The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-09-12

is General HarrisOn's letter, accepting
the Republican Presidential nomina
ton:
INDIANAPoLIs, IND, Sept, IL.
Hon. II. II. E8tee and others Of the
C0mmutee:
Gentlemen: When your committee
visited me on the Fourth OF July last
and presented the official announce
ment of my nomination for the Presi-
dency of the United States by the
Republican National Convention, 1
promised as soon as practicable to com
municate you a more 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 Of my
time, but has, in some measure, rem
dered it unnecessary for me to use this
letter as medium of communicating
to the public my views on the questions
involved in the oompaIgn. l appreciate
very highly the confidence and respect
manifested by the convention and &C
cept the nomination with q feeling Of
gratitude and full sense Of the respOn-
sibiliiies which accompany ii. 1t Is
a matter of congratulatiOn thai
the declarations of the Chicago
convention upon the question
that now attracts the interest Of
our people are so clear and emphatic.
There is further cause OF oongratuletlon
in the fact that the convention utter
ances of the Democratic party, if in any
degree uncertain and contradictory,
can now be judged and interpreted by
the Executive acts and messages and By
the definite propositions IN legislation.
This IS especially true Of what is popu-
rarly Known as
THE TARIFF QUESTION.
The issue cannot be now obscured. It
is not a contest between schedules, but
between wide apart principles. The
foreign competitors OF our markst is
have, with great instinct, seen how
one issue of this contest may bring
them the advantage, and our own peo
pie are not so dull as to miss or neglect
the grave interests that are involved for
them. The assault upon our protective
system is open and defiant. Protection
is assaulted as unconstitutional, IN law,
or as an abuse of 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 g
step, but it is toward an object that the
headers of Democratic thought and
legislation have clearly in mind. The
important question is not so much the
length Of the Ste p as the direction OF IL.
Judged by the executive message Of
- = 1,a nv
debates in Congress and by the st. Louis
platform. the Democratic party will, if
SUPPORTED by the country, place the
tariff laws upon purely revenue basis.
Is this the practical free trade in The
English sense? The legend upon the
hammer NAV not be free trade" 1t
NAV be the more obscure motto, Tariff
reform. - Bus neither banner nor IN
scTiption is conclusive, or indeed very
important. The assault itself is the i'm
nortart fact. Those who teach that the
Inport duty upon al foreign goods sold
in our market is paid by the consumer
and that the price of domestic Compel
ing articles IS enhanced to the amount
of the duty on imported articles; that
avery million Of dollars collected for
custom duties represents many millions
more. which do not reach the Treasury
and are paid by our citizens
in me incTe Rsed cost OF DC
nestle production, resulting from
tariff laws, may not intend 10 ols-
credit in the minds OF others our sys-
tenn of Ieyying duties on competing
foreign products, but it is clearly al
ready discredjted in their own. We can
not doubt, without questioning theil
integrity, that if tree 10 acE upon thell
.corTictions. they would so revise our
laws IS to lay the burden Of customs
revenues upon articles that are not pro-
duced in this country, nd place upon
the free list competing foreign products
Thew do not stop TO refute this theory
as 10 the effect Of our duties. Those
who advance it are students of maxims
and not of markets. They may be
safelv allowed to call their project
tariff reform" If the people
understand that in the end the argu-
ment compels free-trade in all compel
ing products. This end may not be
reached abruptly and its approach
may be accompanied with some express
sions of sympathy for our protected
industries and our people, but
IT WILL CERTAINLY COME
if these early steps do not arouse the
people to effective resistance.
The public gain party holds that
protective tariffs constitutional. whole
some and necessary. We do not otfel
fixed schedule, but principle. We
will revise the schedule and make mooi
fications, always with intelligent pro
vision as to the effect upon domestic
production, and the wages of our work
ing people We believe it to be one o.
the worthy objects of legislation tC
preserve the American market fol
American products, and TO maintain al
American scale of wages by adequate
discriminating duties upon foreign
connecting products. The effect O
lower rates end larger importation
npon public revenue is contingent anc
doubt hut not go with the effec
npon American production and Amer
lean wages. Less work ADD owe
wages must be accented MS The ineylt
able result If the increased Offering o
foreign goods in our marke BY Wa,
o. reeompense for tAis reduction il