Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1888-10-03
The Daily Intelligencer.
IArcAsrER, ooroBER 8, Isss



light be expected, is having a circus.
Any one who Is in position to observe the
oondition Of emptiness, uncertainty and
0o1pair In the public mind, over the tariff |
5Qusstion, will not be surprised at the in |
>oresting experience that the Times is
Aaving in seeking TO enlighten them.
They get facts upside down and theories |
mixed, and are no sooner set straight on
one point than they backslide on another;
20 that they are as hard to gather into |
The household Of sound faith as eels
{ Into the basket.
To-day the Times first correspondent Is |
J. W. Gephart, esq.,, of Bellefonte, the |
law partner of Governor Beaver, and
hitherto generally Democrat. He has
made an elaborate explanation in the
local journals Of his county as to his
reason for voting for Harrison instead of
I Cleveland summed up they seem simply
20 amount to the statement that he
thinks that the interests of his section
Z demand protection for pig iron, coal and
Iron ore; and that generally protection of
everything is very good thing. Mr..
Gephart evidently is not very deeply.
4 dyed Democrat, or he would more readily
+ believe the declarations of the presiden
and the Democratic party that they, too,
are for protection. Asthe Times tells him,
the Mills bill is the highest protective
tariff measure that has ever been enacted
In the piping times of peace. The inter-
ssts Of lawyer Gephart's section un-
doubtedly demand a sufficient duty on
pig iron to prevent its importation
and the Democratic measure gives
this, reducing pig iron only from
e6.72 to s6 per ton. And as this
will not permit the importation
OF pig iron, at present prices ruling in
Europe and here, Certainly Centre county
interests will not suffer. The large fur
naces, lately built in Mr.. Gephart's 8 town,
Z claim to make iron much cheaper than
4 is made In the East or West and
their, price lately has been but
thirteen dollars at the furnace for mill
+ iron. Under this situation where does
Mr.. Gephart get his excuse for abandon.
Ing the Democratic party because it pro-
poses to reduce the duty on pig iron from
38,72 to s6 per tonp Or how could he
have any such inducement, If it made
coal and iron ore free ? which il
has not done, hut which it ought
to do. The coal of Mr.. Gephart
clients, as the Times shows him, woult
be benefited by having the CANADIAN
market thrown open to it, for which i
could readily afford to trade Off the New
England market to Nova Scotia
Free iron ore could not possibl
hurt Centre county, whose ore
must be smelted where they lie. Tn
freight on foreign ores will always aflor,
. sufficient protective duty foreign ore
oucssial quality only could be imported
Ind they are brought in regardless of tn
duty. The tariff on iron ores is on
purely for Vevenue and as we do no
want The revenue We should make ore
free.
The next customer tae zines is Gale.
to. to .. at:e9a : - -. Meyer, 9
Ions: II, sN--.J@ how it
y sonerip.sior rs X -ad IT, Democratic part
Noufonoon trade pure and simple,
Scieveland asks in his last annus
-dssage. to have ella, ,O00, 600 taken froI
the total custom collection OF s2l3 900 ,OC
leaving only cleo eco 900 to be accouute
for;of whichs ,0O0,000are got from sugs
and si2, 10000 from luxuries. And NJ
Mercer asks where there is room for an
duty upon anything outside sugar an
luxuries and pauses for reply; which Il
Times gives him in the information tha
the president did not ask thatsll3, 900 ,0(
be taken from the annual revenues, bl
stated this sum as the accumulated su
plus OF years; and that he suggested a
enlarged free list, a thirty million decrea.
of internal revenue collections and tot
revenue reduction that would not excee
eighty millions. To this information
adds mild suggestion that it ''can e,
plain facts and figures to Mr.. Merce
but can't take the contract to give hi
common sense understanding.
Which is hard upon Brother Merce
who really is quite an intelligent MAJ
but like great many other intelligel
people he cannot take the tariff bull
the horns without being flung; and til
time he got hard fall unquestionabl
He thought he knew all about the al
NAL, but he got wrong idea from II
pbysiognomy Of the mild looking thin
ls.it not strange that the tariff questiI
should be so troublesome to the ordina
comprehension How plain it look
1t is simply that we must have reyen,
rom our imports, and that we want
heck imports that cripple home produ
tion; 30 we need to put on hea'
duty on such products and a lig
one on others. 1t is a questi,
OF self interest; and We fix it to 81
our interests. We want to protect hon
manufacturers and we want revenu
and the Democrats propose tariff f
revenue with incidental protection Il
Republicans propose a tariff SO high
to wholly prohibit foreign products sa'
luxuries; and that is the difference b
tween the parties.
On this issue it is not able to find d
Republican candidate for vice pres
dent, in his letter of acceptanc
taking bis stand with the Democra
In favor of revision and reducti,
OF tariff duties. Mr.. Mercer and 9th
Republicans of inquiring minds h,
better write to MIR. Morton, and asce