The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1895-12-27
Mr.. George NJ. Jewett ON The Present
RnIiiicRI OMfIOAk.


To the Editor of The EgiS and h,tcLigenccr:
SIR-In reply to your questions ! have t.
| say: That the recent crushing Democratic de-
feat is without parallel in the history of the
| party and is its destruction unless the true
| cause which brought about the disaster be
| comprehen6cd hv the rank and file, us well ms
| the leaders of the party.
| The scales must fall from the eyes of the
| blinded leaders who have seconded the cause
and followed the councils of an unwise admin
istraton.
party has been wrecked upon the issues of
free trade and the single gold standard? Our
great historic leaders, Jefferson, Monroe and
jackson, stood upon the principle of tariff tor
revenue with incidental protection" This
policy our party stood by unswerringly for 30
| years up to 1884.
The tariff plank of the Democratic platform
for 1892 as reported by the Committee on Re
solutions, was on these lines: Mr.. Neal, of
| Ohio, offered a substitute, and upon II vote of
$40 yeas and $40 nays, the substituted para
| graph was adopted and was construed by the
Cleveland Democrats, both in AMI out ui Con-
grcss to he Il declaration IN favor 81 free trade.
| Mr.. Neal was nominate d for Governor of ohio
by the Democrats of thai State on the free
| trade platform. in the year following lS93.
| But the people had awakened as To the Signih-
canoe oil tn" Democratic pl: form and h" cleo
| tions OF 1892 aIt. MIR. CipvclulId's intentions
| They became alarmed. the nvCrShldOwIng be-
| gan, ard Mir. Nu, was defeated 10y lhc phe-
| nominal majority of So.93j votes.
| The ei,'ctiun of S92 carried the free traders
to the Zeanith nt their power. and they were en-
| couraged to force upon the county the british
| system of free trade as the American policy
| and with the support and appreciation OF the adj
| ministratiOn.
The measure they originally Offer cd met with
| uptowardOppoSition. The Democratic mind was
| nor agreed and the minority sentiment as re-
| presented by the nay vote of ~ 2 i'll the Ma
| tiOnal Convention against striking out the
original declaration of the Committee on iSeso-
| buttons, made itself telt. This was striking
| illustration of General Hnhcock's nsscrsiun
| and meaning. When in 1880 as our candidate
| for the Presidency, he declared that the tariff
| 81 local question and must hc settled DN
| the Congressional districts. lie was reviicd for
| the declaration at the time, but now Justice
| may through acknowledged facts, Vindcate
4 him. The tariff measure finally adopted was
| bill full of compromises and Inconsistencies
| and does not carry out the Chicago platform,
and to that extent is IL rebuke to the free trade
| element in the party. In order to have free
| trade bill i'll line with the English system it was
| necessary to have provisions i'll the same for
| free raw materials and an income lax.
| Through the action of the L. :. supreme Court
| income tax failed to hold good, and the buss
| of the whole scheme then deprived of utility,
rendered hopeless further efforts ut this time.
| In carrying out the policy England adopted her
| system in 1919. 1t comprises ii custom house
| duty on things produced and net produced at
| home. Some fifteen or more articles. The
| articles not produced at home have revenue
duty strictly.
Those articles produced at home are taxed
| only as the home articles arc. simply the excise
| or internal duty and are thus on equality with
| home produces is established ana no rrOtcc-
| ton. The balance of England'S revenue is OBJ
| tanned through her method of taxing incomes.
| This system has acted with England and her
cOlUnoniul development about as our intel state
commerce with us. and is the great vent OF her
| success, rs of ours.
1--we attempt, and unsuccessfuIly, to compete
with her in her home markets, ut the danger
point. she will soon take the required steps to
defend her interests from encrouchment on
our part. Even now her colonial secretary is
calling for information from colonial officers
concerning importations into the colonies from
countries other than England.
Great Britain has sacrllced her landed
and agricultural interests iu' order to fOs
ter and further her carrying and manutac-
turing trade. There is much suifusing and
earnest effort on the part of agricultural inter-
ests for relief and by protection. They ask
that they may have the privileges of the home
market i'll order to live and be prosperous, in
preference to Outrlders.
The home market is the main reliance of both
government and people, and the development
OF the internal resources OF country depend
upon it.
Even now we are here in this country threat
ened with an invasion of oriental products in
competition with our domestic products and of
the very same kind. Japanese bicycles are Of
fered ut S12, parlor matches, doors, sashes,
blinds, cooperage, hats, gloves and all classes
of wearing apparel are offered at oO cts. below
domestic prices. Egyptian cotton also threat
ems our great Southern staple. The indications
point TO IL revolution in the commercial world.
With China free from commercial restrictions
and Japan manufacturing cotton goods, their
supremacy becomes Il serious question. They
are on silver basis, and silver having been re-
duced 80 per cent. in value gives the Asiatics
SO per cent. advantage ON exchange.
