The independent., 1903-04-02
the TARIFF FOLLY
Mr.. Van Vorhis Points Out the Folly of
Trying to Resurrect Tweedledee
and Tweediedum

aRu 4"ecuAtuum
Editor Independent: If the Clark
County Citizen or others, who express
themselves in the same way in this
state, mean that man can be a
scoundrel in politics and, at the same
time, honest in business and Chris
tian in morals, then | must admit that
they are right when they say | fail
to see how it can be-" | have no con-
tempt for sincerely held and honest
opinions. l can trust my affairs to
an honest man, who does not see
things as | do. with much less anxiety
than to dishonest one, no difference
what are his professions. This gov
ernment can be trusted in the hands
of ignorant, but honest men with more
hope for the future than it can in the
hands of dishonest schemers, who have
held to the party name for the sake
of regularity while, secretly or openly,
they worked for it's defeat.
When a man declares his contempt
politically for certain men in his par
ty, | have right to suppose that NJ
regards their motives and actions as
mean and vile, because that is what
is implied by the word contempt"
In politics no man is dishonest and
treacherous for the purpose of advanc-
ing the best interests of his country
or his party. Dishonesty and treach-
cry in politics are distinctively per-
sonal and selfish.
I know very we'll that the editor OF
the Citizen, and others in this state.
were in full agreement with the Chi
cago ard the Kansas City platforms
on the money question, and | am all
the more surprised when there ap-
pears TO be desire, in order to pla-
cate the dishonest and treacherous
element in the democratic party, that
has persisted in remaining with the
party and, ulder cover of party 10y
atty, has n two national campaigns
betrayed it, to drop out of all appeals
to democrats all mention of the finan-
cial question and put in it's place the
4aIiff question. This is exactly what
the treacherous crowd, headed by
Cleveland, HILL German and others OF
their ilk, wants the party to do.
There are papers and individuals, who
have not heretofore appeared to be
with this crowd, that now seem anx-
ious to assure them that they are re-
organized and ready to accede to the
wishes of the traitors. They try to
compromise with their own loyalty to
both principle and party by running
ur the flag. for president, of some
one, who, like Hearst, was false to
the platforms, if he was true to the
party,
When the ticket was defeated in
1860, with eager haste in the next is
sue of the Chicago American, he re-
pudiated the Kansas City platform on
the financial question. He, too, want
et to substitute the tariff question.
For a number of years prior to 1896,
I occupied position as an official OF
the American protective league, and
had an opportunity from the inside
to study the purposes of that organi.
cation on the one side and the free
trade league of Boston on the other.
was forced to the conclusion that the
purpose of neither was patriotic, but
that it was trade advantages which
furnished the motive of both; that,
while there were men following each
Of these organizations who appeared to
be unconscious of the fact, the same
financial and commercial influences
were behind both exerting their in.
genuity and power to keep up a sham
fight that public attention might be
kept away from their real purposes.
Has it been forgotten, or was it
overlooked at the time, how the Cleve.
1and-TIill-Gorman crowd and the re
publican leaders acted, when both the
Wilson bill and the Dingley bill were
under consideration? All sincere con-
test between protection" and free
trade" was lost sight of in shaping
these acts to suit the selfish interests
represented in the east by the two or
ganizations.
It is folly, worse than folly, to at
tempt now TO take up this question as
leading issue and to abandon the
financial question, when the strongest
opposition to the democratic doctrine
of tariff for revenue only" comes nat
urally, and must continue to come,
from the combination of New York
and other eastern national banks. |
want these Indiana editors to remem-
ber that the national banks today hold
about $150,000,000 of deposit loans
made to them by the treasury de.