Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1888-09-12
Cen. Rarris0n.s Letter Of Formal &c
ceptance.

cepfance.
The following ia Gen. Harrisop's letter
accepting the republican Presidential nomi-
nation
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind, Sept. 1l.-HOn III. ii.
Estee and others, committee. -Gentiemen
When YOUR committee visited ne, on the
fourth of July last, and presented the ON cial
announcement of my nomination Tor the
Presidency OF the United States by the re-
publican convention, promised as soon as
practicable to communicate to you IDoee
formal acceptance OF the NOMINATION. Sluce
that time the work of receiving ana aoorss5'
inp almost daily large delegations OF lny lei
low citizens has not only occupied ali OF my
time. but has in some measure rehueieu ~
unnecessary for me to use THIS letter, Do
=, medium of communicating 10 the puoiic my
views upon the questions involved IN Tue
campaign. l appreciate very highly Inc
oan sdancs and respect manifested by the
convention, and accept the nomination Win
q faeling of gratitude and full sense OF Inc
respopsibilities which accompany IT,
II ia matter of congrstulation That the
declarations of the Chicago convention upon
the questions that now attract the interest
of our people are so clear and emphatic.
There is further cause of congratnation In
the fact that the convention uttersnces OF
the democratic party, if in any degree IN,
certain or contradictory, can now De judged
and interpreted by Executive acts and mes
sapes. and BIZ definite propositions in iegls-
lation.
This is especially true Of what is popular
10 known as the tariff question. The Issue
cannot now be obscured. 1t is not contest
hetween schedules, but between wide apart
principles. The foreign competitors of our
market have with quick instinct, seen now
one issue of this contest may bring them ad.
vantage, and our own peop!e are not so duli
as to miss or neglect the grave infeTe@.s that
are involved for them. The assault upon
our protect, system is open and dehant.
Protection is assailed as unconstitutional In
law or as vicious In principle, and those who
hold such views sincerely cannot stop short
of an absolute elimination from our tarlh
avs of the principle of protection,
The Mills bill is only q step, but 1t Is TO-
ward an object that the leaders OF democrat
/ 10 thought and legislation have clearly 10
Emjpd. The important question is not so
much the length Of the step as the direction
81 of it, Judged by the Executive message o.
d .cembs n last, by the Mills bill, By the de-
bates in Congress, and by the st. Louis plat
form. the democratic party will, Unsupported
by the country, place the tariff laws upon o
purely revenue basis. This is practical free
, irsde-free trade 10 the English sense. The
| legend upon the banner may not be Free
Trade" il may he the more obscure motto
"Tariff Reform" but neither the banner nor
the inscription is coDcusive or, indeed
yery important The assault itself ID the
important fact. Those who teach that the
) import duty upon foreign goods soid in our
market is paid by the Consumer, and that
the price of the domestic competing srticle
is enhanced TO the amount Of the duty on
the impore ed ariicle-that every million Of
dollars collected for customs duties repre-
sents many millions more which do not
reach the treasury hut are paid by our cltl-
zens az the increased cost Of domestic pro-
! ducions resulting from the tarH'lsws-may
: not intend TO discredt III the minds OF others
our system of levying duties OF competing
foreign products, but it Is clearly already
discredited in their own. We cannot doubt
without impugnipg their integrity that II
free to act upon their convictions they would
90 revise our laws as 10 iay the burden oil
the customs revenue upon articles that ere
not produced in this country, and to place
upon the free list all competing foreign pro-
ducts. ! do not stop TO reiute this theory as
to the effect Of our tariff duties. Those who
advance il are students of maxims and not
of the markets. They may he safely allow
ed to call their project tariff reform" if the
people understand that in the end the argu-
ment compels free trade in all competing
products. This end may not be reached
abruptly, and its approach may be accom-
panied with some expressions Of sympathy
for our protected industries and our working
people, but it will certainly come If those
early steps do not arouse the people TO e.
fective resistance.
The republican party holds that protec
tive tariff is constitutional, wholesome and
ne ce ssary. We do not offer ii xed schedule,
but principle. We will revise the schedule
and modify rates, but always with an inteli'
gent provision as to theetfect upon domestic
production and the wages of our working
people. We believe it to be one of the
worthy objects OF tariff legislation to pre-
serve the American market for American
producers, and to maintain the American
scale Of wages by adequate discriminating
duties upon foreign competing products. The
effect of lower rates and larger importations
upon the public revenue is contingent and
doubtful, but not so the effect upon Ameri-
can production and American wages. Less
work and lower wages must be accepted as
the inevitable result Of the increased offering
of foreign goods in our market By way Of
recompeuse for this reduction in his wages
and the loss OF the American market, it is
suggested that the diminished wages of the
workingmsn will have an undimipished pur.
chasing power, and that he will b. able 10
make up for the loss of the homs market By
an enlarged foreign market. Oar working
men have the settlement of the question in
their own bands. They now obtain higher
wages and live more comfortably than those
of any other country. They will make
choice between the substantial advantages
they have in hand and tie d, c p'ive prom.
| ises and forecasts of those tbeorizing reform
ers. They will decide for themselves and for
the country whether the protective system
shall be continued or destroyed.
The fact of treasury surplus, the amount
! of whioh ia varjouslv slated has directed