Democratic Sentinel, Volume 12, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 August 1888 — THE FREE WHISKY CAMPAIGN. [ARTICLE]

THE FREE WHISKY CAMPAIGN.

:nr e . b'cx, of New York, thus to;: r . hs Hon. William D. c-n, our damper Congressman & the btump defending anu upholding the Chicago platform: “How can you go out and answer the questions pertinent to this campaign without entangling alliances and confused ideas? “Some taxpayer, tired of your protective exactions asks: “Why should only 5,738,895 people, the pets of protection, be favored at the expense of over 70 per cent, of their 60,000,000 fellowcitizens?”

What for? The voice from the still—warm with the tears of widowa and orphans —huskily answers “For free whiskey.” Why should we not cheapen clothes, blankets and carpets by admitting wool free, since the woolen mills nave a capacity for 500,0?K),000 pounds and only 240,000,000 pounds are raised at home?” The answer comes like the bloat of a thousand flocks, “Before blankets clothes or carpets take free whiskey!” But says an honorable recusant Republican from Cass count/: “Worthier, baiter, and paster it se ms to my mind would it give to our people, the toiling masses, cheaper food, cheaper fuci, cL.en*r emthing and cheaper . belter, cheaper because released from the be, vy and unnecessary harden of high-i ariff taxes.” “Pshaw,” says the hide bound prot ctionist, “these articles must remain taxed to vindicate the ‘American system.’ That system has a* its genius free whiskey.” A taxpayer inquires of you: “ TT ave not the Americrn people paid in sixty years over $20,000,°ob 000 in the nope of getting goods cheaper by and by, after the infants have attained their maturity?— What, my Republican brother, will you now do?” The brotner answers, “Free whiskey.” “Has invention dono nothing f r us?” asks the impoverished mechanic. “What do you show us a« the rssult of our American genius for a century in mechanics?” The answer comes - “We tender you the worm in the still, the finest invention of the devil. It may take away your brains and impoverish your families; but protection must stand! We offer you ,untaxed, chea£ Jfree whiskey!" Another inquirer asks, “Why do you not take ifc# tax off my coatot ‘reversible nap’?”

The answer comes: “Protection first, but always free whiskey.” An old lady of Lake county asks with anxiety, “Why must I pay 60 cents in addition to every dollar for the crockery from which I drink my sassafras tea?” “Ah!-’ says the protectionist, “Is not whiskey cheaper than tea?” A series of questions and answers might be fired off in the following order: “Are you going to allow that reduction proposed by the Mills bill from 47 per cent, duty to 40 on carperts?” “No, but we will repeal the on cigarettes for your young boys, and add free whiskey.” “ Won’t you support that reduc tion of 10 per cent, on cotton goods?” “No, but I would love to lower the whh key tax.” “Won’t you reduce the tax on castor oil below 194 per cent —its present rate?”

“No, I won’t condescend to help anybody but those who want the cost of whiskey reduced.” “Please kelp reduce the tax on Cii sap woolen cloth from 89 per cent, to 40 p »r cent., as Mills propuses—will you not?” “No; I do not want to engage in anything else till I have taken the tax of ninety cents a gallon from whiskey.” “We are making the last effort to reduce the duty on wool hats from K 4 ppr cent, Cheap hats.— Won’t you help us?” “No sir; the Republican platform doesn’t say anything about cheap hats. It does advocate taking tax from whiskey, and I stand by the platform.” “The worsted goods for my family is taxed 68 per cent. Help me pull that down to 40 per cent, will you not?” “No, sir; let your worsted goods go to grass! Whiskey is more than a dollar a gallon. I want to take the ninety-cent gallon tax off of it.” “Now, my friend, the Mills bill proposes to take eleven and one-

half millions tax off e? won’t you help us to it r “No, iox it don’t propose to cheapen whiskey cue cent. ‘lt nmkb-j salt free. T . *o~ t you xuvor iliat * “Is suit w*ii~Lc, . c. fc .in 4 * our platform. ’ “It maJtea the tin, of which oar tin stove vecoSio a.'.,.. ax anti ioois are made, free; won’t you give us that?” “Tin is not in iho platform; whiskey is,’ “It makes lumber for our homes to keep us wurixi, L„e; won’t you favor that?” “No. I wan l iclegisl xta ho v. arm the inner naan, no) Jd e: will give you free whisk ey" When these .re &n----swered let me read as a summing up to.the gentleman what was sf-id by an old farmer friend of mmo in lowa. He had eviden iy >«eu perusing Sidney Smith on taxation:

“i never wore any clothes that were not increased in price by this policy cf making on almshouse o£ every possible faeb-iy. I used to rise on Sunday morning from my humble eot in a log £j *r.-house, throwing on the bed-cloi t c 1 uG to aOO per ‘jeuL, a.vxu •. ..u,. my clothing taxed 8 to Cb x r cent,, eat my taxed bleckh; - dishes taxed 46 pe* ex b; ■.... . ‘ i cloth taxed 40 per co et,, • ■ ” the Sabbath bell, luxe .1. • cr* - sounded its inviting tuner, I t . mybible taxed 25 per cent, a - * went to the church built of lu >- ber taxed 20 per cent., and M: . in a Sunday -school .#ong I.o* I i rr. . 25 per cent, (and a“ t‘ •• t;t~ paid to the objects of my charity, not to the government), I read:

Far out r.on be o. Me How ina;i v chii aren dwell Who never -eac! ih”- ißiblc Nor he"? ‘'he Sabbath bell. [Great 1 and applause.] What is the relief my old farmer frier,d eceivcs from you and you) - platform? “Free v. biskev." Does this give comfort to his fflrnby In's pUIOe Ol’ hiSGCuI. Now, you gentlemen want to go among men, women and children of this country and say: “We mil not ta-.e the tax off of cheap elothing, cheap lumber, cheap food, but we will take the tax off of whiskey, to make i* cheap and common, and more hurtful to soul and body.” □ls not that an inspiring issue;t>f a party of moral elevation ? -w- » Oh, gentlemen, it is the old, old. story. You gentlemen must have often heard it sung — , >: Oh, what a tangled web we weave' When first we practice to deceive!