Free trade my be all that is claimed for it if
all countries join, just as biluetallsm theoreti-
cally is right, but must be international to be
successful. Free trade could only he Justified
on the grounds that it would produce more
revenue and lessen the cost of consumption tor
the whole people. But If the present tariff bill
is an Indicator such an assumption does not re-
duce to practice, for we have immense impor-
tations, diminished expectations, deficient
revenues and constant drain of gold To go
abroad to settle the balance of trade against us.
1t is asserted that if we have the imports we
are that much more wealthy, and the fact of
our debt abroad j. II Il factor in the problem.
Goods are not money. If We buy more than
we sell we are debtor people and must settle
the balance some day i'll money, not in that
which merely represents wealth, Il money.
1t is very evident that the ned! PemocraSit party
upon an open and Tree trade platform, IL IS
h0pelessy beaten. The manufacturing States
on the tariff issues are Republican. The Baiti-
more Manufacturers Record shows that the city
has become one of the leading manufacturing
cities of the country. The invested manufac-
turing capital has increased from S3S ,OOo,oOO
in 1880 to Sl20, O0O, 900 in 1895 The value of
the product from S1S,O00,GO0 to about STD
0O0,000, over 100000 employees and wages
over 100000 per week or S1O,OOO,0OO per
annum
Will Mary land remain permanently Republi-
canY Much will depend upon whether the
Democratic party returns to the advocacy of
the proper protection of American industries
and American labor. In the summer of 1887
that great comInoner" Samuel j. Randall, of
Pennsylvania, slowly dying with seer'S pro-
phetic eye, is quoted as having said II fear
Tor the future OF the DcInOCfaIlC party Win
Grover Cleveland. His free trade policy if per-
sisted in, will utterly wreck the Democratic
party.'-Selah.
am reminded of the saying of another great
Democratic commoner of Ohio. Ex-Governor
and eX-United States Senator. In his canvass
for Governor in 1878, in discussing the Sher-
man specie reSum ntion aid, he declared il Wig
orOus language: "Specie resumption is a bar
rem ideality." Twenty-Five years now past and
gone, how far wrong was he! Writers on
economies show more than enough gold TO do
the worlds business, but debtor pa-
ton can not hold nor control il. They show
that the Silver Panic So-calied, was really Il
"Gold Panic, precipitated out of fear of failure
to maintain gold payments, and they try to
show the way out of our deep sea" OF imam
cial troubles is by the establishing of Il United
States Bank and State Banks, that the United
States Treasury is not intended for and was
never meant to be banking house Of the peo-
pie.
In the message vetoing the one charter
of the United States Bank, President
Jackson declares it ito be an unnecessary,
useless, expensive, unamcrican monopoly, al
ways hostile TO the interests of the people
and possibly dangerous to the government as
we'll" His idea of Il bank was national one,
founded upon the credit OF the government
and its revenues. The State Banks of the
period 1894 having multiplied every where AT
ter the retirement of the bank of the United
States jackson, in order to maintain sound
money, announced that gold and silver were
the true constitutional currency OF the country,
and put the national mints ut work coming
money and arranged with many banks to get
the specie into circulation on the basis that
One-thlru OF This clfculatlOn SnOuIn Ill specie.
All of no avail in the mad rush of imitation in
banking and speculation in unsound ventures.
few banks had real capital and struggled to
keep Il specie basis. But banks of no capital
issued notes as freely us the sound ones. There
was an avalanche of paper to be redeemed in
specie. The paper of local banks finally be-
came worthless, even unfit to travel with. In
the light of these facts, aud of the present di-
lemma of our country in financial affairs. per-
tanning to the matter of maintaining gold pay
mcntS how can any one seriously cOntem-
plate inaugurating Il fiscal statement based
payment. even in theory? Six years after the
elimination OF the State Bank troubles matters
were improved by the adoption i'll 1910 of the
independent Treasury act" This measure
was in line with President Jackson's views as
| to the functions of the United States Treasury.
In the light OF expense, the failure
of the laws in any way to provide the
necessary powers for the conduct of the bust
ness of the U. ). Treasury, should he
known and duly provided for by the neces-
| sary legislation. Our fiscal policy demands
that our currency Shall be uniform. Gold ana
| silver, with notes convertible on demand, into
| gold and silver, backed by the credit and rev.
cnueS of the country, and bank notes must be
| supplemented, by the guarantee of the u. $.
Treasury, and it in turn secured for the re-
demption in gold or its equivalent The re-
quirements necessary for maintaining gold
payments permanently will tax the ingenuity
/ of man and the resources of the whole coun-
| try. In the Secretary of the Treasury report
| stock, 1895, he substantially confirms Gov.
| Aliens aSsertion-that specie redemption
was barren deality," when he says that ut
| one time in 1895, 1.-THE government was with
/ in few days of SuSpending gold payments,
| and dropping to a deprecated silver and paper
| standard" He further gives it to he under
| stood that since the U. S. Treasury notes are
| retired and cancelled, through the proceeds of
| the sale a bonds that the maintaining q the