Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1894-04-07

relieved the people of employment, o.
work, Of wages. of prosperity and o
. plenty-and some of them Of theii
homes. The blessings of good wages
good prices, and good times are NOR,
to be desired than the proposed relic
from so-called 'burdensome taxation.
Such relief is no relief.
THE WILSON BILL.
II have looked with some degree Of
care through the bill | find nothing
but irritation and aggravation to the
great industries of the country. No
interest suffers by it more severely
than agriculture, and labor of all
kinds seems to have been singled out
as its foremost victim. / have exam
incd it carefully to find some section.
paragraph, clause, or line removing
the great burden Of tariff taxes from
the shoulders Of the people. about
which we have heard so much for so
many years from the Democratic ora
tors and have read SO frequently in
| Democratic newspapers and platforms
but have been unsuccessful in find
ling any such provision. 1t is true
that sugar, an article Of prime neces-
sity to every household and which the
law of 1890 made free to the people,
1 has been fairfield at from / to ! 40
cents per pound, every cent of which
will be paid by the consumers of the
4 United States But doubtless, in
compensation for this added burden of
upward of $50, 900, 600 and because oft,
they lowered the tariff on tobacco and
have extended the bonded period for
the warehorsing of whisky and Civ
Ell TO the listillers eight years in
which to pay the tax. They have re-
stored the tariff on coal, but then in
fairness they should be credited with
having taken the tariff off of dia-
monds. They reason that the manu-
facturers are few, forgetting that the
workmen are many. They look to
the interests of importers. ignoring
the farmer, and Obvious to the fact
that the agriculturist is everywhere.
Their blows are directed against the
welfare of the masses of the people,
but from them the country will yet
hear, for this is still Government OF
the people, and the popular will
has already marked them for political
overthrow. do not believe that the
true interests of the South, nor of any
other section of the country,lie in the
direction of free trade, nor of the rev.
enue tariff legislation proposed by
this Congress.
"I'he present position and action of
/ the Democratic leaders on internal
taxes is peculiarly an anomalous
one, They are SO determined to break
down the protective system that they
are willing to resort to internal taxes,
which have been opposed not only by
every Democratic national administra-
ton preceding the present one from
Jackson to Buchanan's, but also as
matter Of principle by every other adj
ministration, Federal, anti Federal,
Wing, or Republican in our history.
The only excuse for the resort to such
taxation has been the financial exigen-
cies of actual war. Laws imposing
internal taxes have always been re-
pealed as rapidly as such exigencies
disappeared and have never before
been seriously proposed in times Of
profound peace. Some of the same
Democratic leaders who, during and
subsequent to the war, stood in Con
gress speaking and voting against in
ternal taxes and an income tax are
found to-day heartily favoring them
They were unwilling to adopt these
methods of taxation when it was nee
essaTy to preserve the Government
and the flag, but they are willing to
adopt them now as means of break
ing down the patriotic principle of
protection under which the North and
Northwest, as we'll as the South, has
enjoyed such unparalleled prosperity
and have attained such marvellous de-
velopment.
THE RECIPROCITY REPEATER.
ITO my mind another hurtful pro-
vision Of the Wilson bill, entirely I'M
warranted by experience and unjusti-
fable as matter Of wise international
policy, is that which repeals Section )
Of the act of 1890, commonly known
as the reciprocity clause. This it
will be remembered, was enacted to Sc
cure reciprocal trade between the Uni
ted States and countries largely produc-
/ ing sugar, molasses, coffee, tea, and
hides, and under which this country
has opened up foreign trade profta-
able to the people and of the most
promising proportions.
Commercial agreements relating
/ to reciprocal trade have already been
made with the following countries:
Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Spain.
! for Cuba and Porto Rico; Guatemala,
| Salvador, the German empire, Great
Britain, for certain West Indian col
onies and British Guiana; Nicaragua,
Honduras and Austro-H Hungary. In
these arrangements it has been the
aim of the government to secure en-
larged markets for the products OF
agriculture, which, added to their
splendid home market, would perma-
nently secure them from the occa-
sional depression which visits our ag-
riculturists because Of their surplus
products.
Gas the result of these commercial