The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1886-12-30
Sound Views.

The following article taken from The ed
itorial columns of the Philadelphia Bale
tin, contains as much genuine hard sense
and truly American sentiment as were ever
compressed into the same space. The pol
icy and the doctrine embodied in them are
sound to the core, and would constitute a
splendid paragraph in the platform of any
political party
We cannot sympathize with the senti-
ment which has just found expression in
high quarters at Washington that sugar
duties should he repealed because the du.
ties largely constitute the surplus revenue
of the Government, and because sugar pro-
duction is All industry which has not grown
under Protection. On the contrary, we
hold that Protection must embrace all the
industries of the country and every section
of it. We want no sectional objection
that will not protect the cane-slgar indus
try of Louisiana as well as the copper and
iron ore industries of Michigan, the wine
and quicksilver industries of California,
the rice industry of South Carolina, the
hemp industry Of Kentucky, and every 9TH
or established American industry Then,
again, we have an infant beet-sugar in
duStry and an infant sorghum-sugar indus
try which need to be protected and which
can be built up. The former, after having
obtained q foothold in California, is now
threatened with extinction by the free su
gar of the Sandwich Islands The propo-
sition to pay bounty to sugar producers
in our own country in lieu of he prOtec-
ton they now receive from custom duties
we regard as wholly impracticable No
Congress that has been or may be elected
will take money out of the National Trers-
ury and pay it to few individuals, or even
to many individuals, who are engaged in
producing sugar Our people, without re-
gard to party, would instinctively rebel
against any movement that might be made
to establish such policy. 1t can t be done
Besides this, it ought not to be done be-
cause of the bad precedent that would be
established. Give bounty to sugar pro-
ducers and why not give bOunties to other
farmers, and also to some manufacturers,
who suffer from foreign competition p
Why not pay bounty for the production
of tinplates !?
What we hope Congress will do will be
to reduce the surplus about $3.50, 0O0, 900 by
repeating all the war taxes on tobacco
Next we hope to see it still further reduce
the surplus by building a navy and
strengthening the defenses of the country.
NtAU ~ Couiu wisely tsuoPo a SCuCi"l 10"
which would encourage the building up of
our mercantile marine, so that our surplus
products could find new foreign markets !;
this also would take money out of the
Treasury. Next it might with equal wis
dom. help to establish common schools in
every section of the country where they
are needed. These duties performed and
hesnrplus would cease to trouble Congress
or the people.
Instead of repeating the sugar duties,
Congress will make great mistake if it
does not as promptly as possible abrogate
the infamous Hawaiian treaty. Do this,
and we will soon have beetsugar indus
try in California and perhaps elsewhere
that will be credit to the whole country.
Our sorghum sugar industry will soon get
a fair start if the present duties on sugar
be let alone,