St. Paul daily globe., 1894-01-06
THE SAME OLD STORY.

Any one having access to the files of
the Wing papers published after the
election of Polk, and prior to the pass
age of the Walker tariff bill in 1916, can
very easily imagine in reading the tariff
articles that he is reading the current
issues of the Republican papers today.
There is the same tone of alarm. the
frantic warnings of disaster, the same
unbridled denunciation of the Demo
Gratis as icOnoclaSts, capable only of de-
stroying; to whom, in an unfortunate
moment OF weakness, the voters of the
country have committed their COM
mercial interests.
II there is difference it lies in the
fact that the lamentations then INDUCED
H. were for the poor manufacturers who
were struggling to establish themselves
in this country and render iU indie
pendent of foreign nations, while today
the crocodile tears are shed for the sad
fate which meets the poor workingman.
This change is probably due to the fact
that the general intelligence has be-
come too we'll informed to be longer be-
guiled by the manufacturer plea.
manufacturers against the proposed re-
duction of tariff with unanimity only
equaled by the protests of the same
gentry today. They declare that the
passage of the Walker tariff bill will
work their utter ruin. In congress to-
day Republicans have improved in no
particular upon the arguments of their
Whig fathers, and the speeches that will
be made this month against the Wilson
bill might be copied, word for word,
from those delivered at that time in op-
position to the Walker tariff bill.
Ii, as now seems probable, the real
struggle over the Wilson bill takes
place in the senate, the parallel be-
tween the two bills will be very strik-
ing. There were Shanghai Democrats
in those days who yielded their party
principles to what they considered to be
either their own or their local interests,
and Joined the Wings In their oppos:-
ton. This was particularly the case
with Pennsylvania, which was as tena-
cious then of its privilege of getting not
only its snout but ali its feet into the
hog trough as it is now. Pennsylvania
was then Democratic, but it fought for
protection as tenaciously as did any
New England states.
So far had the Democrats become
corrupted with the plunder of protec-
ton that the Walker bill only passed
the senate by the casting vote of the
vice president. That officer was George
M. Dallas, of Pennsylvania. and the en-
tire opposition centered upon him when
it became evident that his vote would
be decisive upon the fate of the bill.
The pressure upon him from his own
state was tremendous, and he was as
sured by Democrats, as we'll as Wings,
that the passage Of the bill would re-
suit not only in the destruction OF the
manufacturing Industries of his state.
but would certainly carry that state
over to the Wings in the next election.
In spite of opportunities and threats,
and in spite of being denounced as
traitor to his state, Mr.. Dallas stood by
his party, and gave the casting vote
which made the Walker bill law,
which remained unimpaired until the
outbreak of the war, except the reduc-
tion made in it by the house in 1857, in
which, the new Republican party held
the balance Of power.
1t is interesting in this connection to
note that the prediction of the result on
the Democratic party in Pennsylvania
was verified at the next presidential
election. the Wings carrying that state
by plurality of 14,0OO; but in the sue
ceeding presidential election, when the
| wisdom of the Democratic legislation
had been fully verified by its effects, the
state returned to the Democratic column
with a plurality Of nearly 100000 And
it is also interesting to note that the
prediction of rnin to our industries so
utterly failed thar even Mr.. Blaine,
when writing history, and not making
| partisan speeches. admitted that the
| period from 1916 to 1860 was the most
uniformly prosperous of any similar
| period in our history.