Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1894-12-14

18th, II tariff legislation don't take the
money from the pockets OF the consumer
and put il in the pockets IT the pluto
crIt non-prolucer and barnaclc, what
does il do?
Tariff Legislation" may be for in /,
crease. or decrease, or entire abroga /
ton OF duty. Those who ask hair
splitting questions and juggle with
figures with the familiarity Of the |
conjuror with hi. balls. should be
more exact in their phraseology. We
presume Mr. Conine means To assert
that high tariff on necessities takes
money from the pockets OF the con-
sumner, and puts it into the pocket OF
the manufacturer. II so, we agree
with him and there is no chance for
an argument. 4 high tariff on lu1u-
ries, such as ordinary people have no
use for, certainly takes money from
the pockets OF such "plutocrats" AS
use them, and if the tariff schedule
should br abolished altogether, it is
quite evident that the costs OF main
tanning the government would fall
upon the consumer" W tn his little
homestead to tax, with much more
severity than it does nov in the in
finitesimal amounts he has to pay on
what he eats, drinks and wears. The
kind of tariff legislation" true DEM
ocrats favor is an adjustment of duties
so as to bear lightly upon the neces-
stiles of life and mainly upon such
luxuries as the rich are amply able to
buy and poor people do without. If
there should arise an "infant indus
try" which needs protection until it
can walk alone, reasonable duty
might very properly be placed upon
importations that would conflict with
its sale at q reasonable living price.
That is what used to be called Incl
dental protection" Understand, it is
not said that the conditions exist to
make even this form of protection
advisable. The case is purely a by
pothetical one.
18th, If the Democratic party is in
favor of free trade free, coinage of silver,
a more equal distribution Of wealth and
graduate tax on incomes. what is the
difference between the Democrat and
Populist party?''
A radical difference is in the first
statement of the proposition. Demo
Gratis do not favor free trade. Some of
its members may, individually, make
such a declaration, but it is fair to
take the party platform as q guide in
determining just where it stands on
the cardinal principles. We have
never yet asked a protested free trader
to state some adequate means for
raising the revenues required to sup
port the government, in lieu of the
tariff income, who WAS able to do 20.
Those who attempted to answer, in
variably suggested . "single tax" or
some other theoretical plan, but when
they attempted to reduce it to possible
beneficial results, their explanations
were about as much of . tumble as q
Chinese puzzle. Like one of the can
didates, before the Populist county
convention, these inquiries only es.
tablished the fact they knew very
little about what they so glibly talked.
Free coinage of silver is another shib-
boleth on which the party is by no
means united. 1t may have found its
way into State platforms where silver
is a product, under the delusive idea
that unlimited coinage of any kind of
currency would at once Danish hard
times. The unwritten laws of trade
control the value OF money the same
as of commodities. Increase the
volume of silver abnormally and it
will fall in value when measured by
commodities possessing intrinsic value.
Unlimited coinage of silver would I'M
doubleday send the prices of labor and
supplies just as much higher as the
increase of volume was beyond the
demand for it on gold basis. 1t is
impossible to substitute silver for gold
as the measurer of values, while in
ternational commerce recognizes only
the better metal in business transac-
tons. The average American voter
does not always apply the test of rea-
son to his political acts. and hence
demagogues play upon his credulity
, by advocating measures which seem,
at first glance, to be desirable, and he
casts his vote to find that it is not
, productive of any of the results
( promised. Democrats might favor q
more equal distribution of wealth." if
there should be any plan suggested
for bringing it about that might seem
fair and honest. The highwayman
enforces his demand for just this same
D object with bludgeon and fills his
g empty pocket with his victims money
f but society looks upon the act as q
crime and condemns the perpetrator OF
Y such an infriction of the laws to penal
: servitude. There may be some unob-
jectionable means for evening up
! the wealth of the country, such as
9 have been tried and are still on trial
+ by the Democratic party-such as
i amendment of the laws by which OBJ.
r portunity for making unwarranted
E profits have been fostered. The diff.
ference between the Democratic and
+ the Populist party lies simply in the
Q fact that the former party desires to
amend existing laws and correct
+ abuses under forms that have the
. sanction of long-continued usage
: while the Populists favor revolution.
ary measures, change of fundamen.
9 tai law, and give the insurrectionary
J, measures adopted by lawless agitatore
n at least a quasi support. The bond Of
a sympathy 10 not one-sided. Debs and
A. Il Ia III