The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-07-17
DEMOCRACY AND TARIFF RE-
DUCTION.

1t is singular how some able and
distinguished Democrats who are sin
cere foes of all special privilege"
become timid when considering or
writing tariff planks in platforms.
They seem to get ratified and to fall
down when the time comes to make
| a platform declaration. This timid-
ity and distrust of the party's best and
most popular creed cannot be under
stood by students of political history.
l The whole argument is with the adj
vocates of "a tariff for revenue only"
| if they only have the wisdom and the
; courage to bravely and aggressively
stand for it. The only good tariff
| law ever placed on the statute. books
since this country possessed diversified
industries was the Walker tariff of
1916. 1t was framed on the line of
| tariff for revenue only" and when
+, it went into operation it's opponents
freely predicted that it would retard
| the manufacturing growth and pros
perity of the United States. AS a mat
1
in his "Reminiscences. the country
never prospered SO as under the Wal
/ ker tariff and the increase of wealth
was more generally diffused. Com
merce, agriculture and manufacturing
| fourished alike. The wealth of the
country was not monopolized by the
| paratively few. but all interests
felt the prosperity which came from
natural causes, unaffected by bur-
dening all interests for substituting
one But for the unhappy war and the
resultant generalization it is entirely
probable that the Walker tariff, with
occasional reductions and changes to
meet new conditions would havo
been the permanent tariff policy of
| the country.
came to write the tariff plank. tho
Samuel j. Randall school wished an
Incidental protection plank and
though Tilden was very close to RAN
| dali and held him in the highest es-
| TEEN. the New York leader had the
l
Democracy's standard all foes of spe-
cial privilege by causing the platform
declaration to read "a tariff for reve-
lnue only" and instead of that plank
causing the loss of votes it became
a tower of strength in that victorious
campaign. In 1892 Mr.. Cleveland.
who had deservedly won more reputa-
ton by his bold stand against thu
protective tariff, was "rattled by this
tariff timdity. He sent to the con-
vention at Chicago draft of a <1rT
plank that was straddle, pure ancs
simple. 1t was surprise TO all Ms
friends in the convention. They un-
derstood that it was due to excessive
timidity that assails the strongest men
when aspiring to great office. Ihey
appealed from Cleveland, the candi-
date for President, and, discardinS
his suggested straddIe, adopted tho
best tariff plank put into a PLATFORM
since 1876. And. instead of LOSING
votes by a frank declaration that any
tariff except for revenue was uncon-
stitutional, the honest and radical
declaration of the Democratic party Il
traditional attitude on the tariff, was
one of the causes that contributed
to the notable victory of that year.
The New York State platform OF
this year contained meaningless
plank on the tariff and the same sort
of lodging a plain declaration for "a
| ma nj ct
ed by several other States. These
blanks seemed to indicate that pow
erful influences would wish a ike
plank in the National Democratic Ma
tional platform, and there was no lit
tie discussion in and out of the Plat
form Committee on the sort of tarlH
plank that should be embodied in the
platform. In it's special from st.
Louis on Tuesday, the day before the
convention, the Louisville Courier
Journal, printed the opinion of several
Democrats upon the proper tariff
declaration. From that correspond
ence this extract is taken
GAS to the tariff there will be con-
siderable strength in committee Tor
tariff for revenue only plank, but it
is the concensus of opinion that tn"
plank will not go that far, contenting
itself with a declaration for con-
servative revision. which is now nee
essary Editor Josephus Daniels, OF
the Raleigh News and Observer, and
the North Carolina National Commit
teeman, is one of those who is figth-
ing for a tariff for revenue only
plank.
"Mr. Daniels says: We ought to
write a platform that will be az
straightforward and clean-cut as in the
model Tilden campaign. Upon the tar
if issue it ought to have the courage
to declare for "a tariff for revenue
only That was the winning plank in
1876 and in 1892. In 1892 Cleveland,
wanted a straddle plank. but the con
vention refused to straddle, and put
him on a plank declaring that tarilr
levied for protection is unconstltu-
tiOnal
1.-THE Democrat who thinks his par
ty can fool anybody about its tarlit
attitude ought to read the 1870 anC
1892 tariff blanks, and then reaq tne
election returns. AS contrast, nc