The times., 1894-04-20

sts They do not recognize nor appreci
ate the Independence and dignity of labo,
and cannot understand chat the protective
policy under which we have had such
splendid prosperity is not TO be determined
by geographical lines. The bill is o mar
row, sectional and provincial measure, un-
worthy the great party which proposes it
and wholly unsuited TO the needs of the
country.
The Wilson bill turns to the past;. away
from the present 1t is for the plantation,
not for the farm and the factory. AS it
passed the house it had for its foundation
principle free raw material. It's authors
argued that with free coal, free iron ore,
free lead and free wool the manufacturers
Of the United States would be placed on an
| equality with the manufacturers of free
trade countries, and we therefore could not
Dnly retain our own markets, but control
'the markets of the world" Based upon
this argument. which / believe to be false,
| they declared that with these great prim-
'hry products free we would have steady
employment for all the workingmen 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 Committees Action.
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 % the tariff list and
Ioo1 30 fhf.f fnx,s taf Antyit, f..an
alone the only product of agriculture, to
support the false theory of the house bill
Even Mr.. Cleveland is disregarded for in
his Madison Square garden speech, after
his nomination in 1892, he said 'We be-
lieve that the advantage of freer raw ma
terial should be accorded to our manufac-
turers. We propose, therefore, to stimu-
late our domestic industrial enterprises by
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 and 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 it more severely than agriculture, and
labor of all kinds seems to have been
singled out as its foremost victim. I have
examined 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
| ha nd ha
read so frequently in Democratic newspa-
pers and platforms but I have been unsuc
cessful in finding any such provision. II
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 to 1 40 cents pei
pound, every cent of which will be paid by
the consumers of the United States.
Some Compensation In This.
But, doubtless, in compensation for this
added burden of upward of $50, ,000, 900, and
because of it, they lowered the tariff or
tobacco and have extended the bonded
period for the warehousing Of whisky an6
giving to the distillers eight years in which
to pay the tax. They have restored the
tariff on coal, but then in fairness they
should be credited with having taken tht
tariff off of diamonds They reason thai
the manufacturers are few, forgetting thai
the workmen are many. They look to tn,
interests of importers, ignoring tn,
farmer, and oblivious to the fact that tn,
agriculturist is everywhere, Their blows
are directed against the welfare of tn,
masses of the people, but from them tn,
country will yet hear, for this is still {
government of the people, and the popular
| hoo aIr Iu ,.lr hav, 20
overthrow. / do not believe that the tru,
interests of the South, nor of any othel
section of the country, lie in the direction
of free trade, nor of the revenue tarif
legislation proposed by this congress.
Anomalous Position on Internal Taxes
The present position and action of tn,
Democratic leaders on internal taxes il
peculiarly an anomalous one. They are 81
determined to break down the protectiv,
system that they are willing to resort tt
internal taxes which have been opposed
not only by every Democratic national ad
ministration preceding the present on,
from Jackson's to Buchanan's, but also
as q matter of principle by every other ad
ministration, Federal, Anti-federal Whil
or Republican in our history. The onl.
excuse for the resort to such taxation ha
been the financial exigencies of actua
war; Laws imposing internal taxes have
always been repealed as rapidly as sucl
exigencies disappeared and have nevc
before been seriously proposed in times o
peace. Some of the same Democratic
leaders who. during and subsequent Il
the war; stood in congress speaking ant
voting against internal taxes and an in
come tax, are found today heartily favor
ing them. They were unwilling to adop
these methods of taxation when it wa
necessary to preserve the government ant
: the flag, but they are willing to adop
them now as means of breaking dowr
the patriotic principle of protection unde
which the North and Northwest, as wei
as the South, have enjoyed such unpar
alleled prosperity and have attained sucl
marvellous development.
Various Acts and Resolves.
Tt would be interesting to the student o
political history to examine the variou
! acts and resolves of congress touching in
ternal taxes, beginning in 1861 and includ
: ing the years during and shortly after tn,
war, and to note the position of the leader
of the Democratic party thereon. l hav
time to refer to but one such law-the in