The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1888-09-12
Ben Harrison,s Warning.

Here is the gem on Ben HARE1soN's
Fort Wayne speech:
Ask any of those who assail our protective
| system whether they do not believe that if this
| policy is enforced large amount Of English,
| French and German goods will come into this
| country.
II would be safe to bet dollar against a
peanut that when Ben HARRISON made
this remark he occupied a suit of clothes
built OF fabric made in England, Scot
land or France by so-called ''pauper
labor"
And Ben HARRISON wants to know il
tariff reformers do not believe that large
amount OF English, French and German
goods would come into this country if the
tariff were reduced.
We think we can safely answer that
every revenue reformer does believe sol
No tariff reformer believes that a reduc'
ton in taxes will put a stop to foreign
commerce. If he did, he would oppose
such reduction.
If the Mills bill should become law, it
| is probable that BEN HARRISON will con-
tinue to wear imported fabrics, just rs he
does at present. although there will be
less excuse for him doing so, because
with untaxed foreign wool we should be
able to produce just as fine cloths in this
country as they do in England and Scot
land, which is not the case to-day.
If Ben HARRISON will ask PINK FISH
BACK to lend him his copy OF the ''Statis-
teal Abstract of the United States" for
1887, and will turn to page IA of that
volume, he will have an access of i'm
portant information on this matter of
foreign goods coming into this country.
He will find, for instance, that last year
our importations, Notwithstanding our ex-
orbitant tariff, were greater in value than
in any previous year in our history, ex-
cepting 1882 and 1888, also high tariff
years. We imported last year for our own
consumption sir hundred and eighty-three
million dollars aCorth of merchandise. The
value of our imports in 1882 was SIG, 2l3,-
94S. In 1888 it was 500, S29, 673. Last
year the volume of our imports was prob
ably greater than in either of those years
although the lower range of prices made
their aggregate value somewhat smaller.
II And now Ben HARRISON tells us that if
we reduce the. tariff large amount of En-
glish, French, and German goods will
come into the country! Did you ever?
Il Wonder if Ben HARRISON supposes we
paid for the sir hundred and eiIhty-three
millions Of merchandise imported last year
with money? 1t is possible. There is
nothing in his tariff speeches to indicate
that he isn't capable of this or any other
absurd presumption on the Subject.
Well, if he'll turn to page 10 of PINK
! FlsIBACK's copy Of the aforementioned
statistical abstract, he will discover that
we paid for this S6S3, 100000 of imports
with sos, O0O,O0Oof exports, the difference
being paid us in coin.
In producing the commodities with
which we paid for the imports, hundreds
of thousands of American workingmen-
principally farmers-were actively en-
gagged throughout the year. The imports
were the payment made by foreign coun-
tries for their labor. Such payment could
not possibly have been made in any other
form. The world could not have sent
1888, 100000 in money to this country to
pay for our grain, provisions, cotton,
petroleum, ETC., except at the cost OF a
financial crisis that would have involved
universal bankruptcy.