New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-11-19
rOTyyG Away PROSPERITY.

The Joy of British manufacturers WV INV
Democratic victory in this country Is no io.ser
restrained by considerations of policy Ihey
fu,,v believe that. as 1.-The London Econo-
mist'' saws. the protective SYSTEMS sure 10
begin 10 90 to picces,' the disintegiauoh is
" bound to produce collapse" and - the re-
,,ooI Of the new tariff cannot be long delayed"
American voters can learn something from Ihe
reasons which that journal gives. speaking Oh
the hone that new industries would be starteu
here 90 supply the home market, 1t says:
the manufacturers could have been assured OF the
continuance Of protection. they wOuio no uo'D.
acted In accordance with this forecast Inc ieehne,
however, that there il now no small FISK OK "e repo
Of the tariff will prevent their embarkng upon any ~
action No one will TO expend capitai IN es'so 90
fishing COSTLY manufactures, which can only DC proh'
able AS long as certain clauses OF an act erec'y '
ened by the most powerful party In the staV' remain m
repealed. The recent announcement OF popular op,"
in favor OF the Democrats is likely then to nave ,ho
effect of preventing great movement IN ,ne
of the establishment of new home manufactures
Entirely in accordance with this anticipation
is the statement telegraphed from Plttsburg
thar some firms and companies which were
about to start tin plate works at once nave
concluded not to do so, because they 1ear 'no
new duty may be repealed before the woihS
could get fairly into operation. Ihere Is SIM
liar information regarding some OF the Iiiie"
and plush and other works contemplated. Men
hesitate to put money into estabiShne Jus "i'''n
cannot be sold for anything like their cos'' IL
indeed they could be sold at all, when re-
peal of the new duties has rendered the'r
profitable use in this country Impossible.
This is a result of the election which Is ho'
open to dispute and as to part OF tne lie"
works proposed j. now irrevocable. 10 con-
siderable extent. at all events. the Deneh,S
which were within reach. and which the people
of this country had only to put forth their manu-
and take. have been cast away completely Dy
the voting of this month. Politicians may
we'll understand that the Senate and the Pres
ident will remain with Republicans for more
than two years But some business men no
not feel sure that the same Senators who passed.
may not repeal the new tariff. and there are
even some important journals which believe or
profess to believe that repeal VIII come lhis
winter. Under such circumstances the TACT
must be faced that part at least OF the new
works which would soon have been put INTO
operation permanently increasing the demand
for American labor and destroying the de-
pendence of the American consumers upon
cOinDlHdtlOIfS vi iciSiSh
now be started.
This delights British manufacturers. obvious
". The people of this country have simply
voted to those manufacturers present OF man!
millions How much, they know better than
anybody else. But what have American voters
gained whether as laborers or as consumers
There were literally hundreds OF mills ana
works to go into operation as quickly as they
could be completed and the voters have voted
TO stop the building of them. These works
would have employed many thousand hands,
and in many cases were actually engaging com
petent workers in advance. but the voters have
voted that the demand for American labor shall
not be thus increased and that foreign labor
shall be hired and foreign manufacturers paid
instead This is precisely the Interpretation
which foreigners and many Americans put upon
the recent voting. and on that understanding
/ of it many hundred business men will act de-
ferring or abandoning the new works contem-
plated.
| The people have a right to vote away their
prosperity and their property, if they will.
They have a right TO vote that they will pay
millions 10 foreign manufacturers and working
men instead of Americans. Nor can the great
| by neglecting to vote make any objection II
their prosperity and their money are thus voted
away by those who did not neglect the duty
of voting. Yet the truth is that the great ma
jOrity of those who aided to defeat Republican
candidates at recent elections voted without any
idea that the tariff would be changed or affect
cd by their votes 1t is for Congress to con-
slider this winter whether the new tariff ought
to be repealed or deprived of essential feat
ures before it has been tried at all, and whether
votes thus cast by a minority in 1890. in the
main without any intention of affecting the
law, can revoke the explicit direction given by
the votes of majority in 1888. IL will fur
ther consider whether assurance cannot be
given that. until another Presidential election
has been held. the Republican policy will re-
main unaltered and in full force.