The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1884-03-26
An Open Letter.
SAN MATEO, FLA, March oath, 1873

HON. ii, >, GREENLEAF, NJ. T.,
DEAR SIR:-I take the liberty of writ
ing you on a matter of some importance
to us, because am sure of your feeling
an interest in all that pertains to the
prosperity Of Florida, and because [ know
you to be in favor of tariff reform. see
it stated that the Morrison bill places all
fruits on the free list. This may be an
error; but no harm can result from my
going on the suppOsitiOn that it is true.
Now, it seems entirely plain to me that
fruit-gTOwers could well afford to give
up all the protection that any tariff would
secure to them, if they could thereby
gain exemption from all the tariff-taxes
which they are compelled to pay. But
this latter result is obviously out of the
question. We all know that absolute
free trade, if it is ever come to, is still far
in the future. The protective system IS
here and it is not likely to be wholly
abolished in our time; for, in the very
nature of things, all imports, levied on
such articles as are produced in this
country, must be, in some measure, pro-
tective. This being true, it is the mani
fest duty of every citizen, 50 far as in him
lies, to shield the people of his state and
the class to which he belongs from dis
examinations to their disadvantage
1t seems to me that, in regulating du-
ties on imports, there are two ends which
should be kept constantly in view. One
of these is the avoidance of all provisions
which would foster the growth of mo-
nOpOlies, and the other is, the securing of
impartial justice toward all the industries
of the land. AS far as the former end is
concerned, it is enough to say that mo-
nOpoly in fruit-grOwing is obviously i'm
possible. But, while a protective system
is in force, where is the justice in deny
ing protection to the fruit-growers of
Florida? | will not dwell on such famil-
lar topics as the effect of the tariff on the
price of everything we have to buy, on
the cost of living to our labOrers and,
consequently on the wages we are com
DC4ICh W pay I1ItlIIs DIlU VII DISH OlI IO
consider more especially the bearing of
laws now in force on the cost of market
ing our fruits. Under the combined op-
Grafton of our present tariff and our nav
igation laws, the charges on coast-wise
transportation are enormous. If we could
strike out, from the capital involved in
the ownership of line of steamers, the
excess which is due to national legisla-
ton, competition would soon bring about
reduction in freight charges which
would be worth thousands upon thous-
ands of dollars to the fruit-grOvers of
this state. While congressional legisla-
ton subjects us to such a burden, should
it not give us something in return? Ny
own opinion is, that impartial justice re-
quires a much higher duty on imported
fruits than the one provided for in the
present law. Freight charges from the
Mediterranean or West Indian ports to
New York, with duty added, are now
less than freight charges from the princi-
pal shipping points in Florida to New
York
Looking to future results, regard a
duty on oranges and lemons as less i'm
portant than a duty on pineapple, cocoa
nuts and bananas. The production of
these fruits in the United States is literal
ly an Infant industry, and there are
large areas admirably adapted to it in the
southern part of Florida. [ learn that
many persons are now considering the
expediency of engaging in that culture
| and it Is quite probable that their final
decision will depend largely on the atti-
tude of the present congress. If they
decide to go forward, they must encoun-
ter competition from the West Indies
and Central America, where labor is very
cheap, and the cost of living is little
more than nominal. 1t seems to me
that, if it is good craftsmanship to aim at
an increase of national wealth. those
/ lands in South Florida, of which [ have
spoken, should not be permitted to lie
uncultivated through lack of legislative
/ encouragement, 1t is proper to remem-
Der that duty on the fruits in question
is simply a tax on luxuries.
! YOurS firmly p p RTCpOp