THE ISSUES OF 1884.

porters-for the development, increased freedom, and prosperous growth of the nation during the past quarter of a century is but the result of the benign policy of the Republican Party.

The stars in its galaxy represent every sphere and calling of life-they have been gathered from the camp of the soldier, the cloister of the student, the study of the political economist, the portals of finance, the broad and elevated dais of statesmanship and the blood-stained bannerette of patriotism.

The cardinal principles of the Repub- | rapid strides in the path of progress as to lican Party have been so long enunciated, surprise, even its most enthusiastic supand are so well known to the people of the country that a full exposition of them would seem to be an act of supererogation. The exigencies of the times that called it into existence necessarily made it a participant in the vital current issues, and its advanced and frank position on all national questions has become a part of the history of the country. In its incipiency it gathered around it the devoted, unionloving statesmen of the day, and ignoring old platforms, unmeaning platitudes, and dead issues, it boldly launched out as the party of progress and national advancement. It had no ancient landmarks to define its limits or to resist its expansion and development. As a party of the people it grew with the rapidly expanding nation, and by precept and practice it fostered legitimate industries of every class, developed the country's resources, promoted personal liberty, advanced civilization, and protected national honor.

Its First Great Efforts.

A common danger which involved the country cemented its followers into a common faith, and, pledging that faith to the people, and true to its glorious birthright, it won its victories, cemented the union of the States, and made its name before the world.

The Grand Mission of the Party. Its Mission has been, and is, to elevate the nation by protecting its industries and enlarging the freedom of the masses, re

The herculean task of conquering a re-garding capital as the plant of labor, and bellion which involved the cost of thou-giving, by legal enactments, each a comsands of lives and the expenditure of almost mon and undivided interest with the other. countless millions of money, for which a The money which moves the giant wheels loyal people accepted its promise of pay- of machinery, and the fingers that manipument, a pledge which has been faithfully late the delicate tissues, are nature's cokept, gave it a prestige abroad, and a po- partners and common workers. tency at home never attained by any other political organization. In patriotism, in statesmanship, and in financial ability it is without a peer in the long role of historic revolutions; as it sprung from the people, by the fiat of the people, for the protection of the people and the preservation of their It is a true maxim that whatever contribnation, developing at once into a vigorous utes to the national prosperity, contributes and stalwart manhood, so it has remained, alike to the welfare of the individuals comtheir motor in the calm, and their anchor posing the nation-that public good is priin the storm. Under its beneficent ad- vate weal-and that national disaster ministrations the nation has made such brings individual ruin. When you destroy 80

As expressed by President Lincoln it is a party "of the people, by the people, and for the people," and it has been so closely allied with their interests both as a nation and as individuals as to give it the wellearned name of "The Peoples' Party."

the tree's roots its trunk and branches will perish. Recognizing industry as not only the source of wealth, but as the actual wealth of a nation, the policy of the Republican Party has been to throw around that industry such guards and protection, as would promote its growth, insure its permanency, and make it remunerative.

A party that has proven so true to national permanency and national honor,

defend their people by the same rights that men defend their households-first, under the law, lastly, when that fails, vi et armis. We Cannot Regulate other Labor than our Own.

We should remember that labor and trade in other nations cannot be regulated by our laws, and have no interest in our institutions other than that we may be com

could not do otherwise than protect and pelled to purchase their surplus goods,

defend its citizens in all the legitimate callings of life.

at prices which we cannot regulate. Our poverty adds to their wealth, and vice versa. The working world abroad is only benefited by our prosperity when it emigrates to our shores. It has taken a

Its Cardinal Principle is to Protect Labor. The policy of the party is to bring into prosperous harimony and speedy develop-century of our history, and thousands of

millions of capital to establish our industrial interests and place us in our present attitude before the world, and this has been done by protective legislation whereby

interest on his investment, and the laborer fully compensated for his toil. This has been done for the sole benefit of our own people-of those who develop our resources, pay no taxes, fight our battles, and change our forests into pregnant fields, flourishing towns and villages. Shall we blot out all the labor of the past, and destroy the industries of the nation through a "tariff for revenue only?".

