Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1888-09-19
hARRlsoN,s LETTER.


plus, ImmiRration and Other Topics.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind, Sept, 12-Followinr
IL General Harrlson's letter OF acceptance: !.
I" Hon N. N. Estss and Others. CoDamittes. <tc.
-GgNTLEMEN: When your committee visited
mo on the 18th Of July last and presented the
ofiacial announcement of my nomination for
the Presidency Of the United States by the Re-
publican convention I promised q soon a.
practicable to communicate to you . more
formal acceptance Of the nomination. Since
that time the work OF receiving and address
ting. almost daily. large delegations Of my fel-
low-cttizens, has not only occupied oil OF my
time but has In some measure rendered It un.
necessary for me to use this letter as q medium
OF communicating to the public my views on
the questions involved In the campaign.
HI ACCEPTA ID.
II appreciate very highly the confidence and
respect manifested by the convention, and &C
cept the nomination with feeling Of gratitude
and . full sense OF the responsibilities which
accompany It.
1T is . matter OF congratulation that the
declarations OF tho Chicago convention upon
the questions that now attract tho interest OF
our people are 80 clear and emphatic. There
70 further cause OF conRratulation In the fact
that the convention utterances Of the Demo.
cratic party, II In any degree uncertain or con.
Trajectory. can now be judged and interpreted
by Executive acts and messages and definite
propositions In legislation. ~ t.tri-
= THE TARIFE. SsFs -. f.
''This Is especially true OF what 10 popularity
known Is tho tar.ff question. The issue can
not now be obscured. It IS not contest be-
tween schedules, but between wide apart prin.
ciples. Tho foreign competitors for our mar
issue Of this contest may bring r them 1 I'D.
vantage. and our own people are not SO dull as
to miss Or neglect the grave interests that are
tecttve system Is open and defiant. Protection
1e assailed as unconstitutional In law, or as
vicious in principle, and those who hold such
lutte elimination from our tarif laws 81 Of fG the
Is only o step, but i IL toward an OBJ
thought and legislation have clearly IL" in
mind. The important question is not so much
the length OF the step as the direction OF 1t.
las', by the Mills bill, by the debates in Con.
rgress and by the st. Louis platform, the Dem
ocratic party will, II supported by the country.
basis: This is practical free trade-free trade in
the English sense. The legend upon the ban
ner may not be Free Trade It may be the
neither the banner nor the inscr ption is con.
elusive. or. indeed, very important. The as.
sault itself is the important fact. :
Those who teach that the import duty upon
foreign goods sold In our market 10 paid by the
consumer, and that the price Of the Compel
ing domestic article Is enhanced TO the
% y ne
toms duties represents many millions more
which do not reach the Treasury, but are paid
e the
may not tend 10 discredit in the minds of
others our system OF levying duties on Compel
dscredited In their own. We can not doubt,
without impunging their integrity, that il free
to act upon their convictions, they would SO
revise e's, our laws as to lay the burden Of the
customs revenue upon articles that are not
produced In this country and to place upon the
free list all competing foreign products.
.r9a DO not stop 70 retute this theory as to the
It are students of maxims and not of the mar
kets. They may be safely allowed to call their
project TT Tariff Reform If the people under
trade In oil competing products. This end may
not be reached abruptly and it's approach NAV
be accompanied with some expression Of sym.
PATTY for our protected industries and our
working people, but 1t will certainly come il
these early steps do not arouse the people to
enective resistance.
PROTECTION A NECESSITY.
The Republican party holds that protect
I've tariff is constitutional. wholesome and
necessary. We do not offer q schedule, but
principle. We will revise the schedule, mod
ny rates, but always with an intelligent pre-
VISION as to the effect upon domestic pro-
duction and the wages OF our working people.
We believe it to be one of the worthy objects
OF tariff legislation to preserve the American
market for American producers, and to main
tain the American scale of wages by adequate
discriminating duties upon foreign competing
products. The effect OF lower rates and larger
importatfons upon the public revenue is con-
tingent and doubtful. but not SO the effect upon
American production and American wages
Less work and lower wages must be accepted as
the inevitable result OF the increased Offering
OF foreign goods in our market BY way of rec.
omEense for this reduction in his wages and
tie loss Of the American market it is suggest
ed that the diminished wages OF the working
man Will have an undimlnished purchasing
power, ana that he will be able to make up for
the loss Of the home market by an enlarged
foreign market. Our wOrzing-men have the
settlement OF the question in their own hands,
They now obi ain higher wages and live more
comfortably than those OF any other country
They will make choice between the substantial
advantages they have in hand and the decept-
i've promises and forecasts of these theorizing
reformers They will decide for themselves
and for the country whether the protective sys-
tenn shall be continued or destroyed.
H.. THE SURPLUS
The fact of q Treasury surplus, the amount
OF which is variously stated, has directed pub
lie attention to a consideration of the methods
by which the National income may best be re-
duced to the level Of wise and necessary ex-
penditure. This condition has been seized
upon by those who are hostile to protective
tack upon our tariff laws. They have magni.
fed and nursed the surplus. which they affect
to deprecate, seemingly for the purpose OF ex-
people to the extreme remedy they propose A
proper reduction OF the revenues does not
necessitate and should not suggest, the
abandonment or, impairment OF the protective
system. The methods suggested by our con.
vent0n will not need to be exhausted In order to
effect the necessary reduction. We are not
likely to be called upon, think, to make a
present choice between the protective system
and entire repeal Of the internal taxes. Such
contingency, in view Of the present relat on
of expenditures to revenues, is remote. The
inspection and regulation of the sale of 0leO-
margarine Is important 0nd the revenue de-
rived from it Is not so great that the repeal of
the law need enter into any plan OF revenue re-
ductiOn. The surplus now In tho Treasury
should be used in the purchase Of bonds. The
law authorizes this Of 1t, aud ii 1t is not need
ed for current or deficiency appropriations,
the people. and not the banks In which it has
been deposited, should have the advantage of its
use by stopping interest upon the public debt,
At least, those who needlessly hoard it should
not be allowed to use the fear Of q monetary
stringency thus produced, to coerce public
sentiment upon other questions.
t CONTRACT LABOR. Eg
s "Closely connected with the subject of the
tariff Is that OF the importation of foreign
lnb0rerS under contracts Of service to be per-
formed here. The law now in force prohibit
ing such contracts received my cordial sup
port In the Senate, and such amendments as
may be found necessary effectively to deliver
our WOrking-men and women from this most in
equitable form OF competition will have my sim
cere advocacy. Legislation prohibiting tho
importation of labOrers under contracts to serve
here will, however, afford very inadequate re.
lief to our working people it the system OF pro-