St. Paul daily globe., 1888-07-08
TALKS on The TARIFF.
Business Men Tell How Reductions
Would Help Them,
AND BENEFIT THE BUYER,
By Gheapening Goods---A Former Re-
publican Tells w by He Will Vote
for Cleveland.

ST do not believe merchants, as a
rule, have given that thought to the
tariff question that it deserves" said
Nicollet avenue dry goods merchant
yesterday. ''If they did their vote
would be business vote and would go
against the party of protection every
time. l am not much of partisan my
self, but propose to vote for reduc-
tion of taxation, and that means vote
for Cleveland"
''Have you ever thought up the rela-
ton the tariff bears to your buslness?'
asked GLOBE reporter.
''Quite frequently, and especially of
late, every reduction of the tariff would
reduce our trouble and expense in busi-
ness, as we'll as reduce prices to the
If the tariff were taken off raw wool
and manufactured wool, the cost to us
of woolen goods, would be redu ced. 1t
would take less capital to run our busi-
ness, the taxes would be less and the in
surance would be less. We would
cheaper goods to consumers and thus
they would be benefited and our profits
would be the same as ever. People
would buy more and our business would
increase, while the cost of running it
would diminish. What accounts we car
ried would be smaller, on both ends.
That is what reduction of the tariff
would do for us, as merchants. But it
would benefit the consumer still more.
In Minnesota, especially, the lower the
tariff, the cheaper it would be to live,
and there is not an article here that gets
any benefit from protection. l wish
I'LL ~
little"
Judge A. Ueland. the former juIge of
probate, has always been Republican,
but he will now support Cleveland and
Thurman, on the tariff issue. He scouts
the idea that protection has benefited or
can benefit America, and gives sound
reasons for his belief.
81 do not believe in protection" said
Judge LELAND yesterday, ''as you can
see from my being member of free
trade club. l shall vote for Cleveland
and Thurman, and will be proud to do
so. How the other members of the club
will vote am not prepared to say, as
in such matters / do not pretend to
speak for anyone but myself. do not
see how any member of the free trade
club can consistently vote for Harrison,
the nominee of the Republican party,
what that party comes out fiat-fOOted
for protection, something the free
trade club is strongly opposed to. But
it seems to me that the mission of the
Minneapolis Free Trade club is ended,
the great question having been taken
up by the two parties"
''DO you think protection has done
anything for American
''The people of the United States are
like farmer on a large tract of new,
rich land. The work put on his land re-
suits in large, abundant crops. He and
his family and hired men and hired
girls get plenty to eat, drink and wear,
and good home to live in. The serv-
ants get good wages, because the crops
are so large that every one engaged in
raising them can have good share.
This is. of course, provided no
BODY body take, takes the ,e crops away; tHy
other hand, are like farmer on an old,
worn-out piece of land. The same
amount of work on this land results in
smaller crops, and consequently in less
to eat, drink and wear, and in poorer
buildings and smaller shares for servant
hire. But the people on the good, big
farm have not only the advantage of
getting more for the same amount of
work. Being better fed, clothed and
housed, they are able to do more work
than the others, just as horse
fed on oats can do more work
than horse fed on straw. This extra
work gives additional returns and
makes the difference of what the people
on each farm earns still greater. Thus
the people of the United States owe
their better condition to the richer
natural resources of the country, and
to their ability to do work upon those
resources, and not to any protective
tariff