Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1888-06-07
IRONTON. MO. THURSDAY. JUNE z, 1888. NJ
Origin of Our Present Tariff.

| "a
| We take the following extract from
an address delivered to the law stud
ents of Columbia University, on the
9th of February last, by VIM. Benia
min Smith, Professor of Physics. II
contains several facts unknown to. ol
| forgotten by, the present generations:
In conclusion, word of history
| Protectionists, particularly that halky J
horse which session after session keeps
| the whole Democratic team founder
ing in the mud, to the modification ol
every tariff-reformer and 10 the intense
delight of the whole tax-every-thing-
in. ght-party, that Democrat so usefu
to his Republican opponent, that they
gladly adjust his district so as to make
his election secure. Protectionists com
plain of Internal Revenue taxes as wal
measures in time of peace. But whal
are the facts? Both the Tariff and the
Internal Revenue taxes were wal
measures. The theory of Mr.. Morril
was to impose Internal Revenue taxes
and then counteract their depressing
effect on manufactures by imposing a
higher tax on foreign competitive
mann ufacturers. Thus he said [Con-
gressional Globe, '61-62, p. 1866 i: at
will be indispensable for us to raise the
tariff on foreign imports, so far as ii
may be seriously disturbed by any in
ternai duties. and to make proper rep
aration. IF we bleed manu-
facturers, we must see to 1t that the
proper tonic is administered at the
same time" So. too, Mr.. Stevens.
(p. 2779): ave intended to impose an
additional duty on imports equal to
the tax which had been put on the
domestic articles. 1t was done by way
of compensation to domestic manufact-
ureTs against foreign importers" The
commercial condition of the country
by no means called for increase of tar
iff. Morrill, said his tariff bill of 1861
"was not asked for, and but coldly
welcomed, by manufacturers" Sher-
man said, while yet the buzz of the
presidential bee was unheard in his bon
net, 1.-The manufacturers have asked
over and over again to be let alone.
The Tariff of 1857 THE yery toaDest
since 1915 is the manufacturers bill"
Congressional Globe, $500, p. 2053.
And Mr.. Rice, of Massachusetts: 1.-THE
manufacturer asks no additional pro-
tection.n Congressional Globe, $3.50,
%. 1867. Session after session the man.
ufac.urer was thus bled by internal
taxes and stimulated by tariff-taxes.
But protectionists controlled our finan-
cial legislation and they took good care
each time to stimulate little more
than they bled. Consistently, when
the war was at length over. and the
bleeding ceased, the stimulating should
have ceased also. Far from it, how
ever. Like man who has got used
10 fs a fo I,a ort IL
without them, SO our manufacturers.
though they were doing well in 1860
with tariff at water-mark, after
six years of stimulation, find they need
more and more every month. By sue
cessive acts between 1865 and 1872, all
the annoying and depressing internal
taxes were removed. But the patient
will not give up his "tonic," his "bit-
ters." So far from lowering the tariff
they actually raised it higher and high
er, tho the occasions of its imposition
were confessedly past. Morrill,, hon.
est, tho protectionist, recognized this
and said Congressional Globe, :S69-70,
%. 32951: It is mistake Of the friends
of a sound tariff to insist on the extreme
rates imposed during the war. If less
will raise the necessary revenue.
Whatever percentage Of duties was
imposed on foreign goods to cover in
ternal taxation on home manufacture
ers, should now be claimed as the law
full prize of protection, when such taxes
have been repeated. There is no long
er an equivalent" But like the mas
ter wizards apprentice, Mr.. Morrill,
bad indeed learned the magic word to
call up the spirit of protection, bur had
forgotten the one to bid it down.. All
and more than all the war-taxes it now
claims as its ''lawful prize" True it
can no longer say they are necessary
as counter-tonic against internal
taxes, but it shouts only the more
loudly that they are necessary to make
and keep wages high! This is note
never heard in the earlier debates of
the subject. But as fast as one string
snaps, Protection finds another to play
Oh. 1t is the old story of the wolf and
the lamb. 1t is in vain that the inno-
cent shows that he can not muddy the
water above by drinking below. aud
that the alleged outrages were COM
mitted long before he was born. He
| belongs to doomed race, and the wolf
| is determined to eat him anyway.
The painful fact that our protective
policy has brought our worldcommerce
to stand-still is set in striking relief
by the following statistics just now
| made accessible: Millions of dollars of
non-agricultural exports for the years
80, 'S1, 1872. '83. '84, 'S5. Sc, 'S7 138,
154, l8l, 1861, 1881. 1861. 1S1, 1871. We
are now on the downgrade; the great
gain of the "boom" years we are zap
idly losing. But while our exports
have fallen from 9S4 millions in 'S1 to
7O3 millions in 1877, our imports have
risen from 6423 in '8i to 6923 in '87.
We are loosing grip on the foreign
market and not tightening it on the
home-market. Thus our export OF
manufactured woolens falls from $775,-
763 in 's5 to $539. .342 in 'S7! But our
imports of woolens have risen from $73
millions in 'S5 to $74 millions in 'S7!
A very gratifying growth in manu-
fdcture protected by duty of sixty
four per cent!
Lastly, does some one ascribe the
wonderful prosperity of the low-tariff
decade, beyond its high-tariff success
ors, t. the discovery Of gold in Cali
something to do with it, but sitUer was
discovered in 1859, and the total yield
of the two has gone on steadily increas'
ing. so as to be 80 per cent. greater
during the last decade than during
the first. If, then, it was the output
of precious metals that brought pros
perity to the low-tariff era, still great
er output should have brought at leas
equal prosperity under protection.
The Way to Make the Mechanic Pros
/ porous.
/ From letter addressed by Mr.. A
Van Bibber,of Cincinnati, to the Dem