Whenever the tariff is reopened everybody grabs what he can
get. A correspondent of the Manchester Guardian in Monday's paper gave some ludicrous examples of the appeals for Protection—apple-growers demanding that bananas should be taxed in order that they might have a clear field to sell their apples, tomato-growers demanding that Italian tomatoes should be taxed in order that Italians, who generally import tomatoes from their old country, should be compelled to eat American tomatoes. The Democrats have frankly thrown their Free Trade principles overboard during the scramble. " I know it's a big steal," said one Democrat member of Congress, " but I'm going to help my people steal while the stealing is good." Economic principle and the probable effect upon international relations do not seem to have been given the slightest consideration. The argument of every delegate before the Tariff Committees was in effect " I want you to tax what I sell and to put on the free list what I buy."
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