The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1884-05-15
Revenue Reform.
Address Of the Aat Protective Tariff League
of Minnesota.
continued

sigiTed to bless, could not fail to east
It's Diighting influence over those 1T
| Did not assume to ..proteet." 1t has
| destroyed onr merchant marine, strip
ped us of our South American trade
and stimulated other nations to adopt
retaltitory tariffs against us. 1t has
increaged the cost OF transportatIDn;
| burdened and handicapped every legit-
innate AMI self-snpporting industry.
and les'ened tn" profits OF ofagricnlsnre.
1t has Accumulate ! i Urge snrplns in
the national treasury. and invited
wanton Extravaganza aad expenditure
of the public funds; and above all, it
has increased by nearly one-haif. the
cost of living 10 every man, woinln
and child in the nation.
To the people nf Minnesota. ac-
pendent rely upon the prosperity
Of oar wheat growers, til- Question
Of tariff reform is Uf great and g.ow-
ing Importance. The price of wheat
here is governed by its price in Live
pool. Four years ago the United
States suppliedS15 per cent. Of III he
whea. anu Hour imported into Great
Britain. Ii 1881, this w&s reduce |
to 90 per cent. in 1882 to 50 AMI III
1853 to IS per cent. In Ct!.er words,
the ninety three million bushels we
sent to Great Britain in 1857 fell to
seventy.fonr million in 1883. Vet
the import from al countries incre.ls-
ed from one hundred AMI thirty-six
million bushels in 1881 70 one hundred
and sixty II il!ions in 1883. It is evil
dent that England has found other
and cheaper wheat markets than oar
own. She has found elsewhere peo-
pie who are willing to exchange their
products for hers. Her imports from
Russia increased from eight million
bushels in 1881 TO twenty-seyfn mil
lions in 1888 From Ii lii they III
creased from two million bushels in
1879 to fifteen million in 1881. AMI
twenty-three million in 1888. Fro.u
Australia she received in 1883 thirty
two million, a large increase OVER
preceding years.
Is it difficult to understand
''wIIY WHEAT IS Low!
We are losing the market in which
we have heretofore disposed OF onr
suralus crops. Instead OF pursuing
u liberal policy towards the wheat
buying nations Of Europe and securing
their trade by trading with them. we
have built Il Chinese wall Of tariff
duties along our cost and siat them
out. We have done ali we conll to
induce them to test undeyeloped soil
of The east ana seek II market there.
Whatever fnctuations may oecur in
the wheat market. it is evident that
low prices will be the average. Unless
the cost of production is reduced.
unless they can raise wheat cheaper
than heretofore. there is little hope
of profit to our whea. growers. TO
do this. the cost of living, Of transpor-
tation and of agricultural machinery.
must be reduced. Upomeach OF these
elements of production the existing
tai If imposes its heavy burden OF
taxation. 1t taxes the farmer 5 wear
ing apparel, his linen, cotton and
| WOODEN goods; his shirt, coat, boots
and hat. 1t taxes his carpets, furni-
ture. bedding and cooastove; his cook
cry, rice, sugar and salt; the lumber,
nails, paint, glass ana hardware il
his ho;sse; his drugs, medicines and
pipe; his newspaper and his Bible.
There is not nail, screw Or boi-, o:
a piece of iron. steel OF leather Iii his
farm machinery. DO Implement OF
tool. net even his hoe. plow. spade.
scythe nor axe, whichdoes not pay its
heavy tribute to protected" capital.
The wagon in which he haai5 his
grain, the railroad that carries it to
the seaboard, and the ships Gf Amer
icanl which transport it to Europe.
are likewise burdened.
The tariff has increased the cost of
transportation.
1t has increased The cost of farm
ing.
1t has increased the cost OF living.
For twenty-four consecutive years
protection has been tested here. If
at the close of this period it is true that
the favored industries are unable to
support themselyes-lf they cannot
sustain even as slight IL reduction Of
tax us proposed ty the Morrison bill,
then the experiment is q failure. Ii
IA quarter OF Il century of high
tariffs has left these children of sub
sidy SO feeble that they cannot cast
off even twenty per cent. of their
protecting wraps, how many gen
erations of men must live, he taxed
and die, before they wiz become sutfi-
ciently robust to stand alonpF \ sys-
tenn SO burdensome AMI SD frniiless
of benefit ought to- be forever aban.
doned-
II is not right to tax one man for
another's S gain. 1T is not right to
force the profitable industries of the
nation TO pay tribute to those which
are by nature Improbable. The in
exerable law of demand ana supply
which Regulates the price OF grain
ard the wages Of the idborer, governs
also the manufacturers. They will
exist Whenever there is a demand for
them, wherever they will pay. The
best w,fy TO protect them is to give
them cheap raw materials, cheap ma
chnery. cheap transportation. untax
ed labor and an open market in every
quarter of the globe. Ii. with these
advantages, backed by American
pluck, skill and ingenuity, they are
unable to be selfish porting, no slim
ulants can ever render them SO.
Revenue reform can only be secured
by an emphatic and determined en-
preston Of public sentiment in its
favor. The monopolists who have
become millionaires by protec. ion are
too powerful to be easily overthrown.
The politicians and political parties
of the country are in their shanls.
Old issues are resurrected and new
ones created for the purpose of con-
cealing and suppressing this most i'm.
portans of issues. Every attempt in
congress to materially reduce the
tariff tax has hitherto failed. 4
mysterious but overpowering in
fiuence has stiI,ed the voice and
thwarted the work of reform.
1t is time for the people to speak.
We ask the reader to give this sub