The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1888-09-13
HARRISON.
Letter of Acceptance of the Re-
publican Candidate for the
Presidency.
A Tame, Weak Document, With
Feeble Attempts to Answer
Cleveland's Arguments.
Full of Fallacies, Misrepresenta-
tions, Exaggerations and
Avoidance of Truth.
He Asserts that q Tariff on q
Revenue Basis is Free
Trade.
Makes Many Promises, Particu-
larly Concerning Pensions,
Civil Service, Etc.

INDIANAPOLIS, September 11.-Foilow-
ing is General Harrison's letter, accepting
the republican presidential nomination.:
| INDIANAPOLIS, Ind, !
September IL, 1888.
Hon. NJ. NJ. Estee and Others, Committee, Etc.
Gentlemen-When your committee
listed me on July last and presented
the official announcement of my nomina-
ton for the presidency of the United
States by the republican convention,
promised, as soon al practicable, to COM
munioate to you my formal acceptance of
the nomination. Since that time the
work of receiving and addressing almost
daily large delegations of my fellow
citizens has not only occupied all my
time, but has, in some measure, rendered
it unnecessary to use this letter as a
medium of communicating with the public
upon questions involved in the campaign.
appreciate very highly the confidence
and respect manifested by the convention,
and accept the nomination with feeling
of gratitude and a full sense of the re-
sponsibilities which accompany it. 1t is a
matter of congratulation that the deolara-
tons of the Chicago convention upon
questions that now attract the interest of
our people are so clear and emphatic.
There is further cause of congratulation
in the fact that the convention uiteraboes
of the democratic party, if in any degree
uncertain or contradictory, can now be
judged aud interpreted by executive acts
and messages and by definite propositions
in legislation. This is especially true of
what is popularity known as
THE TARIFF QUESTION.
The issue cannot now be ignored. 1t Is
not contest between schedules, but be-
tween wide apart principles. Foreign
competitors for our market have, with
quick instinct, seen how the one Issue of
this contest may bring them advantage,
and ourPeople avenot so dull as to uiiss
or neglect the grave interests that are in
volved for them. The. assault upon our
protective system is open and defiant.
Protection is assailed as unconstitutional
in law, as vicious in principle, and those
who hold such views sincerely cannot stop
short of an absolute elimination from our
tariff laws of the principle of protection.
THE MILLS BILL
is only step, but is toward an object that
! the leaders of democratic thought and
legislation have clearly in mind. The
/ important question is not 80 much the
! length of the step as the direction of it,
Judged by the executive message of De-
, cember last, by the Mills bill, by the de-
bates in congress and by the st. Louis
platform, the democratic party will, il
supported by the country, place the tariff
laws upon purely revenue basis. This is
practical free trade; free trade in the
English sense. The legend upon this
banner may not be "free trade;" 1t may
! be the more obscure motto of "tarif re-
FORM" but neither the banner
nor the legend is conclusive, nor
indeed very important. The assault itself
: is the i'm portant fact. Those who teach
that the import duty on foreign goods
sold In this market is paid by the con-
1 sumner, and that the price of the domestic
competing article 10 enhanced to the
amount of the duty on the imported
y article; that every million of dollars col
lected for custom duties represents many
, millions more which do not reach the
treasury but are paid by our citizens az
9 the increased cost of domestic produce
! tons, resulting from tariff laws, may moi
a intend to discredit in the minds of Others
our system of levying duties on com
: peting foreign products, but it is clearly
discredted in their own. We canno
Z doubt, without impugniDg that integrity
r that it ID free trade to act upon their con-
a. victions. They would 30 revise our law
, as to lay upon the consumer the burden
, of the cost of articles that are not pro
duced in this country, and place upon IN
n free list all
n COMPETING FOREIGN PRODUCTS.
n 1 do not stop to refute this theory as l.
the effect of our tariff duties. Those VIII
advanced 1t are students of maxims an
not of the markets. They may be safel
n allowed to call their project "tariff re
10 FORM" if the people understand that
= In the end the argument com
y peis free trade in all competin
d products. This end may not be reaohe
70 abruptly and its approach may be az
y companied with some expressions {
rs sympathy for our protected industrit
le and our working people, but it will ce
p tainly come if these early steps do nj
arouse the people to an effective resist
l. ance. The republican party holds that
lr protective tariff is constitutional, whole
~ some and necessary. We do not offer
" fixed schedule, but principle. we WI
ot revise the schedule and modify rates, bt
u always with an intelligent provision as I
70 the effect upon domestic production
DR. and the wages of our working people
n We believe it TO be one of the worth
n. objects of tariff legislation to preserv
the American market for American pro
ducers, and to maintain the America
scale of wages by an adequate discrimin'
ton of duties upon foreign competin
lie products. The effect of lower revenJ
( is contingent and doubtful, but not g
lIy effectual on American production an
/ Amarioan vya0ea Less work and 10