Rensselaer Republican, Volume 26, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 March 1894 — Who Can Answer It? [ARTICLE]

Who Can Answer It?

Indianapolis Sentinel It is not often that our neighbor, the Journal, has anything to say in tbe way of pol'.ti s that The Sentinel cannot answer, or at least believe it can answet. We therefore print, as an unusual specimen of the character. the following from its issue of yestenay: While half a dozen democratic sen ators are clamoring for protection to the interests of their constituents, and while the Senate finance com-

mittee is trying to decide just how much protection it will give this, that and the other interest, it ms&y==be well enough to recall the tariff resolution of the Chicago platform. It says: “We denounce Republican protection as fraud, a robbery of the great majority of the American people for the benefit of the few. We declare it to be a fundamental principle of the Democratic that the federal government has no constitutional power to impose and collect tariff duties except for the purpose of revenue only.” If Republican protection is a fraud and robbery of the great majority of the people for the benefit of the few, what is Democrat protection? How can any Democrat answer that? If our platform means anything, if our repeated declaration of principle mean anything what is “Democratic protection” or any other kind of protection but a fraud and a robbery? No man can draw any distinction. No sensible man would attempt to draw any distinction. Democratic protection would be not only a fraud and a robbery, but it would be barefaced and shameless, because it is in direct conflict with all Democratic professions. Republicans can make some show of excuse for it because they have maintained that it was right, but Democrats can Irak 1 none whatever. There is not a Democratic paper in the country that has not denounced the McKinley bill donation to the sugar trust, and now comes this Senate report with a bonus quite as great in any event, and probably three times as great. There is not a Democratic paper that has not denounced Attor-ney-General Miller’s failure to prosecute the whisky trust, or failed to rebuke the dismissal of the prosecutions instituted againstitunder Cleveland’s former administration, .yet here comes this Senate report with an unheard of, inexcusable, unjustifiable grant of five years' time to this;trust on its taxes. There is not a Democratic newspaper that has not denounced the infamous iron-coal-railroad combine, yet here comes this Senate report with special, useless, unwarranted donations to this band of thieves. There is not a Democratic paper that has denounced the oppressions of the cigarmakers by the absurd McKinley duty on Sumatra leaf, yet here comes this report with a duty of $1 per pound on-Sumatra leaf and an increased internal revenue tax of $2 per thousand. What answer can be made when Republicans point to these violations of our declared principles? How can any Democrat face- an audience and say anything about trusts and combines? How can he meet the jibes and jeers that will be hurled at him? How can he talk about the iniquities—o£ Republican legislation with any such open iniquity as this confronting him? If Republicans were dictating this legislation they could not more completely put the Democratic party in the hole than the adoption of. this report would.