The Portland daily press., 1888-03-20
VETERAN REPUBLICAN CLUB
L. q. bennett, ESQ.,, Addresses the
Association Upon the Tariff.

There was an enthusiastic meeting of the
Veteran Republican Club at the club room
in Browns block last night The original
letter written by Hon. Leonard SWEET Of
Chicago, after the nomination of Lincoln
and Hanlin, giving description of the con-
vention and the nomination, read by Hon. j.
II. Drummond, was very interesting and at
tentively listened to by the audience. This
letter Mr.. Drummond declines at present to
have published.
Mr.. L. b. bennett, Esq, addressed the
Club ON the tariff, and the following is an
extract of what he said:
How easy it is to say that the tariff is tax
which the consumer pays. How plausible
the statement seems to be at first. How in
genious the theory; how readily believed by
the Democratic mind in its natural condition
How natural it is that he should want to get
rid OF the tax An examination Of the pres
ent tariff schedules discloses the fact that
nearly, if not every article of which this
would be true, has already been put upon
the free list. The duty on manufactures
made here, as well as abroad, is paid by the
foreign seller, when our domestic c0mpeti-
tion compels him to pay it, or by our consum-
ers when the foleign seller has the advant-
age in the market.
Instances innumerable can be cited to
prove the fact, that really protective tariff
cheapens the product to the consumer, and
ceases to be tax and becomes an abatemenG
OF the tax, which the foreign seller always
exacts in the form of profit, when he has the
advantage in our market, and the foreign
seller in so large market as ours alwas does
have the advantage, as the history of our
tariffs conclusively proves, whenever our tar
iff is low enough to discourage our producers.
The next allegation of anti-prOtectiOnists
is this: "The tariff should be reduced to di-
srl. sNn
tariff, if it be not radical q. e. slight reduc-
tion of it, will increase the revenue; II it be
radical it will be destructive of profits, and
will assassinate every business 1t touches.
Mr. Randall, among eminent Democrats, be-
lieyes this, and most manfully and patrioti-
cally has he struggled, and still struggles, to
avert such calamity to the business Of the
country.
They also say "a war tariff should be dis
continued in time of peace" When the Re-
publican party was administering the gov
ernment, it removed the war features OF the
tariff so fast as was possible and provide for
the payment Of the public debt, and, what
was of equal Importance, not injure busi-
ness. The sound judgment and skill with
which that reduction was gradually and re-
peatedly made has never been perhaps equal
ed by any government. The happy results
of that gradual reduction amply prove its
many minds that our present tariff is unrea-
sonably high. The model tariff Of the anti
protectionists was the so called free trade
Walker tariff of 1876. Under its operation
the total imports of the year 1854 We're valued
at 1924, ,554.752, which paid duty of q. AS per
cent. Under our present tariff the total i'm
ports were valued at $625, ,30S, ,S14, which paid
duty of S1SS, ,533, III, an average of 30 O15 per
cent, which is 7.72 per cent higher than the
Walker tariff. The Walker tariff ruined the
| iron and woolen industries, and contributed
| largely to bring on the panic of 1857, and the
bankruptcy Of the United States Treasury
under James Buchanan.
The next catchword is ''the surplus in the
| treasury"
| This surplus has no defenders. 1t has been
| wittily remarked that surplus Is easier to
manage than deficit. Thomas Jefferson,
| the greatest Of American democrats, unless
Grover Cleveland be greater, told Congress,
| and the people Of his day, what to do with
| the surplus, which the tariff was then bring
| ing into the treasury under his adminiStra-
| tiOn. In his message in 1906 he inte,ligently
affirms in the interrogative form:
Shall we suppress the mpost and give the ad-
/ vantage to foreign over domestic manufactures?
Their patriotism would certainly pre-
fer its continuance, and application 10 tne great
| purposes of public education, roads, rivers and
| canals and such other objects OF public improve
ment as may be thought proper
In his next message referring to the same
matter he said:
"Itmay partly, indeed, be applied towards com
pleting the defence OF the exposed points of our
country on such scale as shall be adapted TO
our principles and circumstances"
Thomas jefferson did not advise the sup
preston of the impost and give the foreign
manufactures the advantage. Grover
Cleveland does advise 1t. But any surplus