The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1896-06-11

Four years ago, deluded and deceived
by the specious pretense of tariff reform
and other false promises the voters of our
country, and very largely the laboring
classes, once more elected a Democratic
President, Senate and House of Repre-
sentatives, upon a platform lnlmical to
our industries, denouncing protection as
legalized robbery, and demanding tariff
for revenue only. They placed this gov
eminent in the hands of party that had
been driven from power in 1861 for its
disloyalty and rebellion. A party which
ever since that time has been one of ne
CATION and opposition,-a party that has
persistently opposed all the beneticent
measures which have made us indeed a
Nation commanding consideration at
home and respect abroad. When the
country had fully comprehended what
had been done, CONSERVATION and fear
supplanted confidence and hope. Bust
ness was paralyzed, many banks broke
and suspended. Mills and factories shut
down. Labor was unemployed or receiv-
ed largely reduced wages. Our agricul-
tural, numbering and other industries
were crippled and injured, by being
brought into direct competition in our
own markets with the products of Canada
and other foreign countries. A new tariff
bill was finally passed. sectional in its
preferences, based upon no well defined
or sound economic principle, which
President Cleveland denounced as meas
ure of dishonor and refused to sigh
which does NOT and will not produce sui
ficient revenue to pay current expenses.
Under it we have increased the National
debt some SO 900, 600 and we are adding
to it every month. We have augmented
our interest bearing debt some S24G 900, :
600 by disposing of bonds under doubtful
authority for the ostensible purpose OF in
creasing and protecting the gold reserve,
which rapidly disappeared when the Dem
ocratic party came into power. Much OF
the money received from the sales of these
bonds has in fact been used to make good
the constantly increasing deficit caused by
this revenue reform tariff legislation.
When confidence shall again be restored
and our revenues equal and exceed our
expenditures the gold reserve will be all
right and take care of itself. We shall
no longer be compelled to mortgage the
country to foreign bankers by selling
bonds. l agree fully with Senator Sher-
mans views on this subject, whom | re-
gard as the greatest fnancier this country
ever produced.
The Republican party believes in SUBJ
shutting for this Democratic sectional
free trade deficiency tariff, a protective
tariff, which shall produce revenue enough
to pay the necessary expenses of the gov
eminent, economically administered, leav-
ing small surplus to apply toward the
eXtinguishment of our National debt a
debt that had been rapidly reduced and
paid off under every Republican admins
tration since the war. A debt, every dol
lar of which is Democratic legacy to the
people of this country. We believe fur
Their that this tariff should be SO framed
as to make protection an aim and factor,
not mere incident OF accident-as to
all things that we can with reasonable
effort produce and manufacture ourselves.
The empty tin cans of the laboring men,
prosperity and enterprise sitting in sack
cloth and ashes at the outer gates, imper-
ativey demand a return to this sound
protective policy. And it will surely
come. Nearly four years Of Grover Cleve-
land and Democratic misrule have been a
great educator to the average voter. We
know that a Nation to be great, indepen-
dent and powerful, must have diversity
of industries, must be able to supply
largely within its own borders those
things essential to its welfare. Our
Democratic friends can no longer deceive
by shouting in their platforms and by
their speakers and press about the mar
kets Of the world, and at the same time
ruthlessly strike down the Reciprocity
Treaties that were giving us preference
in many foreign markets. What we de-
sire, first Of all, is our own markets. They
are the best markets in the world. We
have a population that consumes more
per capita than any other on the face of
the globe.
They claim to admit, free of duty, what
they call raw materials, unmindful of the
fact that what is one man raw material
is usually another's finished product-and
that the line of demarcation between them
is very uncertain, and as an illustration,
they open our markets to Australia and
Canada and place the wool OF the farmer
and the rough lumber of the saw mill on
the free list. We insist that the correct
principle is to put, so far as we can, upon
the free list those things, lux,lries ex-
cepted, which We cannot produce our
selves, and to tax those which come into
competition with US in our own markets.
for what we can easily raise or manufac-
ture at home Injuries our workingmen by
depriving them Of employment and tends
to impoverish the country. We believe it
is the part of wisdom and patriotism to
enact such tariff laws as shall be in the in
terest of our country and our own people,
rather than foreign countries and their
products.
We advocate an honest dollar that shall
be good everywhere. We claim to have
the best government, our people are
equally entitled to the best money. We
demand and now have sound currency
based upon gold, the standard recognized
and adopted by every prosperous civilized
nation of the globe.
We know there is limit to the amount
of silver currency that fiat of the gov
eminent can float and use at par with
gold. We see convincing evidences of
this fact in the many tons of silver piled
in the vaults of the treasury of the U. S.,
which no effort can scatter abroad and
keep in circulation. The insane cry for a
free coinage of silver at a ratio of sixteen
to one means silver basis,-a debased
and deprecated currency and radical
change in all values,-a scaling down of
all the deposits in our saving banks and
trust companies. 1t would rob every de-
serving soldier and soldiers widow of
near one-half their pensions. 1t means
that gold shall go into hiding and flee
from our land. cease to be money and a