New-York tribune., 1868-04-30
PROTECTION ASSAILED.

| friends of Protection to Home Industry held q
meeting in our City last Tuesday, and united
in setting forth the principles which, IN their
view, should govern all future revsions OF the
| Tariff These principles, as presented IN their
resolves, are briefly as follows:
1. In order that our National Credit shall he
reGstablished and Specie Payments resumed, it
is essential that our National Industry shall be
more fully developed, and its productive power
| increased.
g TO this end, Home Manufactures should
be encouraged by adequate Protection, while
heavier duties should be imposed on articles
of luxury.
3. That duties on imports should, so far as
possible, be specific.
A. That the magnitude of the public burdens
| imposed by the late Rebellion and consequent
| Civil War render imperative the utmost ecOno-
my and retrenclment in public expenditures
| 5. That the gigantic frauds and peculations
which have so gravely lessened our Internal
Revenue require the prompt application OF ngid
measures of prevention; TO which end, we ap-
prove of Mr.. Jenckes's Civil Service bill
g. That the Public Faith, pledged to the Ma
tonal creditors must at all hazards be kept;
and that any evasion of the plain intent and
force of our National obligations would he as
unwise as dishonest, justly exposing our people
TO the execration of the civilized world.
These principles are in part offensive to The
Post: but they are nevertheless in full accord
ance with the matured intelligent convictions
of the American People. There never yet was
a time, since Alexander Hamilton made his
celebrated Report on Manufactures, when
majority of all those Americans who
could read were not favorable to Pro-
lection; and there never yet has been a Pro-
tective Tariff which did not visibly, palpably
increase the general activity and average re-
compense of our National Industry, and thus
largely accelerate our National march through
general prosperity to unprecedented wealth and
power. The Post can say nothing worse
of any Tariff than it said of that of
1928, which nevertheless proved sprng-tide
Of National growth and power; and when 1t
was overtlrOwn, through unwise defer
| ence to South Cardinals Notification, no one
| could pretend that the country was not emf
nently prosperous Though the general activity
| and advancement of its industry. We paid off
| our old National Debt with uncqualed Tapidity
under the auspices of that Tariff which
| The Post asserted would destroy our Revenue /;
| while our Commerce and Navigation, which,
according to the same authority, 1t was utterly
| to blast, were rarely, if ever, more thrifty
When at length, in 1912, we had reached, by
| gradual steps, purely Rerenae standard of
duties, we found ourselves without revenue,
and were compelled to borrow in peace to
prevent a stOppage of the wheels of Govern
ment. A Protective Tariff had yielded Thirty
InI
but Twelve Millions: so we went back TO Pro-
lection, which soon raised our Revenue from
Imports nearly or quite to the old mark,
enabling us TO pay off our Debt incurred by
trying The Posts policy.
AS we had been bullied out Of the Tariff of
1923, we were swindled out of that Of 1912.
Pennsylvania-always overwhelmingly for Pro-
tection-was, through the Kane letter and
kindred frauds, made to believe Polk Pro-
tectionist, and so cast her vote against Henry
Clay. "Polk, Dallas and the Tariff of 42w
was the cry that misled her, and the advantage
of having a Vice President to watch over her
interests in the Senate was dwelt on. The
Tariff of '42 was repealed by the casting vote
of that same Vice-P President
How bitterly The Post fought Henry Clay i'll
that Presidential contest of 1874, because he
was a PrOtectiOnst, we shall not soon forget.
And now that same Post pretends that that same
Clay had ceased to be a Protectionist in 1888!
The Post alludes to the fact that the Editor
of THE TRIBUNE last year asked member of
Congress from Missouri (he having objected to
high duties on lron), this question Suppose
Z" the duty on Iron were unchangeably fixed at
8" SO per tun, what would then govern the
"price of Iron in this country P"-to which he,
after some hesitation, replied, "The cost OF pro-
"ducing Iron in this country" Dare The Post
give that question an equally candid answer
Let it do so, and the radical unsoundness of
its continual asseverations that Protective Du-
ties necessarily increase prices and tax con-
suners would be apparent to all. Any law
that should increase the circulation of The
Post ten-fold Gts price remaining unchanged),
would doubtless benefit that concern; and this
fact thoroughly disposes Of TIE Posts funda
mental assumption.