The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-12-14

| fiigate extravagance can the Favored and privileged classes find the oppor- | tunity to fatten and gorge themselves on the wealth produced by others
 The list could be extended. but thess are the main and fundamental princt- pies of the Democratic Party winch have distinguished 1t from the founda- ton of the government. and which in my judgment should be pressed and rs- He'd upon in the future contests of the I party The Republican Party can safe principles. If that party should aband- on the principles and practice of using | the government for the benefit Of the | privileged classes at the expense of the country at large. t would go to pieces
 in a twelvs-month. for that ana only
 that Is the cohesive power that iiolds the Republican Party together. So that In an election with the issues drawD l upon these lines. there would vote the
 Democratic ticket those who be-
 lieve Tn equal rights to all vf
 the people and special privi-
 leges to none, who believing In maintaining inyioiate the Constitution and particularly In the protection of tns powers, and who insist on economy in
 the government and a limitation of tax. ation to the commercial needs of gov- ernmeut On the other hand those would vote the Republican. ticket who believe in giving special privileges 70 l some people that they may enrich themselyes at the expense Of others. wno sd peaieys s in one man ,:.s,a autocratic pSw tional restraint. who believe in taking | away the legitimate powers of tine state and giving those powers to the general government. and who believe In wasteful aud extravagant public .ex- penditnre and corresponding extravaz people.
 In such a contest upon these lines | ma ri As<. Fs.t,. pealed to. and the million Of Democrats who have sstrayed Into the Republican camp because of the strange gods tllat
 have been set up for the Democratic cratic household To accomplish this we must be guided by the ancient fana-
 marks of the party and not set our
 sails to catch every shifting wind os
 ourselves to the chartered Democratic
 channels, and not neediessly venture
 upon the dangers of unknown poiitIea1
 seas.
 Republicans high and Republicans low.
 that 1t is their purpose to seduce the
 South from it's allegiance to the Demo.
 cratic Party, which has kept faithful
 watch and ward over its dearest inter.
 ests through forty years, and to con.
 vert 1t to the party of governmental
 spells for the favored few. the party of l absolutism and of centralizaticn of
 power. the party of profilsate. extraya:
 gance and of oppressive taxation. And
 this is to be accomplished through the
 superior wisdom of these high and low
 Republicans in pointing out to the
 people of the South how they will be
 blessed by being taken into the loving
 arms of political party. which, 50
 long as there was a possibility of sue.
 cess in their efforts. strove desperate.
 ,y to dss.roy everything that was worth
 tuous claim that Republican policies and Republican rule are necessary for
 the development of the South is the
 vertest rot. Where in all time has thera
 ever been such development of the
 wealth and resources of a country as
 there has been in the South during the
 last forty years of uninterrupted Demo-
 cratic political rule? Who that turns
 the pages that tell of this wondrous
 wealth Of many thousands of miiIions
 or dollars, who that passes through our
 fruitful lands and views our cities and
 towns, our broad fields with their white
 and golden harvests, our waFehousee
 and barns bursting with the garnered
 cotton and grain, our stores of mer-
 chandtze and myriad industries can ful-
 Iy realize that this scene of present
 Mervelous development ana abounding
 prosperity was forty years ago but .
 bed of deeolate ashes. TE
 The prime factor In the creation of
 all this wealth has heen the great az Ticuitnral prodycttcnso of the south which |
 creation of all other industriea---a fY A a-
 rtcultural production of many hundreds
 of millions of dollars each year, which.
 Wniie t has entered most largely into
 the preservation of the balance of the
 trade for the whole country. has had no
 assistance from the Republican Farfv
 or It's principles, but has depended fos.
 US gigantic success upon the rules os
 States. preserving social order iIAstir
 Ing honest and economical local govern
 ment, and protecting all in the rights
 oi property. When. the. Democratic states fal1s in these particulars if win be time enough to listen to fine nre- sumptuous offer of the Republican Par.
 ty to undertake through It's policies a9a IS gulaance' the material develoDmens The alluring contention that the pro- tective policy of the Republican party Is necessary for the development of ibie, but fallaeious.
 fAt the outset the proposition is met l by the fact that the largest and most important part of the productive busi-
 ness of the South is that of agricul- | ture, In which, with a very small ex- ception. there can be noi aid from the | operation of a protective tariff On the contrary. under the system the agrieulturists of the South, while com pelled by reason of the tariff to pay 1 two prices for all they consume (othef than food supplies), must of necessity | sell their products of cotton etc. In unprotected marSets and at unprotect- | ed prices. And again, as to all other l enterprises which could be protected | by the tariff. the simple reply Is this: Those who adYocate the benefits to be | derived from fhe protective tariff base their arguments upon the assumption | that the alternative is between a high protective tariff on the one hand and ! no tariff at all on the other hand 1 The enormous amount of revenue which is necessary to support this gov ernment will always require a higher | tariff than we could wish, in order to supply the revenue. No one recognizes that actual free trade is a possibility. The revenue must be raised and the l tariff cannot be reduced below the point necessary to raise 1t.
 The important consideration of the South Is to have tariff schedules not only reduced to a revenue basis but to have tariff duties equalized A ! tariff is a burden on the consumer. and at the same time. while imposing ip- creased cost on the purchaser, 1t Is a benefit to the producer of the article | upon which the duty is laid There | fore, tariff duties should be equally laid. in order that where there is | equality Of benefits. The national democratic party of 1899 properly ex- pressed this when it said that tariff duties should 'be so adjusted as to | operate equally throughout the coun- try. sand not discriminate between class or section"
 It was upon this theory. as an- uounced in the Democratic platform that when the -Dingley tariff bill was