The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1883-02-24

g
leyies duties for the purpose of
maintaining them, they are not re-
ally industries, but government
manufactures, political establish
ments, branches of the public ser.
vice; as much as the army and
navy and diplomatic corps or any
of the departments of administra-
ton.
According to the declarations
of the advocates of high duties,
the laborers in these manufactures
built up by protection depend for
their bread upon the rate of taxes
levied in this bill. If what they
say is true all this vast amount of
capital and the operatives, amoun-
ting according to their represent
ations to over a million of persons,
are hanging in suspense for their
fcod and clothing and shelter and
supplies for their wives and child
ren, as well as for employment at
all, upon a vote of ayes and noes.
A policy which has established
this relation of the government to
so large a part of the labor and
capital Of the country-a relation
of absolate control on the one
hand and of absolute dependence
aud subsection on the other-must
involve many and disastrous chan
ges in our political system. l call
attention to one or two. 1t is an
incubus upon the government and
Obstructs the freedom of its action
in the adoption of any policy look.
ing to the welfare of the whole
people. Suppose VIC should come
to the conclusion that commercial
freedom was the true policy of this
government; why, sir, Congress
of free traders charged with the
responsibility of forming "a reve-
nue. system would shrink from
putting their own theory into ope-
ration in view of the ruin and dis.
tress which it is declared would
follow upon these industries under
a radical change of our system of
taxation.
Take another view. Suppose
that we should begin an earnest
effort to reduce expenditures to
the lowest point of an economical
administration of the government,
so that taxation could be core.
spondingly reduced and its burden
appreciably lightened9 1t could
easily be done, sir. The payment
of the public debt will in a few
years cease to be a charge upon
the treasury; it will either be ex-
tinguished under the policy of
those who wish to rid the govern
ment of its connection with banks,
or it will become a permanent fund
at a very low rate of interest, as
the basis of our national bank cur.
rency. In either event it will not
much longer be in the way of a
reduction of taxes. There are
many other points in respect to
which the expenses of the govern.
ment could be largely reduced,
and the people be thus proper.
tionally relieved. But, sir, the
moment we should take step in
that direction we would find our.
selves hampered and hindered by
the necessity fastened upon the
government of supporting these
manufacturing interests, whose
prosperity, they tell us, depends
upon high taxes, a plethoric treas
ury, and large expenditures.
Sir, why should this system OF
protection be kept at such cost
and such a sacrifice to the people
of this country when it has pro-
duced such results? This doc.
trine of a protective system rests
upon the assumption that it is me-
cessary to the independence of the
country that it should produce all
the commodities essential to the
use and consumption of the whole
people; that it gives us a diyersi.
fed industry, and that it also builds
up consuming class for the agri.
cultural products of the country.
No argument is needed to demon.
strate the Importance and neces.
sity of the development of man.
ufactures as one of the elements
of the national strength, but, sir,
can we not have the manufactures
without the burden of a protective
tariff
Sir, there have been long periods
of time in the history of this coun.
try when protective tariffs were
not in operation. Did our manu-
features cease to exist during
those periods Sir. long before
the era of protective tariffs, long
before we had a national tariff OF
any kind-indeed, from the earliest
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