Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1884-08-13

form and challenge comparison or the acts OF
/ that party with the principles avowed.
| It declares itself in favor Of protecting Amer
| loan industry and American labor. It pledges
itself to correct inequalities in the tariff laws and
/ to reduce excessive taxation 1t recognizes the
| Importance of fostering sheep husbandry; de-
| clares itself in favor of an international unit
value between gold and silver; the regulation OF
| commerce with foreign nations and railroad cor
| poratdons between the States; the establishment
| of bureau Of labor and the enforcement of the
| eight hour law; the settlement of all questions
between nations by international arbitration; is
| against the importation Of contract or servile
labor and in favor of reform In the civil service.
| 1t declares its opposition to the aqu1sit1on of
| large tracts of the public domain by corpora
/ tions or individuals, and the forfeiture of all
unearned railroad Lands. IL expresses e gratiGuae
preston of the late rebellion; declares in favor
| of the Monroe doctrine; the restoration of our
| navy; the rebuilding Of our merchant marine,
| and the establishments of our commerce upon
| the seas; for the suppression.of polygamy, and
! declares that the Government of the United
parts; it denounces the fraudulent practices of
| ballot-box stufing and declares itself at pres
emit. as in the past, in favor Of liberal pensions
| to the soldiers and sailors of the Union. The
| State platform is equally explicit
The history of the tariff in this country begins
with the adoption of the present Constitution.
The first tariff act was passed by the fathers In
| 1870. The constitutional questions as to the
power of the Government to Law imports upon
| raising revenue and protecting home industries,
was in the first instance thoroughly discussed.
| Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison, and
| Hamilton were among the men who advocated
the doctrine of tariff for protection. Tariff laws
| from that time forward were constantly enacted,
modified amended, or repealed. until the year
| 1916, when the Robert J. Walker act, or free
| trade law, more properly speaking, was enacted
and become the policy of the Government until
| the year 1861.
| During the recent session of this Congress a
notable measure of free trade was brought for
| ward by the Democratic party in the lower
! house of Congress- 1t is known as the Morri-
| a SDeCiOuS miSrpp
resentation, for it pretended TO reduce war tax
alton, when, in fact, as Mr.. Findlay, of Mary
| land, said 1t meant 20 per cent off to-day, 10
per cent. tomorrow, not to get rid of war taxes,
but to get rid of the protection part of the tariff
law 1t was step II IN the alrecsi 3 OF free
| could have been no retreat save by the repeal of
| the law. And, instead of its producing less
revenue, its tendency was to increase it.
| So good Democrat as the Hon. w. W. Eaton,
of Connecticut, found 1t necessary, in the course
of his remarks on the Morrison tariff bill in the
House of Representatives to notify those gentle
| men from the South who were clamoring for
free trade that they were not acting under the
clause of the Constitution of the so-called Con-
| federate States, which had gone down in a
| bloody struggle, but were acting under the
Constitution of the fathers of the Republic, who
had given an Interpretation to the general well
fare clause in harmony with the protective sys-
tenn. Is it not strange that Connecticut DEM
ocrat should find it necessary to warn the great
bulk of his party against the pernicious doc
| trines which they had recently fought to
| maintain? 1t is not surprising that he felt it
| Incumbent On him to warn this section of the
| Democratic party that they must cease their
| warfare upon the industries OF this country,
| and administer to them fitting and proper re-
| buke for their attack upon tie doctrine OF the
| fathers, that had brought to his State such
prosperity and happiness. Mr.. Eaton was not
| single in his party in administering q rebu6e
to the free-trade wing OF tie Democracy. Hon.
| Sam J. Randall and other eminent Democratic
! statesmen warned their party that, if they
persisted in advocating that fatal policy, de-
! struction would not only overtalxe them, but
KyOUld nlunQpQ
few facts, briefly stated, overturn the
charges made by the free traders that
protection is a robbery and theft the
| farmer. An old saying is to the effect that
figures won't lie. A useful lesson may be learn
ed by the figures Of our census table, showing
the wealth OF the farming community in 1860
ard 1880, for upon both of these periods the es-
| t1mated value was upon a coin basis The num-
| Der 81 improved farms in 1850 was a little over
| 100000. The number in 1886 was little over
| 10000 The number OF acres OF improved
land in 1860 little 49,, OO0, 0OO, and the
number in 1880 little less than 2S5, 0OO, 900.
