Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1894-03-29

AIRY products free we would have steady
employment for all the workingnen of the
country at good wages. And so in this
form the bill passed the Democratic house
of representatives and is now the dread
subject OF angry contention in the Demo
cratic senate.
Finance Committee's Actfo..
An examination of the bill by the Demo
cratic members of the finance committee
of the senate evidently convinces them
that Mr.. Wilson's bill and his argument
in support OF the same are alike based On
false principles. So coal goes back to the
tariff list. iron ore TO the tariff list and
lead TO the tariff list, leaving free wool
alone, the only prcAIct Of agriculture, to
p the false tSeory of the house bill.
Even Mr.. Cleveland is ~disregarded, for in
his Madison Square garden speech, after
his nomination in 1892, he said: I'VE be-
lieve that the advantage of freer raw ms
terial should be accorded TO our manufac-
turers. We propose, therefore, to stimu-
late our domestic industrial enterprises 10y
freeing from duty the imported raw ma
terials which, by the employment of labor,
are used in our home manufactures, thus
extending the markets for their sale and
permitting an increased and steady pro-
duction with an allowance of abundant
profits"
Agriculture snd Labor Suffer.
have looked with some degree of care
through the bill. / find nothing but irri-
tation and aggravation TO the great indus
tries of the country. No interest suffers
by il more severely han agriculture, and
labor of all kinds seems to have been
singled out as its foremost victim. / have
examined il 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 orators and have
read so frequently in Democratic newspa-
pers and platforms, but / nave been unsuc-
cessful in finding any such provision. 1t
Is true that sugar, an article of prime
necessity TO every household, and which
the law of 1890 made free to the people, has
been fairfield at from i to / 40 cents per
pound, every cent of which will he paid by
the consumers of the United States.
some Compensation In This.
But, doubtless, in compensation for this
added burden of upward of 100000 {, and
because of it, they lowered the tariff on
tobacco and nave extended the bonded
period for the warehousing of whisky and
giving 10 the distiliers eight years in which
to pay the tax. They nave restored the
tariff on coal, but then in fairness they
should be credited with having taken the
tariff off of diamonds. They reason that
the manufacturers are few, forgetting that
the workmen are many. They look to the
interests of importers, ignoring the
farmer, and oblivious 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 il still "a
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 direc ion
of free trade, nor Oh the revenue tariff
legislation proposed by this congress.
Anomalous POST on on Intern l Taxes.
The 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
Ia bnAtS1 "hlCh nave DGCn ODDOSIl
not only by every Democratic national ad-
ministration preceding the present one
from Jackson's to Buchanan's, but also,
as a 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 exigencies Of actual
war. Laws imposing internal taxes have
always been repealed as rapidly as such
exigencies disappeared and have never
before been seriously proposed in times of
peace. Some of the same Democratic
leaders who. during and subsequent to
the war, stood in congress speaking and
voting against internal taxes and an in
come tax, are found today heartily favor
ing them. They were unwilling to adopt
these methods of taxation when it was
necessary TO preserve the government and
the flag, but they are willing TO adopt
them now as a means of breaking down
the patriotic principle of protection under
which the North and Northwest, as we'll
as the South, have enjoyed such unpar-
alleled prosperity and have attained such
marvellous development.
Various Acts and Resolves.
1t would be interesting to the student of
political history to examine the various
acts and resolves of congress touching in
ternal taxes, beginning in 1861 and includ-
ing the years during and shortly after the
war. and to nJte the position of the leaders
OF the Democratic party thereon. I have
time to refer to but one such law-the in
ternal revenue act which was approved by
President Lincoln July l, 1854. 1t passed
the house April %, the vote being yeas ITO,
nays 80, every Democrat present and vot-
ing responding in the negative. The bill
was passed as amended by the senate on
June 6-yeas %, nays 8. The negative votes
were cast by Garrett Davis and L. w.
Powell of Kentucky and Thomas A. Hen
bricks of Indiana.
As illustrating further the position of
the Democratic party On internal taxes,
the resolution of July 4, 1854, providing
for a special war income tax may be cited.
This was adopted by the house by the close
vote of SO yeas to - nays. Every aAirma-
tive vote was cast by a Republican and
every negative vote, except four, by a
Democrat.
The system has been condemned hv ali