Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1880-10-20

Calhoun. Henry Clay, who was ther
in the Senate, fearing a civil war, anC
being withal Southern man. introdu
ced his compromise tariff bill, by which
the duties were to be gradually reduced
down to a mere revenue standard, the
time occupied in this sliding scale being
FIVE years.
The compromise bill was accepted by
South Carolina and civil war was post
poned till it broke out in 1861 Un.
der this compromise tariff bill the panic
of 1887 occurred, closing all our mills
and shops and throwing great portion
of the working classes out OF employ
ment, causing an immense amount OF
misery. This terrible state of depres.
sion lasted until 1912 In the meantime
the people rose and hurled the Demo
Gratis from power and elected William
Henry Harrison President, in place of
Martin Van Buren, free-trader. who had
been President from 1910 1911 This
resulted in the protective tariff of 1912
being enacted Under ITS operation
thousands of mills and shops sprung
into existence, and the country was
again on the road to prosperity. In
1914 the Democrats succeeded in elect
ing James K. Polk, free-trader, Pres
ident, which resulted in the free trade
or low revenue tariff of 1916 being en-
acted. This resulted in over 200 mills,
furnaces and glass manufactures being
closed and 0,000 men thrown out of
work in the State of Pennsylvania alone.
The suffering caused by this low tariff
was enormous, The country struggled
on, and the manufacturers were COM
PEELED to reduce wages to the lowest
point known previously, in order to
compete with the cheap pauper made
goods of Europe. In 1857 the Demo
cratic Congress insanely reduced the
duties to still lower rate, which cul-
minated the panic of 1857, and times
were as hard as they possible could be.
Mr.. Howell Cobb was then Secretary
of the Treasury under President Bu-
chanan Under the operation of this
last tariff our gold flowed to Europe,
and people were so poor that they could
not afford to buy their usual supply of
dry goods, and in spite of the lowness
of the tariff, the demand for goods was
reduced, imports fell off, and the con-
sequence was falling off lin the reve
nue. Mr. Cobb in his report hoped
there would soon be an increased flow
of goods from Europe, the duties on
which, low as they were, would enable
the government to pay expenses. But
he was disappointed. The revenue fell
eff, and down to the breaking out of
the civil war. Mr. Buchanan had to
borrow money, paying as high as II
per cent. interest in order to obtain
means to pay the expense of running
the Government. From this it can be
seen how the free-trade tariff of 1851
cut both ways. 1t drained the country
of its gold, closed our shops and mills,
or reduced wages down to a starvation
point, and the people became too poor
to buy more than one-half their usual
supply of goods, and even imports
fell off, Resulting in the Government
becoming poor for want of sufficient
revenue from the low duties it had i'm
posed.
After the war when the Republicans
were in control, the tariff of 1861 was
passed. Immediately manufactures
took tremendous start, and all will
remember the prosperous era and good
wages commencing in 1861 and lasting
till 1878, when the panic of that year
occurred. The war of the Democratic
rebellion created the necessity of an ir-
redeemable paper currency. 1t fell in
value as compared with gold. Goods
went up in paper value, and after goods
and labor were sup to the high point
they reached. it was difficult to get them
down to gold value, The resumption
bill was passed. 1t was a necessary evil
in order to reach the plane of the worlds
standard of value, which is gold and
silver.
Because resumption was Republi-
can measure, the Democrats opposed it,
prophesying all manner of revulsions,
calamities and ruins growing out of a
return to specie payment. Business
men and capitalists were timid and be,
canned alarmed, and they all pulled in
their sails and salted down their mon
ey, waiting for resumption to take place.
This all resulted in trade and manufac-
lures becoming dull. People economi-
zed and did not purchase more than
two-thirds of their usual supply. This
produced a stagnation of business and
manufacture, and mills run on half time
or were closed and thousands of men
were thrown out of employment AS
soon as resumption became an accom-
plished fact, twenty-one months ago;
and our paper money became as good
as gold; then business took start, wa
ges began to increase, and now we are
as prosperous as we ever have been,
the lying predictions of the leaders of
the Democracy to the contrary notwith-
standing. Under our protective tariff
with resumption accomplished, and
with good hard money and the best
currency our country ever had, there
10 uoW NJ udhSoi vi any ihoic nal VI
times unless the Democrats should elect
Hancock and inaugurate low wages
revenue tariff In that case, we shall
have to go through another period of
depression and misery, for Europe will
do our manufacturing for US, and our
mills and shops will close and millions
of our sons Of industry will be thrown
out of employment.
The salvation and prosperity of our
country demands that the present tariff
be left untouched. To abolish it and
substitute for it low wages revenue tar
iff means deprivation and suffering for
our working and all other classes
throughout the North Therefore our
only safety is to elect Garfield and a
Republican Congress.-CieU. Leader.