The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-03-13

expense OF others. Corn was made dear TO
please the landowners. The national indus
tries were overlooked and stifed. England
grew into greatness In spite Of the govern
ment. Birmingham, Sheffield, Newcastle,
Bradford. Liverpool, Glasgow: ere ~ many
protests against the protective policy Of Eng
land. SO We might call Now FORK protest
against the various protective theories 2!
statesmen, who see nothing but Pennsylvania
and New England in the legislation of the
day. In the adjustment of such tariff,
with its ramifcations into every branch
of business, machinery becomes ne
cessary, so cumbersome. complex and
minute, or imperfect and unfair, that any
shape it assumes becomes an oppression. And
when this machinery is handed over to the
management of parties and entrusted to needy
political adventurers who only hold Office to
serve party necessity, there must be corrup-
ton. There is corruption which arises from
ignorance, corruption inspired by political in
trigues, corruption springing from the avarice
of that class of men who deal in the misfor-
tunes and mistakes Of government We make
tariff which cannot be collected. We have
Custom House planned on the regulations
adopted by Hamilton in the administration of
Washington. We have regulations which be-
long to another time and were meant for the
era Of sailing ships and schooners-for the
commerce of four millions of people who
knew nothing Of steamships or railway cars.
How can We expect any administration to col
lect the customs and do justice to the mer-
chants The customs are not collected, the
merchants do not obtain Justice, there is con-
fusion, complaint. bitterness There are gen.
eral order troubles, carriage scandals, COM
plants about the labor contracts. The public
service is injured and the public morals
wounded.
What We want IL q reform In our revenue
system that will 60 to the foundation. Let
our tariff be shorn of two-thirds of Its dutia-
BILE articles. We can follow the example Of
England, which profits by an experience as
deplorable and seandalous as any seen in the
United States. Let US have an end of the
vexatious duties, Of irritating imposts which
are always avoided, and which, if collected,
would be of no advantage to the revenue. We
can collect money enough to pay our debt
from half dozen articles, and the necessity Of
tariff for this purpose must be admitted by
all good citizens. Protection has no place In
our system. Let US collect the customs, and
leave protection to protect ITSELF We have
made protection Chinese wall, which in this
case keeps out nothing but the revenues. We
suffer more and more from this exclusive, mar
row, illiberal, antiquated policy. We cannot
remedy it by unseating Leet and Stocking, or
removing Mr.. Murphy, or changing few in
spectors. The best collector in the world
would not give satisfaction In our Custom
House, and the tradition has grown into our
politics that whoever accepts the Collectorship
enters political sepulchre. Over its gloomy
granite doors might be written the legend that
Dante saw over the gates of hell :-"Who enters
here leaves hope behind" What we want,
therefore, is not committee of demagogues
and partisans sitting in the Fifth Avenue Hotel
surrounded by crowd of political followers,
badgering Mudgett, teasing Hillyer, listening
to the confidential communications of Lindsay,
or torturlng the money-weleoming Leet-a
committee caring for nothing but to make
political capital for the campaign but COM
mittee of honest, prudent Senators, consulting
with merchants, eager to find out the best plan
for collecting the customs. In thirty days such
committee would do incalculable good. It
would give US a reform that would save the
countrv and save the revenue All other Tin
vestigations," as they call them, so far as the
Custom House is concerned, are scandalous
and petty, meant to serve party ends, injurious
to the public morals, and an expense to the
public treasury, ''full of sound and fury, signl-
flying nothing"