President Cleveland, on Independence Day (July 4th), forwarded to Tammany
Hall a letter strongly condemning Protectionist tariffs. His argument is that the people are plundered by the "exaction of a tribute" beyond the needs of the Treasury, and productive only of "a useless and dangerous surplus." He refuses to be " branded " as a Free-trader, but declares that Protectionists advocate a system which "benefits certain classes of our citizens at the expense of every house- holder in the land ; a system which breeds discontent, because it permits the duplication of wealth without a corresponding additional recompense to labour, which prevents the oppor- tunity to work, by stifling production and limiting the area of our markets, and which enhances the cost of living beyond the labourer's hard-earned wages." One thing is clear from this letter, Mr. Cleveland and his advisers see no necessity for hedging. A President's letter will be read by almost every man in the -United States, and the simplest among them cannot mistake what Mr. Cleveland means.
Previous page
