Show AX ESSENTIAL DIFEREXCE I One of the essential differences between be-tween the Republican and Democratic parties is involved in the question of the tariff That the Democratic position posi-tion on this subject may be correctly presented devoid of Republican quibbles quib-bles and inaccuracies we reproduce the tariff plank of the Democratic platform plat-form of 1892 t We denounce Republican protection as a fraud a robbery of the great majority ma-jority of the American people for the benefit of the few We declare it to be a fundamental principle of the Democratic party that the federal gov eminent has no constitutional power I to impose and collect tariff duties except ex-cept for the purpose of revenue only and we demand that the collection of f such taxes shall be limited to the necessities of the government when honestly and economically administered adminis-tered We have a Republican contemporarj in this city which seeks to confuse the public mind on this important question First it denounces a tariff for revenue only as an endeavor to smash American industries and encourage en-courage foreign manufactures Next it declares that the bill enacted by the Democratic party as a tariff reform I measure is a protective measure Then it declares that a tariff for revenue only is free trade Anon it announces that the Democratic tariff bill was left partly protective And finally the same paper after these gyrations makes this statement We do not know that any tariff was ever levied except to obtain revenue We do not know that any money obtained from the tariff was ever used in any way except to pay the expenses of the government Now the essential difference between the Democratic and Republican doctrines doc-trines on the tariff is that the former I is a tariff for revenue only and the latter levied for the express purpose Gf what is called the protection of I American industries That is to say high duties are imposed to enable American manufacturers to charge high prices for their goods If the Republican Re-publican theory is that the tariff is i not levied except to obtain revenue there is no difference on this point between the two parties But is this true It is not true Our neighbor as is common with it when floundering about on public topics has fallen into a hole To get out of it the above admission is made It runs I head first against its former assersions I and arguments If a tariff for revenue is free trade and our contemporary knows of no tariff that was ever levied except to obtain revenue then we have had nothing but tree trade from the beginning of the government up to the present date and thsre is no tariff Issue between the Democratic and the Republican parties It is tru that when a tariff is imposed im-posed whatever may be its purpose the duties collected under it go into the national treasury So that a tariff for protection which is an unconstitutional unconstitu-tional tariff because the constitution gives no authority to levy duties for the purpose of protecting any particular particu-lar class of the American people must be paid in to the public treasury Thus a Republican tariff is a tariff for protection pro-tection with incidental revenue A Democratic tariff is a tariff for revenue and it may operate so as to afford incidental protection The purpose pur-pose of levying the tariff in the two coses is thus essentially different while revenue is obtained from the operations of either But is it true that no money obtained ob-tained from the tariff was ever used in any way except to pay the expenses of the government It is not true If it were there would be no controversy contro-versy between the two parties on this question and our reckless neighbor has stated that which it must know to be totally untrue The money paid out for bounties to the sugarmakers of this country came from the national treasury The r money collected from duties under the tariff went into the national treasury The payment of bounties > vas not cne of the expenses of the government It was the robbery of the many who paid the duties or taxes in other forms for the benefit of the few There is no warrant for It in the constitution The declaration in the Democratic platform is true Republican protection protec-tion is a fraud The federal government govern-ment has no constitutional power to impose im-pose and collect duties except for the purpose of revenue only and therefore Republican protection with its accompanying ac-companying heresy the bounty systems system-s unconstitutional the robbery of the many for the benefit of the few |