The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1897-07-31

q and by such revision OF the tariff
laws as will tend to check imports of such
articles as are produced by our people
Major Mckinley subsequently, as leader
of his party in the House, embodied this
principle in the tariff law of 1890 which
bore his name, thereby to some extent re-
voking the policy of reducing duties which
had been temporarily forced upon his party
by the influence of President Arthur's
tariff commission in the law of 1SS3. The
practical result was shown in the fact that.
though the average of duties was largely
increased all along the line, the resultant
revenue to the Government was very CON
siderably diminished and, under the ex-
cessive rates of the Mckinley law, the de-
ficit in the revenues, which has since caused
so much trouble, first appeared
CONFLICTING PRINCIPLES DEFINED.
Thus have the antagonistic principles of
the two political parties become clearly and
sharply defined. They may be stated as
follows:
The Republican party maintains that
under the power to regulate commerce and
the general welfare clause of the Fed
eral Constitution Congress has the right to
exercise the taxing power for the purpose
of excluding partially or wholly importa-
tions of the products of foreign industry,
in order to foster and protect our domestic
manufacturers. Holding this view they
claim the right to so adjust tariff schedules
as to ''check imports With them pro-
lection is tho object of the exercise of the
taxing power, revenue only the incident.
Their policy is, in practical effect to let
the tariff wall of prohibition down from
the top only low enough to admit sufficient
| importations to raise the necessary revenue.
The Democrats, on the other hand, deny
the right of Congress to exercise the taxing
power conferred by the Constitution except
for the public purpose of raising the neces-
sary revenue for the support of the Govern
ment and they therefore uncompromisingly
challenge the right to restrain importations
to any greater extent than the necessary rev
enue from imports required; but they have
always admitted that the incident of protec-
ton which necessarily results from raising
the necessary revenues by tariff taxation
ought to be equitably distributed among
the different domestic industries. The
Democratic policy is to encourage not to
check imports With the Democrats
revenue is the object of tariff taxation pro-
lection only the incident. Their policy is
to raise the tariff wal! up from the bottom
only high enough to produce the necessary
revenue from import duties.
''TARIFF FOR REVENUE ONLY.
The proper and only reasonable mean
ing of the term tariff for revenue only,
as sometimes used in Democratic platforms
and often perverted in un-Democratic cir
cles, is that the only legitimate object of
tariff taxation is to raise the necessary rev.
enues, and that there is no constitutional
warrant for levying more taxes upon the
people than is necessary for that purpose
This, as already shown, is distinctive Demo
cratic doctrine This phrase never appeared
in Democratic platform prior to the civil
war. Its first appearance was in the plat
form of 1876. In that campaign the tar
iff was only subordinate issue, and it did
not attract any attention The same
phrase was repeated in the platform of
| 1880, and then il was that it was sub
! iected to the strong attack of the Repub-
licans who claimed that it stood for the
extraordinary proposition that the nearly
5000, 600, 600 Of protective benefit, which
necessarily results from revenue tariff,
was to be distributed without any regard
to American industry \ certain small
but ultra school of Democrats, led by Henry
Watterson, encouraged this stupid and
senseless construction, so utterly at vari-
ance with the aHtebellum record of the
party, and the result was that General
Hancock lost the support of the labor
organizations, the electoral vote of the
State of New York and his election.
But when the Democratic convention
Of 1884 came to make up its platform for
the successful campaign of that year, it
carefully guarded against repetition of
that construction By inserting a long and
explicit declaration negatiying the idea
that the party was inimical in its tariff pol
icy to American labor, from which the
! following is an extract
"But in making reduction in taxes
it is not proposed to injure any of the
domestic industries, but rather to promote
their healthy growth. The necessary re-
duction in taxation can and must be effected
without depriving American labor of the
ability to compete successfully with for
eign labor, and without imposing lower
rates of duty than viii be ample to cover
any increased cost Of production which
may exist in consequence of the higher
rate of wages prevailing in this country.
This identical plank was again inserted
by endorsement in the platform of 1888,
after a strong contention with Mr. Wat
terson, President Cleveland having per-
sonally requested Senator Gornian Of Mary
land to attend the convention for that pur-
pose. Again, in 1892, as will appear by
the stenographc report of the proceedings
of that convention, which is presumably
in the possession of every Democratic edi-
tor. the friends of Mr.. Cleveland who con
trolled the resolutions committee presented
this same tariff plank for adoption. but
the anti Cleveland forces in the cOnven-
ton. under the lead of Mr. Watterson,
presented catchy substitute plank which
took the convention by storm and was car
ried over the protest of Senator Villas and
other Cleveland leaders Then for the
third time the phrase tariff for revenue
only was written in Democratic plat
form, but Mr Cleveland very promptly,
in his speech and letter of acceptance, gave
his authoritative Interpretation Of the
phrase in accordance with the definition
even at the commencement of this para
graph and reafirmed the substance of the
platform of 1884.
AS EXEMPLIFIED By LEGISLATION.
All the tariff legislation of b'fh OF Mr..
Cleveland s administrations was based upon
the principle of the platform Of 1884
The Mills bill, which passed the House in
his first administration, was skillful and
fair exemplifcation of the principle, and
the Wilson bill, which became a law in
Cleveland second administration, as clear
ly stated by Mr.. Wilson in the report