The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1878-10-17

Ing bldJ db llo lOdoulO SOuiN hN' P''N' "
Republican Senate, there was no use to
bother with it,
Congressman Mckinley has harped
upon the Wood tariff bill and meanly
misrepresented the measure, and with
held the truths that an honorable man
should have told.
Mr.. Wood proposed no radical dan
gerous change in the tariff. He freely
and fully Consulted leading manufactur-
ers in every department of industry. In
no sense does Mr.. Wood propose free
trade" and well Mr.. Mckinley knows it.
In this connection we give an editor
ial from the Pittsburgh Post of the 18th
inst, in reply to the Gazette!
THE TARIFF BUGBEAR.
Do the laboring men of Allegheny
county, and of surrounding towns and
counties, remember the excitement that
was felt when it was realized there was
real danger that the tariff bill prepared
by Fernando Wood, in the interest OF
free trade, would pass?- Gazette.
. Yes, we remember well the great pro
cession through our streets, made up OF
wagons sent out by our manufacturers
who, closeted with Fernando Wood, gave
him the figures on iron, steel, glass and
whatever affected this county and State.
If the Wood Tariff bill was in the inter-
est of free trade, it was made so by a
committee of Pittsburgh manufacturers.
If the Gazette doubts this let it consult
Harry Oliver, James Park j'r, Devices
Wood, Frank Jones and others who
went to Washington City. What can
Errett and Bayne do for tariff What
mightnot two Democrats do with Dem.
ocratic Congress2 We submit as a mat
ter of policy, whether it is at all smart to
abuse Wood or Randall at this point in
the game. And we venture farther to
say that Democrats will be appealed to
next session of Congress to help through
these identical manufacturers who are
now prancing about, denounCing Demo
cratic candidates.-PltS. Post, l2b inst.
The present Republican tariff system
is full of iniquity, and much of the de-
preston in trade is attributable to it.
Through this tariff policy foreign mar
kets have been cut of, our own shipbuild,
ing interest nearly destroyed, and Amer.
ican shipping almost swept from the
ocean. Only about 80 per cent of our
foreign trade is now carried in American
ships, while before the war, under a
Democratic, revenue advalorem tariff 80
per cent of our commerce was done in
our own slips. This is terrible change,
which one may see when we remember
that our trade exceeds now a thousand
millions a year. Are not the Buckeye
reapers and mowers carried to Europe in
British vessels? The agents of the COM
pany from this town travel back and
forward in British vessels!
We take from an exchange the follow
ing statistics on, American commerce;
OF course the two great crops, one re-
ceived now and the other coming next
summer, will help the times, but another
thing necessary to give us prosperity is
for the United States to own more ships
We owned one.half the vessels that left
our port in 1860. Our vessels sailing our
flag measured 5,539,813 tons against
England's S95,366 tons. We were
spending $l4,0O0000 annually in ship.
building. The war killed our commerce
and in 1870 all the ships sailing our flag
only measured ,583 664 tons.
In 1860 we controlled 20 per cent of
the tonnage which entered and left our
ports. To-day we only control 38 per
cent.
Before the war in 1860, American YES
sells earned $40, $40 S20 for freights, while
foreign vessels only earned $40 403 1858.
In 1870 foreign vessels earned SOL l20-
900, while our vessels only earned $28.
227 ,931,
Every year we are paying foreign ships
$5I 100000 in gold. when we ought to
pay it to our own ships.
Every ten years we pay out nearly
$500 100000 for freights and passengers
which we ought to keep at home.
Fifty-one million dollars a year paid |
to foreign vessels while our wheat crop
is only worth $3.50 900 900. One-third |
of our substance given away.
Congress ought to look to this and do !
to re-establish our broken |
down commerce.
Our farmers are doing well enough. |
We are issuing enough corn and pork,
but we are paying it out to support for
eign commerce and not our own.
Mckinley was free to prophecy dire |
cslsmities upon Canton's industries,
should Woods tariff bill pass OF course !
not explaining the depression and gen.
eral bankruptcy over the country under
his protective" system, so-called. Did |
protection" save the Rus
sell establishment from failure? Did |
his happy and blessed protection" save
he Ballard & Fast concern? Did this
wonderful Republican tariff save from
'uin the furnaces and rolling mills at
Massillon and Alliance2 Not much,
Mr.. Mckinley A little plain fact, and
Iound reason, plays the mischief with
uch poor stuff as Mckinley throws off
Major Mckinley took care to make no
lefnite statements as to the changes
by the Wood tariff bill. He
lever stated that the bill proposed
luty on pig iron Of S. ton, instead of
Z, as now. This S. would be heavier
Iuty now than $40 was ten years ago. A
Congress cut down the duty
few years ago to So 80 a ton. Mr..
Woods speech, explaining his bill, was
Iever answered by any high taxation
st in Congress, not even by our "little
liant" We do elect little" men in this
lappy protected" Republican land.
The Democratic doctrine on taxation
) in strict accordance with the Constitu-
ion. We maintain that Congress only
las power to lay and collect taxes, to
aise revenue to carry on the govern
nent, not to put money in the pockets