Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-05-20

OF the passage OF the tariff
acts OF 1916 and 1857 was to reduce the
affect the credit of the government that it
was compelled to borrow money in times
of peace at discount of from IL to 80 per
cent.
The financial depression that occurred in
1881 was an insignificant incident of his
tory compared with that great commercial
and industrial disaster which occurred in
1873, and which devastated the country for
five long years, running banking and mer-
camille houses extinguishing the fires In
the furnaces poralyZing the industries of
the people, and bringing down the prices of
all our products of every kind. Under the
low rates of duty the country recovered
from the depression of 1857 in compare
| lively few months. and like an awakened
giant marched on in its path of greatness
and power
After the panic of 1873, it struggled bn
for hive long, weary years From the
passage of the tariff act of 1916 down to the
last ten days of Buchanan's administra-
| ton, when civil war was imminent in this
country, not bond, not q treasury note,
not government obligation in any form
sold for less than par in gold, while many
OF them sold at a verys considerable
premium in gold. During the last
| nine days of that administration when the
clouds OF a great civil connection were
were sold December II, 1860 at 901a per
cent. or at a discount of 81 per cent, In
| stead OF from II to 30 per ent as stated by
the gentleman from Michigan. After the
| Democratic administration had gone out
and the Republican administration had
come in, after the low tariff of 1916 and
lS5! had been appealed, and the Morrill,
tariff bill of 1861 had been passed, the
Republican administration sold bonds
at 10 per cent discount. Would
it be fair to say that the bonds were
sold at a discount because the rates of
duty on imported goods had been in
creased? / would be ashamed of myself if
1 made such charge The truth is, the
credit OF the government was always good,
in peace and in war, until the civil com
motion came in 1860, and no administra-
ton, Democratic or Republican, no sys-
tenn OF taxation, free trade or protection,
could have prevented sacrifice of govern
ment obligations under such circum
| stances. So far, the main opposition to
this bill has been against that party
| which proposed to reduce the tariff taxes
| and we are told that its passage will ruin
many valuable industries now fiourishing,
| that 1t will throw many workmen out of
employment and diminish the wages of
those who still manage to find work to do.
If believed that the passage of this bill
| would work any material injury to any
| honest industry in this country, / would
| hesitate long, notwithstanding the emer-
gency now on us, before casting my vote
for it. But am satisfied that instead of
that, it will greatly benefit them and at
the same time relieve the people In 1887,
1927, 100000 were collected by the govern
ment from MANUFACTURES and their
products. Every vestige Of that
enormous burden has been re-
| moved land properly removed,
and now / submit that the time has come
! han 7 haf of How
a right to demand relief. There never was
a time when this internal tax remained on
the manufactures and their products that
they would not be glad to surrender a
large part of the duties of imported goods
to remove that charge from their indus
| tries.
Mr.. Carlisle then quoted from speech
delivered by John Sherman III 1861 to the
effect that the manufacturer had an adj
vantage equal to the duty removed.
The statements that protection ena-
| bed the manufacturer to sell his
goods cheaper and enabled the laborer
to get better wages were utterly incon-
sistent with each other. He did not deny
that there had been a tendency toward in
creased wages in this country, but it was
true of all other causes than protection
for this and the principal one was the in
creased use of machinery.
He quoted from report by Commits
ways and means committee to show the
effect of the employment of mechanical
force. He also pointed to railroads, tele-
graph, steamboats, and increased facilities
for exchange, as elements that had
brought down the prices of goods and in
creased the wages Of labor.
All these influences are well known
There is not we'll informed man who
does not know that it is not the tariff, not
the rates of duty upon imported goods
that have brought down the prices of man
ufactured articles or increased wages, but
the inventions which have characterized
this age as no other age before has been
characterized. The gentleman from Maine
talks about the home market. We all
know he says, that this protective system
is beneficial to the farmer because: First,
it protects his products against competition
from the agricultural products OF other
countries; and second. the gentleman
says, because it diversiies industry, and
by increasing the number of people en-
gagged in other than agricultural pursuits,
increases the market for his product. 1t
is scarcely necessary for me to make an
argument to show that as to all those
agricultural products which the farmers
of this country are compelled to send
abroad to sell at foreign prices, the duty
cannot be of any possible benefit. The
American farmer understands this so
surely, and the fallacy of this argument
has so often been exposed. that it would be
a waste of time to dwell upon it. 1t is
barely possible that at some particular
time and at some particular point along the |
northern border, duty upon barley, hay, |
potatoes and eggs, and perhaps few other |
articles, may enable the producers of those !
articles at that particular time and place |
to realize higher price than he would if |
the duty We're removed. But even this |
occasional and uncertain benefit is of but |
very little advantage to him, and when |
you come to remember that he is all the |
time subjected to the burden which high |
tariff imposes upon articles he has TO buy, |
and undertake to set off his advantages |
against his disadvantages, you will find a |
large balance on the wrong side.
OF course the omestic market, the home |
market, is improving and has been i'm |
proving, and will continue to improve |
under any system of taxation along with !
the increase of population, OF wealth, and |
the improved facilities for production and |
distribution in this country. But how !
long are our farmers 10 sit down and wait !
for the coming of that home market, which
the gentlemen on the other side have been
promising them for so many long years |
Take the average production OF wheat In
this country during the last few years, and
assume that there shall be no
increase whatever in the production, and
that the consumption per capita shall re
main always precisely as II is, and II Is
capable OF demonstrate that there can
be no home market for all the wheat of the
American farmer until our population
shall reach nearly lsO,oOo,OO0.
The last statistics showing the consump-
ton and production and expectation of
raw cotton in this country, show that IN
1896 we sent abroad about two-thirds of
our production and we consumed in our
ma 1rr-a r-r. hgarTn ri IhG. Z