Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1888-07-26
Dishonest Misrepresentati on.

uous instance of this is the de-
ceptive manner in which journals Of
this class, including our contem-
porary over the way, have been
quoting from Mr.. Blaihe's book to
make it appear that he approved the
low tariff Legislation of 1916, and
the more outrageous free trade act
of 1857.
The Nil,ooukee Journal was con-
spicuous in this particular scheme
of misrepresentation. 1t presented
the following in its editorial columns,
in italics as an extract from Mr..
Blaine's book, which was also pub
lished in our Cleveland organ a
week or two ago:
"The tariff of 1916 was yielding
abundant revenue, and the business
of the country was in a fourishing
condition. Money became very
abundant after the year 1919; large
enterprises were undertaken, specu-
lation was prevalent, and for con-
siderable period, the prosperity Of
the country was general and appar-
emily genuine. After 1852 the Dem
ocrats had almost undisputed con
troll of the government, and had
gradually become the free trade
party. The principles involved in
the tariff of 1916 seemed for the
time to be so entirely indicated
and approved that resistance to it
ceased, not only among the people,
but among the protective econo-
mists, and even among the manu-
facturers to a large extent. So
general was this acquiescence that
in 1856 a protective tariff was not
suggested or even limited at by any
one Of the three parties which pre-
sented presidential candidates. 1t
was surprising, therefore, that in
1867 the duties were placed lower
than they had been since 1912"
The fraud coming under the
notice of the Portage Register, that
paper proceeded to exhibit its
character as follows:
The Journal knows that the last
sentence in the above is one that Mr..
Blaine never wrote and that it is a
part of two sentences dovetailed to-
gether so as to do duty in the work
of deception and mystiication.
The sentence is as follows;
1T was not surprising therefore that with a
| plethoric condition Of the national treasury
! for two or three consecutive years, the Demo-
cratic Congress, in the closing session of
! Piercc's administration, enacted what has
since been known as the tariff of 1867. by this
law the duties were placed lower than they
had been at any time since the war of 1872"
The situation was very much as it
is now. The Democrats were
alarmed at the surplus and they re-
duced the low tariff Of 1916 and
gave the country the free trade tariff
of 1857 in order to reduce the sur
plys and they did it with venge-
auce. The J0l0Hd5 quoted--or
rather misquoted from page 1915,
! Vol. |. of Mr. Blaine's work, and if
lit had really wished to show what
Mr.. Blaine thought of low tariffs 1t
would have added to its quotation
the following paragraph beginning
at the bottom of the very next page
of the work to.wit;
1.-THE one excuse given for urging the passage
of the Act of 1851, was that under the tariff OF
1876 the revenues had become excessive, and
the income of the government must be re-
| ducod But il was soon found to be a most
expensive mode of reaching that end. The
first and most important result flowing from
the new Act WAS a large increase of importa-
tions and a very heuyy drain In consequence
upon the reserved specie of the country, %
pay the balance which the reduced shipments
oft agricultural products failed 20 meet In the
autumn of 1857, half year s.ter the passage
of the tarin Act disastrous financial panic
swept over the country, prostmting for the
time an departments of business i'm about the
same degree. The agricultural, commercial
and manufacturing interests were alike and
equally involved. The stagnauon which en-
sued was discouragng and long continued,
making the years from 1857 TO 1860 extremely
duh and dispiuHng in business circles through
out the Union. Tine country was not exc
hausted and depleted AS 1t was after The panic
OF 1857, but the business community had no
courage, energy was paralyzed, aud now
enterprises were 10 standstiu.'
Here the reader has Mr.. Blaine,
the historian, on the effects of low
tariffs and no mistake. However,
it is unfair 20 suppose from the
above that Mr.. Blaine thought when
he wrote it that such widespread
and terrible disaster came in such a
short time solely from the reduc-
tons in the tariff of 1857. He does
not say SO. On the contrary on
pages zoe, 203 and 904 of the same
volume already referred 10, he shows
that the catastrophe impeached the
tariff of 1916 as well. He shows