The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-12-06
THE PRESENT ISSUE.
Carlisles Election Brings the Tariff to
the Front
Some Traditions of the QuestiOn---Ob-
jeetfOns 10 the Present System
stated TAX on Salt
and Lumber.

York correspondent sends the following:
The speakership being decided in favor of Mr..
Carlisle, the tariff Question comes out to the
front The south and the north west which
accomplished this victory have far different
reasons for hostility TO the tariff system. In
the south this opposition may be called a for
eign policy, that being the only method of war
left against the dominant AMI busy north.
Besides, free trade has traditional value in
the south, coming from notification times.
1t belongs to that class of questions in the
south called states rights, intimating that
the government az large must not do any
thing Free trade in this country was first
taught by Judge Cooper, an Englishman from
Pennsylvania, IN his lectures before the South
Carolina college. These lectures constitute
perhaps, the rarest book on the subject at the
present time.
Calhoun toward the end of his life, as at
the beginning, was rather aTenegade to free
trade. By nature he was not a states rights
man at ali, hut national man, and only
took 81: posi- ion to put himself in formid-
atte Inc al promotion at Washington city.
He wanted 10 be president, and if not pres-
dent, the chief antagonist of the president
His early writings were strongly protective.
When he got into the snarl with President
Jackson, who was of the same blood and
state as himself, lie allowed the Wings to ex-
tricate him from the notification ruse by
joining with them to pass tariff. Yet these
points are imperfectly known through the
south, and the young people there consider
that to some extent free trade and secession
are twin traditions. 1,a 81 q 50 ,s5a
fllsa in
more directly connected with business than
the politicians are, has become anti-free trade
to large eXtent9 Newspapers which derive
their support from tle business Of the city OF
contry in which they are printed quickly
6.pfehend the tendency Of policy, but in
the south the congressional districts are very
large and chiefly agricultural, and the poll
ticians do not notice changes the city news
papers take heed Of.
There are but two Republican newspapers
in the north of free trade tendency, The
Evening Post, which derives its advertising
patronage entirely from the Importing class,
and The Times, which is against the tariff,
because the tariff assists to support The
Tribune Scattered through the press, how
ever, are many free traders That doctrine
has generous flavor and attracts young
radicals and idealists, particularly those
who have Travelled in Europe and dc
not like ctstom-houses and to see their
comforts taxed Some portions of the tariff
are absurd, and if our people came as
closely in contact With it as those who re.
turn from Europe, tremendous vote would
be polled against it. | should like to have
some of my books rebound in Europe, where
Ii oh
ter than here, yeti raise the question in my
own mind as to whether sending out my
books to be bound, and bringing them back
will come underthe definition of importing
nay tools, so flet the books go to pieces. Never,
theeSs system is not to be measured by
these little affronts
| have always observed that when Demo
Gratis come out Of manufacturing districts
they had to support the protective laws.
The trouble with the tariff system is its
wantfof simplicity, its connecting the pro
lection of agricultural products with manu-.
features, and finally the predatory relation Of
some manufactures to others The election
OF Mr.. Carlisle will, l think, tend to simplify
the tariff at least His election unquestion.
ably brings matters of revenue right to the
front, and if the Republican party in congress
merely oppose, without investigation, every
tariff Improvement, they may succeed il
electing another president, but they will moi
retard the agitation of this subject in con
greSs. ,.,......Gr ia
The state of New York might even be los
by the Democrats on the tariff question ant
they sweep the country in the northwest.
! The salt and lumber tariff are the chief mat
tiers in dispute in the northwest Lumbe
| gives the settler the cheapest kinds of farm
| improvements; salt is fed to his stock and
pickles his beef and hogs for market Maine
ard perhaps Michigan, get lumber protected
because they possess a good deal of it. Blu
Canada is full of lumber, much of which cal
be manufactured in Michigan, and Canad,
lumber is in request all over the country.
Iapprehend that duridg the present con
| gress the lumber tariff will go and think tn
4 salt tariff also. The salt question is a peculia
one. Salt we can get from the West Indies
where it is eyaporated or from Great Britain
where it is found i'll immense quantities, an,
often comes over for ballast To satisfy tn
fishers of New England they get rebate o
their foreign salt. But in the west and il
terror generally the price of salt has bee
regulated from Syracuse, N. 7, perhaps th
oldest salt works in the country At time
these men pay the West Virginia and eve
the Michigan salt people a tribute to suspen
or decrease production so that uniformit
of price may be maintained. .E