The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-09-12
Cleveland and the Democracy Held to
the Consequences of Their Doctrines,
And American Wage Workers Urged to Sup
port the Party Fayoring PrOtection-HOw
the Letter Is Received by the Press.
GENERAL HARRIsON's ACCEPTANCE
A Weli-Phrnsed Letter in Which the Can
Ara

GENERAL HARRIsON'S ACCEPTANCE.
A weli-Phrased Letter in Which the Cam
paign Issues Are Discussed.
Gen. Benjamin Harrison. last night gave to
the press his letter accepting the nomination
rendered him by the Republican national con-
vention. The text Of the letter Is as follows:
Hon. NJ. NJ. Estee aud others. Committee. etc:
Gsntlemen-When your committee visited mo
on tho Fourth Of July last and presented the Off
cial announcement OF my nomination for the pres
idency of the United States by the Republican
convention, promised as soon as practicable to
communicate to you q more formal acceptance
of the nomination. Since that time the work OF
receiving and addressing almost daily, large dele
cations Of my fsllow-citizsns, has not only occu-
pied all my time, but has in some measure rem
dered it unnecessary for me to use this letter as
q medium Of communicating to the public my
views upon the questions involved in the cam.
paign. appreciate very highly the confidence
and respect manifested by the convention. and
accept the nomination with feeling of graft
tuee and full sense of the responsibilities which
accompany it.
It is q matter Of coneratulation that the dec
larations of the Chicago convention upon the
questions that now attract the interest Of our
people are 90 clear and emphatic. There Is
further cause of congratulation in the fact that
the convention utterances Of the Democratic
party, IL in any degree uncertain or contra
dictory, can now be judged and interpreted by
executive acts and messages, and by definite
propositions in legislation. This is especially
true of what is popularity known
as the tariff question. The issue
cannot now be obscured. It is not
contest between schedules, but between wide
apart principles The foreign competitors for
our market have, with quick instinct, seen how
one issue Of this contest may bring them sd-
vantage, and our own people are not SO dull as
to miss or neglect the grave interests that are
involved for them. The assault upon our pro-
tectiye system is open and defiant Protection
10 assailed rs unconstitutional in law, as
vicious in principle, and those who hold such
views ineerely cannot stop short Of an absolute
elimination from our tariff laws OF the
principle OF protection. The Mills bill
is only q step, but IL is toward
an object that the leaders OF Democratic
thought and legislation have clearly in mind.
The important question is not SO much the
length of the step as the direction Of it Jud. sd
by the executive message Of December last, by
the Mills bill, by the debates in Congress and by
the St Louis platform, the Democrats party
will, IL supported by the country. place the tar
IL laws upon . purely revenue basis. This Is
practical free trade-free trade in the English
sense. The legend upon the banner may not be
Free Trade'-it may be the more obscure mot
to, "Pariff Reform" but neither the banner nor
the Inscription 10 conclusive, OF, indeed, very
important The assault itself Is The important
fact.
Those who teach that the import duty upon
foreign goods sold in our market is paid by the
consumer, and that the price of the domestic
competing article is enhanced TO the amount Of
the duty on the imported article-thas every
million Of dollars collected for customs duties
represents many millions more. which do not
reach the treasury, but are paid by our citizens
"a the increased cost of domestic productions
resulting from the tariff laws-may not intend
to discredit in the minds of others our system
Of levying duties on competing foreign prod
ucts, but it is clearly already discredited in
their own Wecannot doubt, without impugning
their integrity, that, If free TO act upon their
convictions, they would 30 revise our laws as to
lay the burden of the customs revenue upon ar
ticles that are not produced in this country, and
to place upon the free list oil competing foreign
products. Ido not stop to refute this theory as
to the effect Of our tariff duties. Those who
advance it are students of maxims and not Of
the markets. They may be safely allowed to call
their project ''tariff REFORM" IL the people un-
derstand that in the end the argument compels
free trade in all competing products This end
may not be reached abruptly, and its approach
may be accompanied with some expressions Of
sympathy for our protected industries and our
working people, but 1t will certainly come, If
these early steps do not arouse the people to
effective resistance.
The Republican party holds that q protective
tariff is constitutional. wholesome and neces-
sary. We do not offer fixed schedule but a
principle. We will revise tho schedule, modify
rates, but always with an intelligent provision
as to the effect upon domestic production and
the wages of our working people. We believe it
to be ono of the worthy objects Of tariff lecisla-
tion to preserve tho American market for Amer
ican producers and to maintain the American
scale Of wages, by adequate discriminating
duties upon foreign competing products The
effect of lower rates and larger importations
upon the public revenue is contingent and
doubtful but not so the effect. upon American
production and American wages. Less work
and lower wages must be accepted az the inevi-
table result Of the increased Offering Of foreign
| goods in our market. By way of recompense
for this reduction in his wages, and the
| loss Of the American market, it is suggested
| that the diminished wages of the working
man will have an undiminished purchasing
| power, and that he will be able
| to make up for the loss OF the home market by
| an enlarged foreign market Our workingmen
have the settlement of the question in their
| own hands. They now obtain 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 deceptive promises and forecasts of these
theoriziug reformsrs. They will decide fol-
themselves and for the country whether the
protective system shall be continued or de-
stroyed.
| The fact Of Treasury surplus, the amount oi
which Is vsrionsly stated, has directed public at
ten,ion to reconsideration of the methods by which
| the national income may best be reduced to the
| level of a wise and necessary expenditure. This
condition has been seized upon by those who are
hostile to protective custom duties advan