The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-03-31
pi.isxITY, But NOT THAT PER-
PLENTY.

1
assem- II Democrats. when they come to
nationaF IN shfeago to formulate their
1I,e 49, platform will be confronted by
t The ~ ba embarrassing situation that
Tbev Wis ever been called to face
selves on be expected to declare them
30, &C he tariff question in such a
,,a,+ o,S Endorse the policy of the
Hon ~ tbc+ ,-e expression and illustra-
;st,.o+;c,. pS<cy by the present admin
Geet ~. . s,o It the same time to re-
ions OF me rank "a s1a re- an. dldu D Jpn
IL. - = I'M aghout the country.
problem, a dilemia naiIi,a ~ +be
greatest ingenuity asd sapaei+y 80 ''-e
So says the New 7 or,, Mon a ~
press. But the ultra Pan,,hI;,o,, r,oner
is mistaken. The Darroc,a+;o no,.tv
will be confronted by no sucb enbar-
RAISING situation as iera soft forth
over the questions indicaed. The Dem
ocratic party will face a serious stu
alton at its Chicago convection in July.
it is true. but not in declaling itseM on
the tariff question in such way as to
indorse the policy of the party, land
the expression and iiiustration of that
policy by the present administration. .
The delegates of the party in conven-
ton assembled. at Chicago, are not like
ly to trouble themselves much over the
present administration; and surely they
VIII not do so to the extent of bending
amy principle in order to bestow praise
where it is not due.
The Mail and Express, thinks the
tariff plank will not resound with cries
against protection as unconstitutional,
or the eliminating atrocity of class
legislation, a fraud and robbery"
g robbery of the majority by the mi
nority, etc, saying that this sort of
thing will not be tolerated by the Dem
ocrAts themselves
Again we think the Mail and Elk
press mistaken. We think the Demo-
cratic party will have no occasion to
materially change its declaration on the
subject of tariff from what it said in
the national platform of 1892, viz: I'VE
denounce Republican protection as a
fraud; a robbery of the great majority
Of the American people for the benefit
of the few. We declare it to be a fun
damental principle of the Democratic
party that the federal government has
no constitutional power to impose and
collect tariff duties except for revenue
only, and we demand that the collection
of such taxes shall be limited to the
necessities of the government when
honestly and economically administer
ed"
When the national convention of 1892
accepted that statement of its tariff
doctrine. it put forth the best statement
it ever uttered on the subject and it will
do for 1896 as well as for 1892, and the
parry viii have no trouble about har-
monizing on that question.
1t is the financial not the tariff plank
that will constitute the question of
questions at Chicago in July; silver will
be the rock of offence; and perhaps it
is upon that rock the party will tenn
porarily split; but it is an issue that
must be met; a question that must be
settled though political parties are torn
into ssreads fer il. And it never will
be settled until it is settled right. Agi-
tation about it will not cease if for the
time being the ruling of political
events is adverse to the cause of silver.
If political forces fail us, then the great
natural forces that exist in the nature
of things will eventually override the
petty decisions of political parties I'M
til the true cause is triumphant.
But meantime our confidence in the
ability of the free silver Democrats in
the Chicago convention to carry that
Tor free silver. daily in
creases; and though doing so may
cost to the party the adherence of many
single gold standard men of the east, |
yet substantial gains will have been
made for silver and the question put in
the way of final settlement