Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-07-31
An Oppressive Regime.

1uOuku IoSlucuI OACNCAdhu NOVh
the statement as to the attitude of the
Democratic party on the tariff has been
clear and explicit the Republicans in
their desperation are making mortal
efforts to falsify that position. The De-
mocracy have explicitly avowed their
purpose to be, to 80 impose our customs
duties as to give incidental protection to
American labor. Mr.. Cleveland, in his
celebrated message, said that call it by
what name you please as long as it is
necessary to raise revenue to support the
government by import duties they ought
to be so imposed as to give protection to
American manufactures. What the
Democratic party is struggling to do is to
SO regulate these duties as to avoid those
gross inequalities Of the tariff which
simply place the wolkingmen at the
mercy of the pampered manufacturer,
and to give the latter in many
branches the free raw material
which will enable him to manufacture
both for the home and foreign markets.
The Republican party has always had a
penchant for showering extravagant lar
gesses upon special industries. During
the war it's tendency to do outrageous
things in this line caused great clamor,
and it is only natural that, now that the
war has been over for nearly quarter OF
a century, this clamor should be re-
doubled and intensified. One of the
seandalous things done by that party
during the war was the imposition Of
sucha high tax upon salt that the Ononda-
"a salt Company, IN the State ofNew York,
was enabled to clear eighty per cent.
dividends on highly watered stock.
Having more salt than it could dispose
of in the United States it exported the
staple largely to Canada, where the salt
was sold at just one-half the figure asked
for it in this country. The statute book
at that time was loaded up with such
special and indefensible enactments,
made for the benefit of a few; and, one
by one, they were dropped from the
notch of outrage to more reasonable
figures.
But still the statute book teens with
colossal exactions. In recent issue Of
the New York World we find the follow
ing strong presentment of phases of the in
Justice of the existing tariff. That journal
says: "The window glass manufacturers
Join in the cry of the other seventy-year-
old infant industries that their business
will be killed if the Mills bill is passed.
"These gentlemen tax the sunlight in
the peoples homes from 6S to 103 per
cent. on every pane of glass that goes into
window. Many of them have become
millionaires, while the wages of their
workmen are go per cent less than they
were in 1850. And yet when it is pro-
posed to abate by ever SO little these
enormous war duties the members of
the ring cry out that it means ruin to
them.
...It is the same story with all the bene-
ficiaries of this inflated system. One
would think, to hear these outcries, that
not sheep can be raised, not stick of
timber cut, not a pound of salt made,
not yard of cloth woven, not ton Of
iron manufactured and that the country
would relapse into nomadic state with
anything less than tariff of from so to
100 per cent. to protect us from countries
three thousand miles away. u
sTt is an impeachment Of American re-
sources, enterprise, skill and industry to
put forth any such plea of national i'm
potence. And it is time that some Of
these hoary infants were put in the
process of weaving to make them self
supporting"