New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-10-22
" FOR REVENUE ONLY"

NATIONAL FINANcE-MEANING OF THE DEMO
CRATIC ASSAULT on OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES or
THE PAST.
| To the Editor OF The tribune.
SIR: An old reader of The Courier and Enquirer.
| who is pleased with my communication in TIE
TRIBUNE of the 9th September has written me a
very fatterng letter. from which | extract the
following - ,,oo
As boy was a reader of The Courier and Enquirer,
| and grew M with your tariff views. I now, and
have been for years manufacurer employing large
Dumber of men, ye.sixtbs of wnom have families anu
tariff for revenue only" TO which Hancock has SOL
EMMY pledged himself would not only RUIN me ana my
| employees but would throw out OF employment many
thousands OF manufacturing aborers OF tbs CITY, ana
bring starvation upon tens Of thousands OF women ana
children VINO are now dependent Tor their day proau
solely upon our manufactures. which have been Duit
up and solely by protective arn III able VIII
You not write and publish in THE TRIBUNE your
own signature, series OF articles on the tarhf
In my judgment, it would be far better for the
country, that we should pay the rebel claims,
enormous as they will be, than that
we should abandon the principle of
a tariff for protection Our protective tariff is the
of all individual aud National prosperity
and inseparaby IS 1t connected with our currency
and fiscal relations, that they literally depend
ent upon each other. and cannot be intrlglbly dis
cussed separately. am glad to perceive how eff
GENTLY of late, THE TRIBUNE has devoted ITS edto-
rial columns TO dc nonstrating the danger of aban-
donlng or in any way interfering with the proiec-
tive principle of our tariff; and yet, from my life
long att ention to this question: it is barely possible
that or two brief articles on the subject from
me- may aid you IN your great work.
have been a very close student of finance and of
protective tariff for nearly sixty years and the
result of my studies and reflections and the IRE
| sstible convictions of all my observations and ex-
perience may be very briefly but distinctly set forth
thus
TARIFF AND FINANCIAL AXIOMS.
Gold has less intrinsic value than silver. copper
and iron; but beng less abundant than either. has
been made the standard OF value by civilized ma
tons. Therefore its duty is. to make up the bal
ance of trade between nations and to pay the in
debiedness of the debtor to creditor nations.
debtor nation, must. of necessity, part with its
gold to pay its indebtedness. Therefore, 1t cannot
re:ain sufficient to constitute for lis people, either
circulating medium, or paper circulation based
upon gold.
In European nations. the great mass of the people,
labor and struggle solely for the means of subslst-
ence; and. as a rule the price of European labor,
is just that sum which will keep together the body
and soul of the laborcr. Hence, il Is dcnominated
Pauper Labor"
In the United States remuneratlve wages to the
laborer, is a matter of principle. Our institutions
are intended to the greatest happiness to the
greatest number and to accomplish this, labor IS so
largely remunerated. that all may, If worthy. better
Their condition and advance their fortunes. Con-
scquently the laborer must be protected against the
"pauper-abor" of Europe.
Repeal or reduce tariff upon the products of
European pauper-labor. and you drive from our
workshops and coal and iron mines prosperous
Il .,roI old lu1n al nd hen N
soil. Oyer-production and low prices follow,-to
the ruin of the farmer and the impoverishment OF
the people. Foreign fabrics produced by pauper-
labor, would close our factories and food the coun-
try; our imports would exceed exports, drain
Us OF gold and silver. and reduce the American
laborcr to the European standard.
Nodebtorc country can ever retain wlthlnlself gold
and silver: and the United States must necessarily
be a debtor country, when admits the pauper-labor
OF Europe in competition with our better paid and
more prosperous labor; hence tariff for the proec-
ZION of American industry. is absolutely necessary
for the prosperity of country, aud to secure
safe and stable circulating medium.-composed alike
of gold, silver, and Government paper.
Whenever we become debtor country, gold
ana silver, will be of equal less value, than Gov
eminent paper based upon the property OF the
whole people, and the credit and good faith of the
Nation.
A tariff for the protection Of American industry
from the pauper-labor OF Europe-and nothing but
such tarf-can render us at all times creditor ma
ton and thus protect Us from the evils inevitable
from being debtor nation.
AIM OF THE DEMOCRACY.
Now if the foregoing premises and conclusions. be
correct, 1t will at once b. apparent, thai on the same
principle and for the same purpose for which the
Democratic party waged war against resumption OF
specie payments they seek to destroy our tariff
system. Without a protective tariff, our
manufactures. our iron and coal mines, and
our workshops of every description would
be closed by an influx of the products of the
pauper labor of Europe. Consequently We should
very shortly become a debtor, instead Of creditor
nation; and the suspension Of specie payments.
would necessarily follow. Then would come inhl-
ton of the currency to be followed by the wide
spread misery and ruin of '73 to 70. This would
give the English free-trader and the English manu-
facturer, and theirDemocraiic sympa hlzers iii the
United States, all they desire in advocating "a
tariff Tor revenue only"
This is no recent opinion of nine, got up for
paIgn purposes. AS long ago as December 10, 1873,
wrote private letter from Nice. France. Ill which
SAID:
you would return to specie paymenis take care nat
before Gnem the experience the past, and the dsa.
tr0us consequences OF the of 1892. To
tue Union and put down nuIheauOn. Mr.. Clay con
scented to that Compromise and annual reduction Of
percentage OF tho duties Imposed by the tarf
O 1S2S what were tne oOnsequencesf We had at
the time ityeignt blast furnaces operation;
a fftyseyeD OF them, were close by the m
troduct OF English iron the product " the then
pauper aoor OF Great Britain OR factories aud our
workshops nearly all closed; and their inmates
cent back TO the SOIL TO become producers Instead 0f
consumers of our cereals. Overprodncion with
out any home market necessarily followed; aud
wheat in the West sold at prices which
barely paid for the reaping the geniu. Of Moor
mick had perfected tue reaper. Universal ruin
through the land and the people, WIN ono ac
cord, demanded immediate return to ITO
great principle OF protection 70 home industry:
A generation has passed away since then, and
with them too many Of the lessons Taught bS
sad ex perience. Let people b. reminded Of what
WAS and has been, and they Will close their ars 10
TIE syren voice of the charuer. which, now again.
would seduce them into the theoretical and imaginary
beauties Of tree trade. Above all let len clearly un
deretsp1 the OK IA home a foreign