Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1924-05-01
i. SHALL HISTORY .REPEAT
= '' ~' ITSELF .''1'

Washington, April 28th.-Do you
want discouraging Democratic his
tory to repeat itse1fa' asks tfie Re
publican Publicicty Association,
sthrough its President, Hon Jonathan
Bourne, III The association then
continues. "Just remember this, The
Democrats went into power III March
1918 and found plenty Of money III
the treasury. They operated siuader
Republican revenue laws until Octo-
bers 1913, and under appropriations
asked for by Republican Admin
istration until June &C., 1911. The
Democratic revenue act of 1913 prov
ed inadequate and the Democratic APP
preparations for 19I4-i5 were heav-
Ter than in the previous year. AS a
result, President Wilson went before
Congress on September 4, 1914, and
began. his address by saying.
az come to you today to discharge
duty which I wish with all my
heard i might have been spared; but
it is a very clear duty and therefore
perform it without. hesitation or
apology. | come to ask very. earnest
ly that additional revenue be pro-
vided for the Government.
"Of course President Wilson, un-
dertook to justify the, demand for in
creased revenue by saying that the
war had cut off our customs revenue
but at that time 5the:warq had been
in progress only one month and the
revenue embarrassments had. been
impending far longer than thats One
month bf war, in which we were. not
engaged, served asia convenient. ex-
cuse.p f
"Btss the demand for more freve-
hue is no more important than the
reasons ascribed for the deficiency
Said President Wilson,s'T need not
tell you TO what this falling off Tin
revenue) is due. 1t is due, in chief
part, not to the reductions recently
made in customs duties, but to the
great decrease in appropriations.
"That sentence is important for the
reason that it shows the Democratic
theory of the proper source of reve-
nue.. Large importations at small
rate of duty were expected to bring
revenue. In other words, Americans
were expected to buy large quanti-
ties of goods abroad and pay out
enormous sums of money to foreign
producers in order that the Govern
ment might realize revenue from a
low rate of import tax. American
money was to be sent abroad to make
prosperity in foreign lands and a
toll taken at our customs houses.
The Republican policy is to discour-
age sending American money abroad
by fixing the import duty high e.
nough to equal the difference in cost
of production.
Gust to show it was not the war
alone that had caused the trouble,
let us look at trade statistics for the
seven months ended with July, 1914,
before the outbreak of the war. In
that seven months importations had
increased to s1,140,oo0,o0o as com
pared with $1,0lS,OoO,OOO in the cor
responding seven months of 1913,
under the Republican tariff but the
revenue collected had fallen from
$1S0,000,O00 under the Republican
law to $156, 100000 under the Demo-
cratic law. And the Democratic law
purported to be for revenue. We
had been buying more abroad and
getting less revenue. We had been
depriving American labor Of part of
its wage for production and sending
more American money abroad to nav
foreign wages.
eff the American people want that
sort OF history repeated = if they
want larger importations and less
revenue if they want Demo-
cratic President going to Congress
with the humiliating assertion that
he comes to discharge the very un-
pleasant duty of asking for more re-
venue, that end can be accomplished
by voting the Democratic ticket
next November"