Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-01-25
Democrats and Prote rtive TariF.

Democrats and Prote ctive Iarif.
The news from Washington is indicntiy
Of final defeat for the Fordney Emergenc,
Tariff bill. notwithstanding the geDerod
support II received in the House. Rcpub
Iicsn Senators are expressing a preferenc
for having no tariff legislation until tn
new Congress is called in special session
and aome of them are little disposed
towards any kind ~ tariff legislation
especially in the direction Of the higi
protective tariff taxation that was th
political stock in trade Of the Republican
party for go many years. A great chang'
has come over many Republicans, ant
they see now. as plainly as Democrat
raw in the past. that high aiiff TAXATION
is IN unjust and indefensibIe exercise q
the taxing powers of the Federal govern
ment for the benefit Of special interests
with resultant heavy taxation upon chs
people.
No longer does the policy so ardentlI
advocated by leaders Of the old Whil
party for the protection Of our infant
industries through high tariff taxation
and 80 ereedilv taken UP later by tbs
Republican party. have any application
Our once Infant industries" have grown
20 be mighty giants, with no pietext for
tariff protection. which now only operates
20 enhance their profits at the expense oi
tho burdened people. New industries, II
they are at ell practical and promising
may easily establish themselves through
merit and enterprise without such an ex-
pensive and unjust aid from the govern
ment, which inevitably becomes tax on
tho oonsumers
The extent to which the pending
Emes sency Tariff bill received Demo
srstic support in the House is somewhat
errpr,sing, as tariff protection never was 3
policy Of the Democratic party. Even III
tbe day- Of our real infant industries" the
Democratic party gave only grudging CON
cent TO moderate measures IF pro
tectivr tariff taxation, and finally pre-
sented an almost solid front against any
cour-e, there were exceptions, where
Democrats in Congress felt impelled 10
abandon the policy Of their party for the
interests Of their constituents, and even
=, ths day Democratic Senator'S and
Representatives. from louisiana insistently
support protective duty on sugar for the
benefit Of the sugar growers Of their State.
What the Republicans / n Congress have
done for the benefit Of the protected
interests, grecdily and gladly, time and
again, Is well known, and many are for
setful Of the notable accomplishments Of
the Democratic party, through rs contlol
~ Congress, in the direction Of protecting
The people rather than the selfish special
interests a Democratic Congress enacted
the Walker Tariff in 1916, a purely revenue
measure which proved 50 satisfactory in
.lts operations that il removed the pro-
teotive tariff from consideration as o
political Issue for nearly thirty years
With protective tariff duties revived, to 8
certain extent, by the exigencies Of the
CITil War, il should be well remembered
how the special interests seized upon the
occasion and had it developed by Con-
src,s. even to the eliminating atrocity
II clSss Legislation" involved in the
Mckinley bin, as SO effectively stated by
George Gray Of Delaware, until the people
snnse and voted for reform.
Another Democratic Congress. under
tho Wilson administration, struck blow
st The evil policy Of protecting special
interests by taxing the people, in the
enactment of the Underwood Tariff bill
IL has operated in the most successful
manner, and there is no demand at THE
time for a return to the former policy Of
protection. save from selfish special in
terests. But the people have been en-
hghtened, and il is no wonder there il
much hesitation among Republican Sena-
tors against return 10 the former system,
which Oh two previous occasions brought
disaster TO the Republican party. 1t is
sald the pending Emergency Tariff bin
viii be defeated by Republican opposition
In the Senate, and that Republican
opposition is likely to prove fatal to re-
vival of extreme protection even in the
next Congress
Republican Senators, therefore, seem
TO have awakened to the folly Of adopting
a policy Of taxation that will enrich
special interests and oppress the people
with unduly high prices for the neces-
saries of living Surely, no Democratic
member Of Congress should give support
to the unpopular and unjust policy that
even Republicans are abandoning.