ment, on its own territory, the great branches of industry, without which national life cannot be sustained, as our trade interests rest largely on internal circumstances. The same condition of nature the capitalist could receive an equitable which brings individuals into competition also leads to conflict between nations and renders legal enactments necessary to protect each from the encroachments of the other. Protection is a broad field, and governments recognize it in many ways outside of the mere question of revenue, or tariff restrictions. They organize and keep in discipline standing armies and expensive navies, not to quell insurrections at home nor to repel an existing foreign invasion, but in the midst of profound peace -to prevent them. They enact laws, to prevent the spread of contagious diseases, and the influx of paupers and criminals. They pass naturalization laws to protect the ballot box, homestead laws to protect the settlers, usury laws to protect the man who needs from he who advances money. Protection is engraved in the Constitution and written all over the statute book.

Protection a Constitutional Right and
Liberty.

The Constitution of the United States as construed by the ablest statesmen expressly authorizes protection to labor. The power to impose duties on importations originally was exercised by the several States. Subsequently the States delegated their whole authority to the general government, without restriction or reservation, except what related to inspection laws.

Governments are for the Protection of the Having passed from State authority, it

People.

Protection to capital and labor is quite as necessary for the common good of the people. Governments are formed for the protection of their people, just as corporations are conducted for the benefit of their stockholders. The general common welfare of nations is had through treaty stipulations, or is arbitrated in a congress of the nations. Governments protect and

must exist with the general government, or be extinct. It is simply absurd to suppose the latter, as it would present the strange status of a nation of people deprived of the power to increase or protect its own industries. Every administration since the formation of the government has recognized this right under the Constitution, and a century's acceptance of the fact should be sufficient. But the advo

cates of Free Trade, fearful of a discussion | and property. It is for this that they are of its merits, affect to deny the constitu- instituted. Different nations have different tional right to pass tariff laws except for interests, just as individuals have under revenue alone, and every man of ordinary the same form of government, but at the information knows that "a tariff for rev- same time all have a common welfare in enue only," would be as disastrous to our the general national prosperity. When industries as the most open and avowed one is affected, the others suffer correfree trade. They are homogeneous and spondingly. cannot be separated in their effect on the country.

Upon this great question of capital and labor, political parties always have and probably always will be at issue.

The advocates of Free Trade strive to have such a revision of the tariff laws as will enable this foreign element to have the preference over our own people simply to procure from abroad what we now produce at home, and thus to reduce the compensation of labor to such a standard as will ultimately destroy it.

The Republican Party declares that Congress has plenary power under the Constitution to enact such tariff laws as it deems proper, and that this power coupled with the obligation to provide for the common defence and general welfare, without any restriction as to revenue, makes it selfevident that those who framed the Constitution not only gave the power, but made it mandatory on them to exercise it. "To regulate Commerce" is a phrase in the Constitution that was not carelessly framed or vaguely understood by its framers. Its word has a comparatively small following true meaning had been given in the re--the term as generally used does not impeated discussions between the colonies ply actual free trade between different and the mother country, and is precisely nations. The Free Trade theory is to as interpreted in the platforms of the Republican Party.

The first tariff law passed by Congress, July 4th, 1798, declared that one of its objects was to encourage and protect manufactures; and when at the next session the duties were increased, the same principle was enunciated.

What is meant by Free Trade.
Free Trade in the unlimited sense of the

collect sufficient revenue from duties on imports to maintain the government to the utter rejection of incidental protection

in a word, to open our ports as mere collection agencies, and to fill the national coffers at the expense of our own industries. Great Britain is the head centre of what is known as free trade, and the celebrated Cobden Club of England that

It Re-Affirms the Policy of Early Legis- represents it, has its plants in free trade

lation.

All the leading statesmen of the early days of the Republic, so construed it, and many of those who framed and deliberated upon the Constitution were subsequently chosen to execute its provisions —all of whom gave it this construction and meaning. It cannot for a moment be supposed that they were ignorant of their own work, or that when called on to act under its provisions that they would pervert its true meaning, and yet those who deny the constitutional power to protect home labor must arrive at one or the other of these conclusions.

