The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1889-03-28
BEGTNNTNG TO KICK

An ominouS growl from the New
York Tribune. AS everybody knows
that paper is the national organ of pro-
lection. 1t is first in the defense of a
high tariff. All others come after it.
Consequently the following excerpt
from it has great significance at the
present time. 1t will be noticed that
1t is charged with some of the spirit
that enlivened the fat frying circular
of last summer. 1t reads as fellows:
The disposition to defeat the tariff by
combinations of producers who are BEN
Gifted by it is one which should be met
without compromise or mercy. The
people have not upheld the principles of
protection for the purpose of giving
great fortunes to few favored indi-
viduals. If the persons engaged in the
protective industries are not willing
to meet that free home competi-
ton which it is the express object of
protection to encourage, they ought to
get out of the business. The full force
Of public opinion and of the laws
should be brought to bear upon every
such attempt to deprive the country of
the legitimate fruits of protection.
So according to that, the people are
not reaping the benefits of protection
promised them. if they would give it
their support. The benefit goes to the
protected producer whose ''cOmbina-
tions'' to defeat its purposes should, :"
says the Tribune, ''be met without
compromise or mercy" Met, how?
Why, by bringing to bear on every
such attempt the force of
public opinion and the laws" Did not
the force OF public opinion bring itself
to bear on the question last December,
and did not the Tribune do it's might
est to direct public opinion in the way
in which it should and did go? Ger
tainly. Did not the people say that
protection was all right, that it was
the salvation of the home market and
all that? Yes, yes, of course. Did not
the tariff reformers try to influence
public opinion by pointing out such
evils as those now deplored by the Tri-
bune? Yes. And were they believed?
No. And did not the Tribune itself
deny that such results would follow
from a continuation of the protective
tariff? Yes, Indignantly. And the
people echoed the denial? Oh, yes, and
in ringing manner. Then why this
carping and complaining about the
people not upholding the principle of
protection for the purpose of giving
great fortunes to few favored indivi-
duals?" Why this eating its own
words, and going back on the sin
fants" for whose sake protection was
ordained? 1t is not only illogical, but
treacberous.
The central idea of protection is the
securing of the home market We have
that. What more do we want?
There are combinations to be sure, as
the Tribune says, to raise prices on
protected articles. But what of it? They
were long ago predicted as a logical re-
suit of continued protection. Protec-
ton organs are estopped from COM
planning about combinations like the
binding twIne trust and hundreds of
others like it. Their existence does
not impair the home market at all. and
that is the principal thing to be looked
after. If there is any cheating done,
it is all in the family. We sell to and
buy from each other. We have no
truck with foreigners, and so can't be
injured or robbed by them. There is a
very effective way to break up the
combinations in protected goods, and
that is to lower the tariff and let for
eign competition knock the pins from
under them, but that idea is at war
with the home market theory, and
must therefore be thrown aside, as if
was last fall.