The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-03-24
JUST BEGUN.
The Tariff Fight Assuming
Larger Proportions.
So Says Frank Hurd,, ,.RsprsseHtatlVe-eleOi
From Ohio, Who Gives. Some Views
on this Large Subject.

Representative elect Frank Hurd, Of
Ohio, was interviewed in New York on
the subject of the tariff. In answer TO
the question: "The tariff fight isn't end
ed yetp" Mr.. Hurd said:
"Endedp It's hardly begun. The un-
Ineligible bill that came from the Con-
ference Committee In itself is worthless,
of eOurse-wOrse than worthless, In
fact-for it promises to unsettle bust
ness TO some extent, and to do no good
In the way of relieving the people. But
ID has at least two good and significant
meanings. First, 1t Is concession
made by the prOtectiOnists themselves
that the tariff needs revision; and
secondly, 1t makes the beginning of
such popular agitation OF the subject
as must bring about, and L hope very
speedily, complete overthrow OF lthe
protective system. 1t Is good augury
when the pTOtectiOntsts quarrel among
themselves. Indeed, am surprised that
they have not quarreled before. The
protected manufacturers in the country
are the stupidest people alive. How i'll
the name OF common sense are the
manufacturers of New England to pros
per much longer IL they cannot get free
raw materialsp And even free raw ma
terials will not save them. Every year
their domestic market becomes smaller,
for rival manufactures are springinR
up In the western and southern States
that continue to cut of their market
west of the AlleRhenies. What they
need, and what they are bound to have,
iB the foreign market. Last night l
happened to meet an English manufac-
turer who declared, when the cOnYersa-
tiOn turned upon free trade, that 1t
would be a sad day for England when
the United States became free trade
country. WhyP Because said he, we
English now have q practical monopoly
of the markets of misunderstanding
countries, and 1t cannot long be so after
the United States becomes our rival
Under the wide heavens there are no
men stupider than our manufacturers.
The more l think Of 1t the more l am
amazedP'
"Yon think, then, that the next Con-
gress will make reductiOns%
what Congress will do | have no
means of knowing; but the people have
demanded reductions, and how can Con-
gress hOnOrably refuse to do what it
was elected to dO2 l can answer for
myself. / propose to introduce bill on
the first day of the session to reduce the
duties to a revenue basis. A revenue
tariff is a tariff that will admit Of the
greatest possible amount Of impOrta-
tiOns, and at the same time raise sufi-
cient revenue. The imposition of any
duty, of course, tends to diminish the
amount of impOrtatiOns; but revenue
tariff diminishes the amount as little as
possible In order to collect the neces-
Sary amount of revenue. When the
amount OF revenue becomes too large,
the method OF reducing it under Teve-
nue. tariff Is to enlarge the free list. The
basis OF the bill that shall introduce is
these propositions:
II. A duty for revenue only ought to
be levied on articles that are not pro-
dueed In this country, such as tea, coffee
and spices.
"2. All raw materials ought to be ad-
mitted free Of duty, such as copper, iron
ore, wool and lumber. A sufficiently
explicit definition of raw material, il
all substances to be used in manufac
lures upon which skilled labor has not
been expended
"S. No article should be dutiable the
like of which i9 produced or manufac-
tured here and sent from our country
and sold in foreign markets. This in
eludes all our agricultural products
butter, hides, stock and animals Of all
kinds, as we'll as watches, iewelry, cut
lery and the like, which We already ex-
port.
should be on the free list.
D. Al l6NyluB uublob IokhIu buOulu D6
had to the difference between luxuries
and necessities. The latter should come
In under the lowest possible duty, and
the former under the highest necessary.
"6. A duty should be levied on wines,
LIQUORS and tobacco, in no case less than
the internal revenue tax on similar ar
tlcles of home production.
~. The rate of duty on all articles
which pay mOre'than 20 per cent. should
be decreased five cents annually until
the rate became 20 per cent.-that is, ar
tleles which now pay 90 per cent. should
pay only As per cent. next year, and only
40 the next, and so on.
''S. The rate Of duty on all articles
which pay as much as 20 per cent. and
more than five per cent. should be de-
creased five cents annually until the
rate becomes five per cent. Then we
should have only two classes of duties,
30 per cent. class and i've per cent
class.
80. All specie and compound duties
should be abolished. All duties should
be ad VRlOrem."