The several functions of the government, legislative, judicial and executive are directed to protect the rights of persons

organizations in this country. But England with its ostensible free trade policy, fosters its industries to a greater extent than any other nation by laying excessive duties on certain items of manufacture, and permitting free trade on those which it can produce at lower prices than any other nation. Its tariff policy is one of ultra-protection to its industries, and to enable its people to sell their surplus goods abroad,

Comparison between Great Britain and

the United States.

Great Britain and the United States, although of a common stock, do not have a common interest as nations. England strives to manufacture for the world, to monopolize the productive power, and

through its cheap labor, to undersell other | case in another form, are opposed to the nations in their own markets. She continuance of all domestic industries willingly permits competition at home in which can be undersold in our market by all raw materials, so that she can procure foreign competition." them at her own price, and to have competition in her home market for manufactured goods to enable her to name the selling price, and thus through this instrumentality to control the markets abroad.

What a Judicious Scale of Duties will
Effect.

other nations. Doing the latter may be symbolized as dismantling our forts, leveling our breastwork, and disarming our troops, in the face of an invading enemy, leaving him at his leisure to reap all the fruits of unopposed conquest."

Tariff History.

The revision of existing tariff laws, in order to protect the industries of the country, and to inaugurate what was then known as "The American System," came

Fully satisfied with the truth of this proposition, the Republican Party has stood between the people, and those who would destroy their industries, and by means of a judicious tariff warded off these disasters. Cheap goods can be, and are manufactured through home competition, which is in the main, healthful. The manufacturer who charges more than a fair profit on his goods offers an inducement up before Congress at the session of 1823 for another to furnish them at a less cost. and thus home competition will always give our people goods at the lowest figures at which they can be made. There can be no monopoly of manufacture or prices where capital has an open field, and, skilled labor is ever ready to develop it. On the contrary, open the doors to Free Trade, until our industries shall have been driven from their posts by foreign goods, and as soon as the market is controlled by them the prices will be advanced beyond our own standard, to be reduced only when protection shall again stand between home and foreign labor.

We must either Protect Home or Foreign
Labor.

If we do not protect our own people in their industries we are protecting those under other governments. Omission in the first case is equivalent to a direct action in the other. In our governmental action we are compelled to chose between home and foreign labor, and if we refuse it to our own people we confer it on others to their exclusion. In the words of the writer already quoted :

and 24, and the heated debate that ensued matured into a serious conflict of authority between the general government, and a few of the slave-holding States. So prominent did the question become at that time, it entered very largely into the presidential issue and party lines were drawn accordingly.

The protection of home industry had not been recognized among the powers granted, was looked for in the incidental; and denied by the strict constructionists to be a substantive term, to be exercised for the direct purpose of protection; but admitted by all at that time and ever since the first tariff act of 1789, to be an incident to the revenue raising power, and an incident to be regarded in the exercise of that power. Revenue the object, protection the incident, had been the rule in the earlier tariffs; now that rule was sought to be reversed, and to make protection the object of the law, and revenue the incident. Henry Clay was the leader in the proposed revision and the champion of the American system; he was ably supported in the House by many able and effective speakers, who based their argument on the general distress then alleged to be prevalent in the country.

“To repeal the laws which punish crime is to protect criminals; and to legislate out of existence the protection which guards When a measure becomes oppressive or and sustains American industry, is to transfer the protection to European indus- odious or destructive of the interests of try. A tariff too low for home Protection, the masses, it soon becomes a matter of thus becomes a law to protect transatlantic public complaint, and the right of petition manufacturers against the rivalry of our to Congress for redress is freely and fully own manufacturers in the latter's domestic exercised. market. The issue between the protectionists and the Free Traders, when reduced to its seminal principle, dwindles to simply this, whether we shall protect our own labor and capital or that of

In the face of our Industrial Prosperity, the Democrats insist on a Repeal of the Protective Tariff Laws.

No such reason appears to have existed for the effort to change existing tariff laws,