Daily Republican., 1880-03-01
Tariff Agttaters.

~ bocLus tnbt b0mo fostlebb aSitat0l
: in Congress think that 1t is their dut
to do something to attain notoristy, an
: therefore adopt the quickest mode I
attaining 1t by attacking the laws thl
| protect our industries. The sudden r,
vival Of business all over the countr
has had the effect Of arousing the fra
traders to assault the tariff, even II
should cause a stagnstioD Of bushes
and throw hundreds Of thousands /,
mechanics and laborers out of employ
ment again. The iron industry of ou
country employs more labor than an
other branch, and including the build
ing Of railroads employs more labo
than all other industries combined
save perhaps that Of agriculture. Be
cause the price Of iron has gone up ant
steel rails for railroads have taken i,
sudden advance Of fifty per cent, thes,
free traders in Congress who would
subserve the interests Of their country
better at home engaged in manual la
Dor, cry out against the great profits o.
the iron masters and how the railroads,
the consumers Of these steel rails, are
taxed to put money into the pockets Of
these manufacturers Of steel rails.-
They pretend to come to the rescue OF
the railroads by making these corpora
tions believe that they are outraged by
this great rise in steel rails, ignoring
the fact that in the meanwhile wages
in the iron mills have gone up. coal
and coke rushed upward with the bust
ness boom, and that the general cost Of
producing these Bsssemer steel rails has
gone up quite as rapidly as the price Of
the rails themselves.
But these oficious inter -meddlers
have received q severe and sudden re.
buke from an unexpected quarter,
which has come upon them like a clap
of thunder from clear sky. The Presi.
dents of nearly all the great railroads
in the country, representing more than
fifteen thousand miles of track, have
united in 8 vigorous protest against
reduction Of the custom duties on for.
.ign rails, though these same rails
,ould be furnished at a greatly reduced |
rata by a reduction of the tariff. These
protesting railroads are not only among |
The great lines Of the country, but those
which use steel rails more literally
han any others. They are quite will
ing to pay the prices demanded by
he manufacturers simply because they
100 and know that it is to the best
interests Of the country that this large
md growing industry shall be protected.
hey are fully persuaded that their
Wn best interests are closely identified
nth those Of the steel-rail manufac.
urers, and therefore they seek to pro-
ect them. In the ordinary business of
lie, men are supposed to know what is
'est for their own interests, and If.
therefore, merely nominal price for
teel rails was to the advantage Of these
ailroads, it would be natural to sup
ose that they would lend their aid in
ndeavoring to shake of the tariff that
now levied upon the foreign article.
the railroads themselves-the only
arties in any way affected by the pre-
ailing prices-beg that no change shall T
made, common sense ought to show
Congress the wisest thing to do is to c
eep hands off. II these tariff inter. y
eddlers do not intend to benefit .he
what do they intend to bene- 9
u Certainly not the Treasury Of the o
alton, which would sustain a loss of
me fourteen dollars per ton on all the y
ills imported, If the proposed chsnge B
the tariff is effected. The question tt
len comes home to lis, whether it is q
'licy in this country to take money N
1t Of the pockets of our own people :
I'd put into those Of British mill own
8. AS the railroads do not seem to r
ink they will be benefited, it is very [
fncult to understand what class in the
untry will be. As We Lave already
'dlthese agitators had better keep their o.
'nds off the protective tariff, and II |
ey cannot find any subject of need O
legislation upon which to spend
cir time and talents, Congress had 81
tier adjourn and let we'll enough
one.