Los Angeles herald., 1890-10-18
WHY HAVE THEY DONE THISP

No farmer or mechanic, no tradesman,
no business man in any line, and no
workingman of any kind or grade, has
ever asked for an increase of the tariff
whereby anything should be taken from
the private pocket to pile up in the pub
lie treasure house. Nor has any one of
these been asked to go before commit
tee of congress to say what was good for
him. All these representatives of the
country's great interests, SO far from ask
ing any such measure as the new tariff
law, have asked for and been specifically
promised by both parties a revision of
the tariff that would be reduction on
the cost of living, in every department
of life.
In the face of these facts, that the
common people have seen the commerce
of the seas gone from under our flag,
have seen the farm and village in New
England blighted if not wholly deserted
under the recent system of tariff taxa
ton, farming industries all over the
land depressed and the mine and mill
worker everywhere discouraged and de-
moralized, what influence has been
brought to bear on congress to keep up
fight for larger tariff rate through
two presidential elections, to the general
disturbance of ali regular general bus
mess, and to get, at last, new schedules
that make every manufacturing monop-
oily and every trade trust rejoice? Is
there any doubt this influence
has been one of moneyed, prop
erty, selfish interest of the few?
And is it too much to say that
this banded influence was never before
so powerful and so unscrupulous? At
the last moment the high protectionists
had it all their own way in the confer
ences. Steel rails were cut down SO in
tax by the house, and the country was
glad, but when the bill came out of the
conference the old rate of $14.3O was
there! Window glass was promised to
be cheapened, but it came out at last
at 135 per cent. And so with every
other of these interests. They have
been nursed and cherished until they
have overborne their benefactors and
demand more tribute and wider fields
for their operations. As Bob Ingersoll
says of them. "they are infants with
clubs in their hands, and they dictate
terms to their protectors.
Some of those who asked for more
help were ashamed even to argue their
claims. For years the tax on a box of
common roofing tin has been $1.OS,
though not person was interested in
its manufacture in the country. When
the bill came out the schedules showed
this $1.OS grown to $2.43! And yet not
mill even projected at the time to make
it, and not cents increase in wages if
there were. A party of capitalists in
Pittsburg and Chicago, it is said. have
condescended to agree to put up a mill
if they can have the above tax
kept on the article five years,
and admit it would be a
bonus of $16,O0O,OOO year, or grand
aggregate OF $S0,000,000 subsidy! Every
man who buys pound of tin now must
pay two cents and fifth a pound more
than under the Mills bill. "But," said
an insolent member of the finance COM
mittee of the senate, "this is only two
cents on milk pan and less than that
on dinner pail" "Well," retorted
another. "It would seem that if this is
worth stealing, it is worth keeping"
But it seems congress has decided other
wise, and we repeat the question for
honest, thoughtful men everywhere to
answer, why have they done this?