| So it is seen that the farms have doubled in
number. and the acreage of improved lands has
almost doubled between these periods, while
the ratio OF Inhabitants during the same period
has increased at a much less per cent. greater
| advance has been made in the product OF the
! farms during these periods. Corn advanced
from a total product of SIS, 100000 bushels to
LISA, 100000, 1h9 per cent, while wheat went
from 100000 Of bushels to AGO. 000U00 bushels,
or les per cent. of increase. All other cereals
from 1929 oOO 600 of bushels to 1857 900 COO OF
100000 bales in 1859, to 6,95O,OO0 bales in
1882. Fifty years ago 60 per cent. of our export
trade was cotton; now it only amounts to one
| third Of our expectation. The consumption of
cotton IN American manufactures has increased
| in still greater proportion: from 422 100000
pound in 1860, consume over 750, 90
pounds, with very rapid increase since 1882.
Our wool product in 1880 was four times much
| as IN 1860. We now produce about BOX, 100000
pounds of wool, and our manufa cturing estab-
| lishments pay to the farmers the enormous sum
of more than S1O0 DOC, 900 for that product alone
! become
we only import about one-ffth of the wool re-
! quired for consumption in manufacturing
| establishments, and almost all OF the imported
| wool is OF the coarser grades, known as carpet
! wool, although a small proportion of superfine
wool Tor Intermlxture with our products for the
finer qualities of cloth is still imported; but the
amount is inconSiderable.
1t is estimated that since 1860 our cattle have
been improved both by breeding and in num-
Ter, so that the value exceeds the total value of
1860 by $287 10000 The cattle exported in 1860
averaged only $38 head, while the exports of
1881 averaged $T6 head. In 1860 our entire ex-
port OF animal products was 800 000, 600. IN 1880
it amounted to S175, 000, 600.
1 need not go further into quotations of sta
tisticS to prove the enormous increase Of our
farm productions and the advance Of prices
over the days OF free trade. The facts are known
to all intelligent agriculturists.
| II the tariff laws have produced robbery and
theft as is so freely charged by the docrinaires Of
free trade why is it that such unparalleled pros
perity has been realized throughout the country?
The answer is easy when the facts are scruti-
nized. We consume in this country 80 per cent
OF our own farm products; we export but 10 per
cent. The home market is always better one
| than the foreign market. The expectation OF 10
per cent of our farm products conclusively
shows that we have not yet arrived at the full
tide of manufacturing prosperity. There should
be such division of labor as that this country
could consume the entire product of the farm
and field. This is apparent to the farmer when
he takes into consideration the fact that his
| wheat, when exported, comes in direct COM
petition with the wheat of the Baltic and
OF India. 1t is significant to examine
the increase of the product of wheat
| in some of the foreign countries in
the last two or three years These industries
have been stimulated largely in the last few
Years in Egypt, Algiers, Australia the Argentine
! Republic and Chilli Add to this the product of
the Baltic and of India, as given us by reliable
statistics and it will be but year or two before
the markets of Europe will be shut in the face
of our farmers. | say, then, to the farmers of
this country. that your only safe guide in the
future is to look to the home markets for the
consumption of the surplus of the farms. This
can only be brought about by increased and
diversified industrial pursuits Thirty per cent.
of the people of this country will produce suffi-
Gent agricultural product for all. There is now
engaged in agricultural pursuits about AZ per
cent. of the people of the country. The direct
influence, therefore, which free trade will have
upon the farms of this country will be, first to
force from the workshop millions of operatives
into the fields: second, to force the surplus
raised fer export into an overcrowded market
and CI1oQ fha1 NTiao 6nafi