Juliet signal. [volume] (Juliet [i.e. Joliet], Ill.) 1844-1???, 1846-09-15
The Tariff.RepeaI Is,pe

The TarlifRepeal IsSne.
The Wings do not seem to be fortun,,.
or skillful inst now in making up their
issue with the Democratic parry. Il wa.
announced with great solemnity and EN-.
Phasis when Congress rose, that ..repeal"
1.-The immediate repeal of the new tar.
iit-was to be the word. The whie
journals took up the cry, and forthwith
the agitation on the subject commenced.
The Whole course of this moyeme Mt thus
tar has been q beautiful example of The
progress OF s'panic under difficulties.
lhe scheme has, in fact, well nigh explo.
Ode. The people absolutely refuse to be
scared. Even the fancy stocks stand
quite firm, and the Inteligencer has al.
most ceased TO convert its columns into
a museum of"ruinn announcements.
Indeed this whole issue of ssimmediata
repeal" was very i'll chosen. In the frat
place, the object which it proposed to ae.
compiish' was most mdnifestlv impracti.
BILE. Ever since the new tariff became
a law, its repeal for long time at least
has been plainly impossible. The tsree
coordinate powers of the government
must unite to accomplish it. Nothing in
the way ofrcpeal is Of course to be hoped
from the present Congress, and SO moth.
ing can be done until the new Congress
shall meet in December, Is47. Tha
friends Ofthe ''repeal" seem to nut faith
IN the House of Representatives which
shall then assemble. But what ground
Is there tor such faithl Five members
OF that House have been chosen in Mis-.
sour and seven in Illinois, and ali of
them, except one, as in the present Con.
gross, are III favor ofthe new bill. In no
Instance that we nox rec0!lect, has a
member of the present House who voted
lor the tariff of 1916, offered himself as a
candidate for reelection and failed.
La the Senate the matter is still worse
tor the repealers. On the 4th of March.
1917, thirteen wing seats are vacated in
that body: while not more than six or sew.
Ell democrats leave it. With two new
senators to come in from Iowa and two
from Wisconsin, is there the slightest
chance that the Senate in the next Con.
gress will be in favor of high tariff
But even if this were otherwise, what
hope, save in q two-third's vote of both
houses, is there for high protective tar.
i'd ander the present administration
Thus, then, stands the case. The
Congress which is to assemble on the Iss
OF December, l549--more than three
years and halffrom the present time, in
the fist Congress from which anything
in the shape of repeal of the new tariff
can be hoped even by the most saguine
protectionist. The issue of immediate
repeal, therefore, forces the wings into an
agitation which must last three years and
a-"ait before it can possibly produce any
practical effect in legislation. Now, con.
sidering that both the manufacturer AID
the merchant are forced by all thier inter.
ests to demand first of all quiet and sta6tI.
tty In our revenue system, it does, indeed.
seem most forlorn hope 10 muster al This
time to the work of such an agitation, a
party made up in measure, if not almost
exclusively, manufacturing interests
viii not the rank and file of such party
plainly see that their interest lies in CON-
piiance with a law, when they must wait
at least three years and a half before they
cen begin to have even remote chance
OF repeating it.
Much more is this the case, when the
law already gives to them all reasonable
measure ofProtection. And most of all
this is the case when the nations with
which We have the most important com.
mercial relations are embracing the same
policy offree trade, or at least of moder.
ate duties. The agitation which-tha
wings are trying to get up, is an agitation
at once against the spirit Of the age,
against the substantial interests of the
agltators, against the preponderant scnti-
mnnt ofthe country, and against all hope
OF successful issue. No wonder, then,
that IN its very outset this agitation is
proving tselfan utter failure. The wings
surely must make up another issue,-s
Washington URioa.