St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-10-02
KNUTk's BAD BREAKS.

L
which Gov. Nelson might reasonably be
/ expected to avoid discussing more than
any other. it is the tariff. His record on
it is one of those things upon which men
having them do not usually look with
/ comfort Or remark with pride. The
governor has the right, which must
be accorded to every man in republic.
of changing his political convictions
whenever he becomes convinced that
they are wrong; but such changes be.
come justly liable TO suspicion of their
sincerity when hey are accompanied,o or
closely followed, by political prefer
ment.
But this is question for the governor
to settle with his own conscience, and
Tor his constituents To settle with hill
the more important question being what
his views are now and how accurate
they are, either in themselves Or as COM
pared with his former opinions. he Is
very severe now III his denunciation OF
the Democrats for the action that they
have taken in modifying the tariff. He
pointed in his Mankato speech TO the
fact that they have cut down the taxes
on the Imports of agricultural products,
reducing the tax ON butter. nay, barley,
eggs and potatoes. and taking it entirely
Off wool, but he does not mention the
fact that they have increased the tax on
whisky.
The governor is the last man to be
able consistently 10 rebuke the Demo-
| Gratis for this action. The articles he
names are all neceSSarieS Of life. The
Republican national platform of 1883
| declared that, rather than abate one Jot
or title of protection, that party would
remove all The internal revenue taxes
OH whisky. In the one speech made by
| the governor while in congress which
gave him title to more than local fame.
he declared that he was in favor OF Civ
ing The masses of our people cheaper
clothing, cheaper shelter, cheaper fuel,
J made cheaper by removal Of unneceS-
sary bondage to high tariff taxes" and
that he would put these things against
free whisky at any time, and SO would
the American people.
| The Democrats have done in the tariff
J bill what the governor said at that time
was the thing the American people
would approve. They have reduced the
cost of fuel and shelter and clothing,
have cheapened these neceSSaries of
life, and they have increased the tax
Oh whisky. They have done precisely
the thing which the governor rebuked
his own party for uor doing. Such stnl-
titication as this may be compensated
for by a governorship or prospective
Senatorship. but we doubt whether the
price is worth the sacrifice.
If the governor felt it obligatory upon
him by virtue of his position to rebuke
the Democrats for doing the very thing
which he had upbraided his party
for not doing. he might at least have
confined his structures and statements
within the lines of accuracy and truth
fulness. When eXcusing the system of
paying bounties to the producers of
sugar, as being only little affair Of
some sl0,000,000 year, lie stated that III
retuln for this we got all Our sugar free.
That this was not a mere careless Or
unconsidered expression is shown by
his further remark that under the Nc
kinley bill sugar has been put Oh the
the free list, as we all know, entirely
free"
We cannot believe that the governor
himself believed what he said. His ex-
prrience in such matters has been too
extensive to admit Of any such an eX
cuse. AS, following this statement, he
| launched into a denunciatiOn of the
| Democratic party for its concessions to
the demands of the sugar trust, and
| dWelt upon the enOrmitieS of these
| rapacious monOpolies, he probably felt
compelled to assert that the Mckinley
act had made all sugar free in order to
emphasize the enormity of the Demo-
cratic protection. He knew that the
Mckinley act only made those grades
Of sugar free that no person could use
| for table purposes. Sugars below No.
IL are unfit for any use whatever except
10 be refined. lie knew that this was
the raw material of the sugar trust, and
that it was given to the trust free of any
| tax. He knew that the same act placed
tax upon The refined sugars of six
tenths of a cent a pound. He knew
that this was a direct gratuitv to the
sugar trust. Its large expectation OF
refined sugars was the best evidence
that it needed no protection. He had
Mr.. Havemeyer'S own admission before
the senatorial committee that this gratu-
ity had enabled his company to divide
S35. O00,00O of profits in three years.
He knew that the Democratic congress,
handicapped as it was by Democratic
protectioniSts, had reduced this protec-
ton to the trust from slX.tenths of a cent
a pound to one-eighth of cent pound.
while for purposes Of revenue, made
necessary by Republican profaigacy, a
tax of 40 per cent ad valorem was put
upon all raw sugars imported. The
| governor knew all this as we'll as any
person in his audience, and still had til
unDlushing effrontery to claim that the
Mckinley act had made "all sugars
free" refined as we'll as raw, and en-
phasiZed his assertion by repeating it.
AS a lawyer, the governor knows the
rule that he VINO speaks falsely in one
thing may be disbelieved in all things
and this one glazing statement of his.
not carelessly or th0ughtlessly made,
but seriously asserted, false in itself,
and necessarily known to be false by
him, casts discredlt upon every other
statement of facts he may make in the
course OF his arguments to the people of