Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-08-04
The Democrats and the Tariff.

have set up man OF straw, which they
label free trade, and which they are in
dustriously engaged in pummeling. They
insist upon forcing upon the Democratic
party the paternity of this scare crow.
The Democrats will have none of it. They
are moving along steadily in the groove
OF tariff and revenue revision and reduc-
ton which was promised by both the
Democratic and Republican parties in
their National platforms of 1884, and
which the Democrats have re-affirmed in
their platform of this year. The moder-
ate and conservative changes made by
the Mills bill will simply reinvigorate
American industries, give to the laborer
continuous and remunerative employ
ment, make money plenty by reducing
the surplus in the treasury and assure to
our manufacturers the markets of the
world. 1t will again give American ship
builders chance and allow the working
man the privilege of buying his clothes
and other necessaries at something like a
fair figure. The true Democratic doctrine
may be summarized thus:
Until the Kelly Mckinley school sue
ceeded in capturing the Republican
party, no such doctrine as Protection
for the sake of Protection"-the latest
edition to the Republican creed-was
ever known in the history of the country.
Washington knew no such doctrine; nor
did Hamilton, or Madison, or Adams, or
Clay, or Webster, or II arrison, or Lincoln,
or Grant, or Hayes, or Garfield, or Nc
Culloch, or John Sherman or Arthur. 1t
is distinctly new article of faith-that
is, new in America. And Republicans
who refuse to vote with their party this
fall, should insist-for it is strictly true
that those who remain in the old organ
ization, and not those who leave it, are
the heretics.
Suppose a man is a member of the
Baptist Church-that he joined the
church because he believed in the doc
trine of immersion, If clique should
get hold of the organization and should
decree that, because immersion was a
good thing, you couldn't have too much
of it; and that, therefore, that man
ceased to be Baptist who did not hold
that the candidate for baptism should
be kept under the water until
he was drowned-would the man who
refused his assent to this proposition
be traitor to the Baptist faith? Hard
ly, one would think. 1t is just so in
this matter Of Protection. The man who
dissents from the Republican party on
the tariff point, can find most excellent
Republican authority for his position.
And this suggests Republican Justif-
cation of Protection" 1t will be found
on page Vol. 1, of the Report of the
Tariff Commission OF 1882.
"No rates of defensive duties, ercept for
"the establishment of new industries,
(which more than equalize the condi-
'tions of labor and capital with that of
foreign competitors, can be justified.
Excessive duties, or those above such
standard of equalization, are positively
Injurious to the interests they are sup
"posed to benefit"
That is the only time when excessive
duties" can be tolerated-when they are
necessary for the establishment of new
industries. Now it is fact that every
duty we have more than covers the
difference between the cost of labor here
and abroad. In 1880, for instance, the
duty on pig iron was $500 per ton,
while the Whole rage paid to the man
who made ton Of iron was $246. So
then, by the Commissions definition,
all our duties are excessive.
Can any of them be justified on the
ground that they are necessary to estab-
lish new industries? Not easily, one
would think, when it is remembered
that all Of our industries have been in
existence for years, the most important
one-the iron industry-dating back 230
years. By this Republican authority,
then, duties should be reduced to that
point when they will "equalize the condi-
tions of labor and capital with those of
foreign competitors" This would reduce
the tariff to something like 10 per cent.
The Mills Bill will leave it at 40 per cent,
INDIANA Republicans know we'll that
theirs is a grounding case" in the
present campaign. They are focking
from all parts of the State to the fat
feshpots set out by his granther's
grandson. They come with the blare of
brass bands, the antiuuated hard cider