Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1870-11-25

$50 -. .Ffeveuue ReFnFns. ,r.
Thomas Jeffrrson. the great apostle of
ID emots,aey summed mp il brief but i'm
mortal worslsthe whole science of political
eeOnomY, naDd the whole argument for
com mercial freedom, when he declared
himself fer equal and exact iustio to al
Emt n, and exclusive privileges to mono"
economy Ia public xi,e nse, taat labor
may he Lightly iJardtbeti, and s'enc ourage-
meat OF aepeulture. aud of eomnfefc co as
| It's band maid. These uxioms come home
| to tie mind Of every practical man 81 gagged
| In fhe daily affairs Of liie More than THE
they apply witinssiugulaIr ap'nes5 TO the
actual condition,of tue county. anl bold
| out the only PROMISE of relief an: 10
| demption by which the people mag be re-
/ leased from the burdens that lIow weigh
down agriculture and industry
| Upon broad principle We are i"r free
| trade with all the world fer the abolition
of custom houses. and for unrestricted
| commerce OF every kind. All these objects
may not be- attalnabie at once, but they
will come with the progress of events, and
with The emancipation Of the mind from q
narrow aud deceptive appreciation of pub
| lie and personal interest.
| La the early days OF the Republic, when
! a few millions; OF scattered population were
| seeking to buitd mp Industries by which
! they would be rendered more independent
| Of the mother country, there was a certain
excuse for legislation Intended to pro
tect them against "a ruinous apetlt1On
| from abroad. So, too, after the last war
with Great Britain, when the nation wss
struggling under heavy burdens, and the
| oliey was TO exclude Il bitter enemy from
| the benefits of onr market.
Encouraged 10y these examples, the
N nufaotuFiag interests combined to OBJ
tain from Congress special legislation by
which their capital might be augmented
at the expense of labor and agriculture.
In 1928 the protective policy was epgrafted
/ on the memorable tariff bill of that year,
which afterwards nearly eliminated in civil
war, by the notification movement III
South Carolina Then followed Mr.. CIays
compromises bii! Of 1882, intended as
peace Offering, and measure Of reconcile
alton for ten years.
| That and the preceding tariffs OF 1883
were denounced by the Democracy of that
day as highly protective but upon the
sliding scale Of Mr.. Clay's bill the per-
centage upon all imported articles began
at 22.4 per cent. and ended III 1910 at
III, and upon all dutiable articles from
ga to 1916 per cent. Aud now, after a
generation has passed away, during which
bounty and favoritism and protection, IL
every disguise and by every fraudulent de-
vice, were piled upon each other, where
are we The official figures prove that
|
duties Oh the total imports were 41.2, and
on the dutiable articles A7.S6, that is TO
say. notwithstanding the intermediate
'protection" of thirty years, the dutiable
rates have more than doubled upon the
highest scale Of MIR. CIay's ''highly proteo
tive bill"
During this period there was an episode,
so to speak, of Democratic revenue tar
if, from 1916 to 1866, under which COM
\ h
vigorous prosperity. That experience,
brief as it was, exposed the fallacles OF
the Protectionists, who cried out that it
would destroy both the revenue and the
manufacturers. The revenue rose from
1916, 75O, 600 to SCI, 600. 900, while the high
est rate on dutiable articles vas rs per
cent. and on the total imports about 20
per cent, and even less.
/ A comparison of the protective tariffs of
1929, 1912 and 1870 shows that the scale
has been of regular descent, always stead
lily in favor of the manufacturer, aud al
ways l. decidedly against the consuming
masses. But IN Just as t1is partial legls-
lation was formerly, it became a practice
of shameless fraud and plumber after the
Republicans obtained power, In 1861, and
has continued SO ever since, growing
worse year by year. Pleading the neces.
sites Of the war, and probing 10y the dis
fractions which it occasioned, these 'loy-
al" leaguers and manufacturers succeeded
in carrying no less than thirteen acts ana
resolutions through Congress, every one Of
which was designed to extort money from
a bleeding country, and to inf1ict increas-
ed burdens on an overtaxed people. The
exposure of this system OF legaliz9d rob-
berry, for that is the honest word applica-
BILE to the iniquity, would occupy more
space than can now be devoted to the sub
ject, but we intend TO ventllate 1t th O.
roughly, and to expose the corrupt COM
binations by which it was accomplished.
The reason originally given, for impos-
ing protective duties was, that our manu-
facturers were in their infancy. and need
ed the sustaining hand of legislation to
foster them. Aud now, after eighty years
of systematic and constantly increasing
protection, the manufacturers Of New
England and elsewhere, who have become
rich enough upon exorbitant profits to
absorb large portion of the capital OF
the country, have the audacity to cry for
more The infant manufacture of
century ago is still an infant, and still
| needs Federal pap. 1t will never grow
old, as long as Congress can be blinded
or bribed into voting new taxes. 1t drinks
in the fountain Of perpetual youth, sup
piled from the sources of packed commit
tees, who represe Mt no constituencies but
their wealthy clients, AMI no more III
huence but the retainers with which their
y 1ckets are lined
1t is high tine that thus infancy should
, end. II the manufacturing interests,
after all the favor they have received, and
all the legislation which they have carried
with high hand. caDnotnow stand alone,
they ought to fall. at ali events the doom
of high tariffs is sounded, and the era of
Revenue reform Is announced.
Washington Pdrio..