The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1888-09-20
HARRISON ACCEPTS.
Hls Formal Letter Follons that Of ClereIand

/ was given to the press Sept. IL
/ Although not so lengthy document as his
! competitors, it treats of all the questions of
vital interest to the country in a masterful
manner, showing that Gen. Harrison is abreast
of the situation and fully alive TO the questions
/ of vital Importance to the country which will
! be settled in November
He refers to the number of delegations from
various parts of the country which have been
/ daily visiting him, and he has been expressing
! his views upon ali questions to these people.
He states that it is matter of cOngratula-
/ tion that the declarations of the Chicago Con-
/ vention upon the questions that now attract
/ the interest Of our people are so clear and en-
! phatic. There is further cause of congratula-
! ton in the fact that the Convention utterances
Of the Democratic party, if in any degree I'M
! certain or contradictory, can now be Judged
and interpreted by Executive acts and mes
sages, and by definite propositions in legislation.
| This is especially true of what is popularity
! known as the tariff question. The issue cannot
now be obscured. 1t is not contest between
! schedules, but between wide-apart principles.
! The foreign competitors of our markets have,
! with quick instinct, seen how one issue of this
contest may bring them advantage, and our
own people 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 assailed as uncOn-
sttutional in law, or rs 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 it is to-
/ ward an object that the leaders of Democratic
thought and legislation have clearly in mind.
"Ihe important question is not so much the
length Of the step as the direction of it. Judged
/ by the Executive message Of December last by
the Mills bill, by the debates in Congress, and
/ by the st. Louis platform, the Democratic party
will, if supported by the country, place the
tariff laws upon a purely revenue basis. This
is practical free tTade-free trade in the Eng
lish sense. The legend upon the banner may
not be free trade ;" it may be the more obscure
motto, g tariff reform " but neither the banner
nor the inscription is conclusive nor, indeed,
very important The assault itself, it is the
important fact.
Those who teach that the import duty upon
foreign goods sold in our market is paid by
the consumer, and that the price Of the domes-
tic competing article is enhanced TO the amount
of the duty on the imported article-that every
million of dollars collected for customs duties
represents many millions more which do not
reach the Treasury, but are paid by our citizens
as the increased cost Of domestic productions
resulting from the tariff laws-may not intend
to dlscredlt IN the minds of others our system
of leVying duties on competing foreign pro-
ducts, but II is clearly already discredibed in
their own. We cannot doubt without impugn-
ing bAelT integrity, IndU II Tree 70 act upon
their convictions they would so revise our laws
as to lay the burden of the customs revenue
upon articles that are not produced in this
country, and TO place upon the free list all COM
pe.ing foreign products"
He shows that the Republican party holds
that protective tariff is not only constitu-
tional, but is wholesome and necessary. They
will fix no schedule, but will modify rates,
with an intelligent provision as to effects on
home products and the wages of our working
people. That less work and lower wages must
inevitably result in increased offerings of for
eign goods to our market. Our workingmen
now have higher wages and live more COM
f0rtably than in any other country, and they
viii make choice between the advantages they
now have in hand and the deceptive promises
of thcorizing reformers
He then pays attention to the surplus in the
/ Treasury, aud shows that the reformcrs are
using this money upon which to base an argu-
ment for free trade.
They have magnifed and nursed the sur
plus, which they affect to deprecate, seemingly
for the purpose Of exaggerating the evil in or
der to reconcile the people to the extreme rem
edy they propose. a proper reduction Of the
revenue does not neceSstate and should not
suggest the abandonment or impairment Of the
protective system"
The methods suggested by the Republican
Convention will not need to be exhausted to
effect the necessary reduction.
Gen. Harrison then speaks Of the importa-
/ ton of foreign labor, and says the law now in
force received his hearty support while in the
Senate, and any necessary amendments to that
law viii receive his sincere advocacy. The OBJ
jections to Chinese immigration are distinctive
and conclusive, and have been so generally ac-
cepted as to have passed beyond the stage Of
argument. The laws relating to this subject
would be fully enforced should he be elected,
and any additional legislation to effect the ex-
clusion Of this class Of emigrants would meet
his approval.
He pays particular attention to the condition
| of the elective franchise in some of the States
where men are kept from the polls by fraud or
violence, and promises to do all in his power if
/ elected to permit every man in the country to
cast his vote as he may choose, and have that
vote honestly counted
Regarding the admission ofTerritories TO the
| Union Of States, he says he will do all in his
power TO make it possible for any Territory to
| enter the Union whenever they are able to bear
the burdens and discharge The duties of free
/ Commonwealth, and that the question of the
political preferences Of the people should not
have any bearing in the matter. He is in full
sympathy with the declaration Of the Conven-
ton against all combinations of capital organ
lied as trusts.
Regarding pensions to the veteran soldiers
he says it is hardly necessary for me to say
ration of the Convention upon the subject of
pensions to our soldiers and sailors What
they gave and what they suffered / had some
opportunity 10 Observe and in q small meas
ure, to experience. They gave ungrudgingly;
1t was not trade, but an Offering. The meas
ure was heaped up, running over. What they
achieved only distant generation can ade.
! quately tell. Without attempting to discuss
/ particular propositions, ] may add that meas
ures in behalf Of the surviving veterans of the
war and Of the families of their dead comrades
should be conceived and executed IL q spirit
Of justice and Of the most grateful liborality
and that in the competition for civil appoint
ment, honorable military service should have
| appropriate recognition"
| Regarding the Civil Service law, he is en-
! phatically in favor Of its enforcement, and
! therefore cordially approves the clear and for
/ chile expression Of the Convention upon this
/ subject.
! In concluding, hesays that "relations with for
eign powers should be characterized by friendli-
ness and respect The right of our people aud Of
! our ships to hospitable treatment should be in
sisted upon with dignity and firmness Our Ma
ton is too great, both in material strength and
in moral power, TO indulge in buster or TO be
| suspected Of timOrousness. Vacillation and in
consistency are as incompatible with successful
diplomacy as they are with the national dig
/ nifty. We should especially cultivate and ex-
| tend our diplomatic and commercial relations
] with the Central and South American States