Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1906-07-26
Welded TO ERROR.

question, and especially so in its inter-
probation of the intention and fruits OF
a Protective Tariff. This error began
in 1882 when South Carolina under
took to nullify the protective tariff law
enacted by the Federalists or Wings in
Congress. That notification movement
on the part of South Carolina gave birth
at the South to the spirit of secession,
which eliminated in the disastrous eff
fort in 1861 of the Southern Democrats
to disrupt the Union.
The same unfortunate error and dis
position toward the tariff are as ram
pant now with the Southern Democracy
as they were in 1882 and in 1861.
Though the South has been growing
fat and great, industrially and financi-
ally, through the operations of the tar
iff policy of the Republican party,
Ephriam remains joined to his idols and
the Democratic press and leaders con-
tinue to denounce the principle of Pro-
lection. They assert, without offering
any intelligent proof to sustain their as
sertions, that the existing tariff laws
are not only immoral but damaging to
the interests of the great masses Of
the people.
When called upon to point out def
nitely the classes of citizens that are
being wronged and damaged, the DEM
ocrats decline to particularize but gener-
alize by saying the consumers are the
sufferers. 1t is the custom to divide
our population into two classes-calling
them producers and consumers. A care
full analysis or classification shows
they are really one, the consumers being
producers and the producers consumers;
and industrially speaking, consumption
is nothing more nor less than an inter-
change of the products of labor.
What division of the producing-con-
Stunning class is suffering injury from
our protective tariff?
The farmer is selling his products to
those engaged in other industrial enter
prises at the best prices he has ever
realized; and though he may be re-
quired to pay little higher for manu-
featured articles, he is still able to lay
up nice sum from the surplus profits
he has realized from a constant, good
home market which has been supplied
by our manufacturing industries. The
condition of the cotton raisers of the
South, of the tobacco raisers of all Sec
tions, of the stock raisers and grain
producers of the West, East and South,
and of the producers of what are known
as the small products of the farms is
better than it has ever been in the his
tory of the country.
The manufacturers and the mine OPP
orators are not being injured. In fact
the special complaint of the Democratic
politicians is, that these are the chief
beneficiaries of our protective tariff.
Labor for the past eight years has
not been damaged, but has been blessed
by a protective tariff. The working
men who were idle under Mr.. Cleve-
lands last administration had no trouble
in getting work as soon as it became
known that the protective tariff policy
of the Republicans would be restored.
And since that time, for period of
nine years, no honest working man in
the United States has been idle, except
as matter of choice.
We defy our Democratic contempor-
aries in Virginia, who are crying aloud
for what they call tariff reform, to sue
cessfully dispute what we have said
above. They will be forced to admit
that it is true, and that even journal
ism has reached an ,unexampled condi-
ton of prosperity since Mckinley was
elected in 1896 when it became GER
tain that his tariff policy would be
adopted and used.
Again, the Democrats urged that
when the Dingley tariff law went
into operation our foreign trade would
be destroyed. 1t was contended that