Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1884-07-25

Temps to justify them. AS absurd as Is
the contention that the increased wealth
Of the country is che result of the ''protec-
tive SYSTEM" and as we'll known as it may
be to men of informa ion that these results
have been attained, not by the aid Of but
in spite of the protective system still Mr.
Blaine's figures may serve to please the
popular fancy. But his recklessness in
ignoring and disregarding the concession
made in his party's platform, that re-
duction of the surplus revenues must be
accomplished by reform of the tariff, and
attempting to justify them 10y the asser-
ton that they have never been wasted,
thereby shouldering the responsibility of
the river and harbor steals and all the
other questionable jobs for the dissipation
of this surplus, cannot fail to be damag-
ing to his cause and will make his letter
bad campaign document.
1t would have been very interesting
indeed if Blaine would have shown how
that protective system which annually
takes S750,000 from the pockets Of the
consuming masses of the country, for the
protection of the few Infant industries
of the Eastern and middle States, only
$3.50, 900 of which ever finds its way into
the treasury, operates to make the agrl-
cultural States increase more rapidly in
wealth than the manufacturing States
The popular mind. unskilled though 1t be
in detecting the ia lacies of damagogues,
will not fail to discover that there is 4
yawning hiatus between Mr.. Blaines pre-
misses and his conclusion upon this prop
osition. 1t wou d also have been eminently
desirable il the "Pumed Knight" would
have supplemented his ingenious compu-
tation of the wealth per capita Of the coun-
try, with a statistical table showing the
relative number of people in state at
abject poverty now and at the beginning
of this great protection era be so glowingly
reviews 1t will remain for Governor
Cleveland to do this in his forthcoming
letter, and this will furnishing damning
evidence of the fallacy and iniquity OF
the protective system along with the
other class legislation of the Republican
party.
Gen. Logan denominates the Republi-
can policy of continuing in the interest of
the manufacturing monopolies, the high
tariff. made necessary as revenue meas
ure during the war, after the necessity for
it had ceased, as a measure of tariff re-
form" thus giving an entirely new mean
ing to the term. He undertakes to define
protective tariff and explain its opera
ton, which he does as follows:
The principle involved is one of no great
ebscurity, and can be readily comprehended by
any intelligent person calmly rejecting upon
it. The political and social system Of some Of
our trade competing nations have created work
ing classes miserable in the extreme They
receive the merest stipend for their daily toll,
and in the great expense Of the necessities Of hte,
are deprived Of those comforts of clothing.
housing, and health producing food with which
! wholesome mental and social recreation can
alone make existence happy and desirable.
Now, if the products Of those countries are TO
be placed in our markets alongside of Ameri-
| can products either the American capitalist
must suffer in his legitimate profits or he must
make the American laborer suffer in the al
tempt to compete with the species of labor
above referred to-
If the great soldier and Senator" would
only take the trouble to find out from the
census tables how many American labor
ers" there are employed in manufacturing
industries in this country, and then try to
find out the cost of transportation of man
ufactured goods from our trans Atlantic
trade competing nations" to our own, and
would then augment this amount by 5000,
900, the sum proposed by his '.antiquated
Democratic opponents" to be annually de-
rived from the people by revenue tariff,
and would find out how this aggregated
annual sum would divide up per capita
among the manufacturing laborers; and
would further take into consideration the
fact that the political and social systems
which work such alleged misery among
the laboring classes in said transatlantic
countries, nor the great expense of the
necessities of life' do not exist here, we
believe he would find sufficient element
of protection to maintain any betterment
in the condition of our manufacturing la
borers over those of Europe that may ex-
list, without imposing upon the agricultu-
raj laborers the burden of 100000 per
annum, which is annually ex'orted from
them by the prohibitory feature of the
Republican tariff. We believe he would
find this both an interesting and profitable
study.
Mr.::Blaine is evasive and noncommitta
on the civil service question, referring to
it in the most pertunctory manner. Logan
becomes ridiculous and completely gives
himself away by asserting "without fear
of successful contradiction" that the civil
service as now and heretofore conducted
by the Republican party, is ''more just
more efficient, and purer in all its features
than ever before since the establishment
of our government"
Mr.. Blaine speaks respectfully of the
South and affects pleasure at the feeling
of restored harmOnyand fraternity between
the two sections. This sounds we'll in
Mr. Blaine, as it was hardly expected that