Rensselaer Union, Volume 3, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 July 1871 — Living Issues. [ARTICLE]

Living Issues.

The democratic party, ashamed of its record, or rather knowing that it is so obnoxious as to be a steacb in the nostrils of nil decent people, desire to let by-gonos be bypmm *ud to fight the next campaign on the living issues of the day. Hut what are the living issues of the day? Upon this jmxwil tire democratic politicians differ.— Some of them in the west talk about high tariff's and declare themselves m favor of free trade, llut their brethren in the east tel) them that this is nil nonsense. The New York ring which nominated Seymour and which will control their next National convention will not , permit a fryv trade plank to get in the platform. The republican patty is as much opposed to high tariffs on the democratic parly, lint that we have, to have a tariff is a lact that has always been recognized by all parties. Wc have always had a tariff in this country from its organisation down to tinpresent time. It existed under all democratic administrations, and it would continue to exist if that party was reinstated in power. It has always been the principal mode of obtaining revenue to defray the expenses of government. . If the tariff is higher than it was in' former years, it is not so because the republican party is more favorable to tariffs than the democratic party, ! but because the exigencies of the government demand a greater amount of revenue to defray its ordinary and extraordinary expenses than it did tbrinei iy. These e.vi-1 goncies weret\a use d by the rebel-—lbm-whkh originated under democratic rule and was carried on by I democrats, and wc may therefore charge the present high tariff'- to j tin; demote ratio party. If restored to power, that party would either have to continue the high tariff, as they call the present one, for the purpose of paying the public debt, or else they would have* to repudiate the debt. Under the honest administration of General Grant the public d-.-ht lias beijn reduced greatly and coii-j Maiitly. 'Tho tariff' has also been j reduced, particularly upon article - ; of necessity, such as, c«.-ffco, tea, j sugar and salt; and the burdens of taxation in hundreds of ways have been removed. This policy under republican rule will continue. As tlie debt is reduced the tariff and taxation will decrease. In a few years the debt will disappear entirely, and then we will approach free trade just as noar as it can bo approached. We~ can—meet ‘ the? democratic party on the “living I issavs” iu tho campaign of 1872. — j Aid as a party we can point to our j history with pride. Wc are. not j ashamed of it. Wc challenge inspection; and while we view with admiration what we have Union saved, lour millions of human beings made free and all made equal before the law, we will occasionally thrust under the democratic nose the nasty old record from which that party would so gladly escape.