The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1890-11-21

Mr.. Blaine's Reciprocity Scheme.

The election is over and Democratic candi-
dates have been elected to Congress from the
North, the South, the East and West. The
issue was directly upon high tariff, the pro-
posed interference with, home rule by the
States in the Force Bill and the tyranny of
Speaker Reed. The people have declared in
the plainest possible way, that they are OPP
posed to all these things. Notwithstanding,
Speaker Reed will continue to be the dictator
in Congress for few months longer, and per-
haps, in their desperation, he and his follow
ers may insist upon the passage OF the Force
Bill. Their power for evil will be but brief,
however. The present source of discomfort
against which the American people protest
ed-the Mckinley tarif-remains the law of
the land, and until it is taken from the stat
ute books and replaced by tariff law in
which favoritism has no place, and which
provides for the raising of revenue by taxing
the luxuries and not the necessaries of life,
no friend of tariff reform should falter or re-
lax his efforts. The contest must go on
Every argument used against the Mckinley
tariff before the late election is equally appli-
cable now, and we believe that before the
campaign of 1899 begins more light will be
turned on this hitherto dark and misunder-
stood subject, and the American people will
be amazed at the patience with which they
have borne the unequal burden.
The stake of enormous dividends and pro-
fits through high tariff is too enticing to
the benefciaries of the Mckinley bill to make
them willing to surrender the position they
have gained without further struggle, and
devices of all kinds will be resorted to which
may enable them to retain the substantial
benefits of the scheme. Already the Repub-
lican leaders are trying to pull themselves to-
gether and appear to be looking to Mr.. Blaine
as the Joshua who is to lead their party out
of the wilderness into which the Mckinley
high tariff law has driven them. According
ly that gentleman is diligently at work pol
ishing up his reciprocity scheme. The reci-
procity proposed by Mr. Blaine and which,
at his urgent solicitation was incorporated in
the Mckinley bill, is likely to be merely de-
lusive phantom, SO far as any substantial
benefits to our agricultural interests are
concerned. Mr.. Blaine is especially interest
ed in securing reciprocity with South Amer
lean States. His proposition, plainly stated.
is that the United States will admit certain
products of South America free of duty, pro-
vided the South American States will allow
certain of our products to enter their ports
unrestricted. Senator Carlisle, in his great
speech on September 30th, showed that I'M
der our present tariff laws about 80 per cent.
of the products of South America, including
coffee, hides, &C., are already admitted free
OF duty. Furthermore, that the manufacture
ing interests and not the farmers can alone
be benefited by any arrangement of the kind
proposed by Mr.. Blaine, for the reason that
South America takes very little of our farm
products. being almost entirely independent
of the United States for her food supplies.
Indeed, Hartford county alone raises as much
or more wheat and corn every year than were
shipped to South America in 1889.
The reciprocity idea is good one, bnt as
MIR. Carlisle forcibly argues, it ought not to
be confined to countries to which we send
only q small amount of our agricultural pro
ducts, but should be extended to those like
England, which take nearly all of our sur
plus cattle, nearly two thirds of all the corn
we ship abroad, nearly one-half of our sur
plus flour, two-thirds of all the wheat which
leaves our shores, and in equal ratio of other
farm products
We fear there is some fallacy in Brother
Blaines scheme and that the manufacturers
not the farmers are to be benefited by it.
Ex-President Cleveland, at the banquet of
the New York Chamber of Commerce, Wed
nesday night, bad this to say on the same
subject:
He had been listening to great deal about
music and education aud literature and COM
merce and reciprocity. twas what had been
said about reciprocity that confused him the
most. Iii were such good thing to have
reciprocity with Spanish-speaking people, as
has been so -glowingly described, why was
1t not good thing to have reciprocity with
people that spoke our own language II our
breadstuffs had opened a market in foreign
countries, why was it not beneficial to de-
velop and cultivate that market? He be-
lieved in the old saying that bird in the
hand Is worth two in the bush, and he could
not see why we should neglect market that
we already had in order to make another. If
England and France had such spirit of reci-
procity In the present financial troubles why
should they not be given a. chance in com
merce?