The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-11-04
MEASURES OF RELIEF.

day or two since we printed all oper
letter from Hon. Louis Bush. of this city, &c
Mr.. Joseph Brown, Of st. Louis, chairman OF
the late convention at st. Paul, which consti.
tutes, In our opinion, the true programme for
the development of the Mississippi Valley
the commercial resuscitation of New Orleans,
and, in truth, the relief of the industrial in
terests of the whole country. We printed the
| letter of our distinguished fellow-citizen with
especial pleasure, as 1t was in accord with
views at different times presented, though
not so deliberately, by the DEMOCRAT. We
trust that the press throughout this great
valley will reproduce the letter of Col Bush.
SO that Its suggestions may reach the masses
of the people, whose vital interests may be
affected by them
The revision and modification of the pres
ent tariff, until it is adapted to the interests
of an enlightened people. is the very first
subject which should engage the attention of
the present Congress. Our tariff laws were
designed to foster special interests,I and
while they have done that they have
oppressed all others; they have crippled our
foreign trade and literally destroyed 1t in
some directions. The restless energies of
our people have all along gone on producing.
manufacturing and creating, while the policy
OF the government was legislating to cut off
their markets. The consequences were very
naturally the labor strikes and riots Of last
summer and unusual depression of trade and
industry and general distress.
How destructive the present tariff system Is
to our foreign trade was shown last week in
an interview between representative of the
DEMOCRAT and Mr.. E. Martinez, the well-in-
formed and sagacous consul of the republics
of Venezuela and Colombia in this city, Mr..
Martinez stated the fact, which we have since
verified by reference to official reports, that in
1870 the whole value of the imports of hides
and coffee from those republics into the
United States aggregated but $2,Ooo0Oo. In
1872 the tariff on these articles was abolished,
and the value of the imports reached SO, OOO. 900
and since then the increase has been uninter-
ruptcd until for 1876 it reached the sum of
S11 ,373, Sol
This is a single fact involving but one in
significant portion of our foreign trade but
it shows the working of the present tariff
system as clearly as If it involved hundred
times the sum. A proper policy in this re-
spect, we believe, would speedily restore the
commercial and industrial activity of the
country, and it is because we believe this that
we have said to the working men that the
Democratic party was their party, and that
they were delaying the period of their own
relief by forming organizations antagonstic
to it.
The policy of the Democratic party is to
favor a tariff for revenue only; to enter, as
Col Bush says. into reciprocal treaties with
the nations surrounding us so that we may
furnish our people with their products at the
lowest prices, and make their people purcha-
sers and consumers of the products of our in
dustries.
We're this country tc enter into treaties of
reciprocity with Mexico, and the States of
Central and the republics and kingdoms of
South America upon the basis of the Demo-
C ratio theory of tariff, the increase of our
trade with those countries alone would be
amply sufficient to relieve the trade and in
dustrial depression of this country.