could
only rise to the stature of states
manship it would be speedily
taken from the bill and thus give
tariff reform a fair test before
the country.
The Democrats of the Senate
are in position that they cannot
afford to lose a single vote OF
their party on the final passage
of the tariff bill; it is therefore
reasonable that they should ad-
Just it to command the united
support of the party. Such a
measure will doubtless contain
many imperfections. Some
of these are honestly supported
by Senators who feel that
they owe it to their constit-
uents to battle for them, but when
the committee of conference shall
have revised the whole measure,
Senators who could not vote fo-
the bill without insisting upon
the amendments they desired,
will doubtless decide on the ques-
ton of adopting the report OF
the committee of conference, to
support the measure regardless
of their special points of differ
ence. The period for amendment
will then have past, and Senar
tors will be compelled to accept
or reject the report. Thus we
hope to see tariff reform accom-
plished with a reasonable degree
of fairness and justice, and ifthat
shall be done, no future admins
tration will ever dare to return
to monopoly taxes to protect the
few at tile cost of the many.
The term most frequently ap-
piled to the members of Cexey's
army, and the one most cordially
hated by them is hobo Ac-
- 49,