The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1888-09-13
ANOTHER ALLY GAINED.

t1Ons
The announcement that Robert NJ. Oily.
phant, president of.the Delaware & Hudson
Canal Company, who has been strongly
Democratic in his political procivities for
years and who voted for Mr.. Cleveland in
1884, would this year vote for the Republic
an ticket because Of the Democratic attitude
against protection. was received with great
satisfaction In business circles where Mr..
ELEPHANTS high reputation Is known. Mr..
Olyphant, who is always averse to the use
Of his name in print, consented with ex.
trcmo reluctance to the announcement Of
his position on the tariff question. When
asked by a New York Tribune reporter
whether 1t was true that he had decided to
vote the Republican National ticket this
year, Mr.. Olyphant replicd:
Yes, II Is true. The reason why can
not support Mr.. Cleveland Is because Of his
attitude toward protection. voted for him
In 1884, but can not do so this year, for he
has proved himself to be-well-" and Mr..
Olypha,t paused as IL to assure moderation
in his words, ''not the man l thought he
would be. When voted for him was told
that he was not FREQ trader"
"Do you consider him one now" was
asked.
~ certainly think that he Ia inclined in
the direction Of free trade. His message 10
Congress was surprise to me in its char
acter, and his immoderate language on the
tariff question should repel support. When
President says that the people of the coun.
try will indignantly wipe out all our in.
dustries in case his views on the tariff are
not carried out, believe that he ought to
be rebuked. That certainly Is fair inter.
probation to be put on what he says in his
yvhan hn rpr slfa. p,;k
for safe, careful and deliberate reform is
now offered; and none of us should he un-
mindful Of time when an abused and irri-
tated people, needless of those who have re-
sisted timely and reasonable relief, may in-
sist upon q radical and sweeping rcctifca-
tion Of their wrongs.
WISDOM GAINED NJ EXPERIENCE
ut seems to me that the protective policy
Is the only one which can sustain the pros
perity Of the country, and the history Of the
United States Is full of examples of the
evils Of any attempt to move in the direc-
tion Of free trade. At least five attempts
have been made to reduce duties on the
lines Of free trade, and on each occasion this
has been followed by the prostration Of our
industries and by general bankruptcy. On
each occasion a return to the protective
principle has been followed by q revival of
prosperous times. ! have been through at
least three Of these periods of free-tradc
experiment, and my experience convinces
me that we can not afford to leave the
American system Of protection. Why, the
very agitation of this subject no matter
what may be claimed by some people, has
checked and depressed several important
industries, to my own personal knowledge.
II the agitation Of free-tradc tariff reduc-
AsA,,. Il 4. l..
branch of the iron trade, from the produc-
tion of ore upward-what injury would not
be done were Mr. Clovelands recommends
tions carried into effccti
''As to the Mills bill ITSELF an opposed to
II because 10 not Leiicre it would reduce
the Treasury surplus, but would most
probably increase it. While it would great
ly injure the Industries Of tho country, 1t
would also fail Of the object 1t aims at, as it
is fair to assume that the reduction in du-
ties on many articles would largely increase
the importations, and consequently swell
the aggregate of revenues from customs.
II by lowering of the duty on steel rails to
70 we increase our importation three-fold,
the Treasury will receive more money than
1t now does with duty Of III per ton.
have been amused when some of my Demo.
cratic friends have talked about free whis.
ky here. have called their attention to
the Inconsistency OF their upholdlng sys-
tenn which they have always denounced as
unconstitutional and non-Amcricin. The
informal revenue system was justiiiable as
war measure, but 1t is the duty Of Con-
gress, in my op Mon, to abolish it entirely.
WHAT nUETs ONE HURTS ALL.
"Claims may be made" continued Mr..
Olyphant, "that some chcapening of goods
1t<vl,t 81
direction Of free trade, but the fact can not
be altered that when the whole country Is
prosperous all interests arc prosperous,
and you can not separate one interest and
injure 1t without damage to the other inter-
ests, from the farmer through every branch
Of skilled and unsiilled labor The argu-
ment that even If wages of labor were re-
duced the worlSing-men could live cheaper
than he does now Is bosh. There Is no
country In tho world where people can live
as cheaply rs here, provided they arc will
ing to accept tho conditions that prevail
elsewhere. Our workng-men can buy
cheap enough goods, but don't believe that
they will accept tho style Of living that
would be imposed by low wages.
"Admitting that some interests might be
benefited in certain directions by the re
duction of duties proposed by Mr.. Mills, I
consider that the loss in other directions
would Offset the gain. For instance, there
are many railroads in this country whose
needs for cheap steel rails are little com
pared with the revenue they derive from
the manufacturing industries along their
lines. Even If they enjoyed the full benefit
of the reduction TO six dollars proposed by
the free-tradcrs, thcy would lose infinitely
more in the loss Of traffic that would follow
the closing up or curtailment of interests
now fiourishing and tributary to their
traffic. l need hardly say that the Della
ware Il Hudson Canal Company's railroad
Is one of these. But who supposes that
after the foreign manufacturer had, by low
duties, been enabled to secure control Of
tho American markets until one after an
other of our mills was shut down, prices
would remain low to the consumer! Our
history shows that we could only look for
an advance in price after the British man
ufacturer had obtained supremacy in Amer
lea by the destruction Of home industries.
MAUDLIN FREE-TRADE SENTIMENT.
"It is well that this question Of protection
has been brought up for decision in this
campaign. IL this maudlin sentiment for free
| trade-for il is nothing but maudlin senti-
ment-is to prevail, as it has done at tunes in
L