The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-10-21

! WI w ihV0t IDN III tDUlIbl VI liS machinery
10 sound the depths Of political torpitude.
To recall but a few of The important mea-
sures passed and attempted 10 be passed
during the last session Of Congress. should
insure active and vigorous cooperation for
Democratic success, upon which all must
concede the peace and prosperity of Nir-
ginia depend,
THE MkINLEY BILL.
One of the most prominent measures
passed by the session Of Congress lately adj
jOurued. is the Tariff bill. commonly known
as the INC kinley bill" The measure is
crushing indictment Of the Republican
party for deception, brazen hypocrisy,
broken faith with the people, and efforts TO
extort from the poor the means to make
the rich richer, and by the purchase Of votes
more firmly fasten upon the country the
CALLING yoke Of RepuDllcanism. The de-
sign Of that bill is so plain that he who runs
may read. BY increasing the tariff charge
or taxes laid by the Government upon
nearly every article introduced into this
country from abroad, it will allow home
manufacturers TO charge such prices as
they, by combining among themselves.
may see fit to charge. 1t is death blow to
competition from foreign manufacturers
and the yitalizatiOn Of trusts Instead Of
reducing the tariff charges or taxes laid
! under the previous law, and which had
long been regarded as burdensOme, the
party in power has increased them. How
does this cOmp0rt with previous Republican
| professions?
WAR TAXES MAINTAINED.
Formerly the only possible justification
! the more intelligent of the Republican
leaders had The temeTity 10 urge for adyOca.
| ting high tariff charges or taxes was that
they were rendered necessary by the needs
of the late war. Yet during quarter of
century Of peace these taxes have been
maintained, although they bear 50 heavily
on articles cC clothing, household necessi-
ties and emDlements Of labor The poor
have been made poorer by Republican en-
cOuragement Of home manufacturers 10
charge high prices, while the rich have had
their substance increased by the removal Of
the tax on incomes, on the capital Of cOrpO.
ratiOns and on the receipts Of railroads. Up
10 the time of Offering the Tariff bill Just
passed excuses as ingenious as they were
varied had been advanced for maintaining
the previous high tariff charges or taxes.
The first was necessity for revenue. Then
came the plea of necessity for fostering in
FAINT industries" Then an effort vas made
TO ca ole the farmers by the argument that
nigh tariff was essential i'm order 10 give the
farmers a home market by building up home
manufactures. Next the advocates OF high
tariff turned their voices to the mechanics
and labOring classes of the country, and
piped the wOuld-be seductive lay that the
burden their party had imposed was neces-
sary in order TO give the mechanics and la
borers handsome wages, and keep them
from coming into competition with the
pauper labor Of other countries.
But the only necessity they really recOg-
nized was that Of keeping the Republican
party in power.
BURSTING BUBBLES.
one by one these bubbles burst as they
drfied against hard facts and stern eXpe-
rience. The plea Of fostering "infant in
dustries' was Missed and laughed from the
political arena as an insult to those 10 whom
it was addressed. The farmer was not long
in finding out that under the high pro- |
tectye tariff he had to sell his products in
the open markets of the world in COMPETE !
ton with the pauper labor Of India and
other countries, and yet was obliged to buy |
his farming implements, wearing apparel. !
and household goods at the increased prices |
charged by the protected home manufac- |
turers. 1t was not long before he had feel |
ing OF contempt for and Indignation at the |
present bill. when he realized that, under |
the pretence Of afOrdng protection to the |
farmer, it puts tariff tax on wheat and |
corn imported into this country, although |
statistics show that less than two thousand |
bushels of wheat and less than twenty-five !
hundred bushels of corn were imported, and |
more than fOrty-siX million bushels Of |
wheat, and about siXtv-nine million bush !
els OF corn were exported. Truly the pres
ent Secretary of State and great apostle Of
protection, Hon. James q. Blaine, sue |
cnctly exposed the farce when he declared |
there is not IA section or "A line in the entire |
bill that will open market for another |
bushel of wheat or another barrel of pork"
Yet Republican reheetiOn upon the common |
sense Of the farmers did not stop here, but |
eliminated in imposing a tariff on straw |
and "teases."
MYTHS.
Nor have the mechanics and laborers been
less quick than the farmers in penetrating |
the deception attempted to be practced on |
them. They soon saw that the promised |
handsome wages were a myth. They |
saw that the manufacturers who were re- |
ceiving large benefits from the high protect |
i've tariff did not hesitate, when it could be
safely done, TO make a "cut' in the wages |
of their employees or bring about "lOck- |
out" or ''shut-dOwn," thus limiting stock !
and keeping up prices, while labor was suf- |
fering. Tney noticed that the manufacture
ers were living luXuriOusly and accumula-
ting large fortunes, and that though the
products of so-called pauper labor were ex
cluded from the country, pauper labor itself
was being introduced, and it took no super
natural acumen to discern that il |
was the employer and not the en-
ploye that was protected. The re-
suit OF their recognition OF those facts |
was the organization Of gigantic labor |
leagues for self-prOtectiOn. In the nature |
of things they reasoned that they could |
only gain strength by union and cO-Opera- !
ton. and now the intelligent mechanics |
know and openly declare that whatever
protection they have as to their wages
comes not from the tariff, but from the
strength Of their labor organizations, and |
the demand for their labor. They know
that the wages they receive for making the |
articles Of their handiwOrk do not IN any |
instance even approach the amount charged |
by the tariff on similar articles brought |
from abroad. They know thatthe far larger |
proportion Of the increased prices arising /
from the tariff tax goes into the pockets OF
their employers.
EVILS AGGRAVATED.
The bill Just passed only aggrayates all |
the erstwhile pretences and receptions OF
the Republican party. As stated, 1t in
creases the tariff taxes on nearly all kinds |
OF manufactured articles. II it were for the |
benefit of the mechanics their wages would |
be increased in similar proportion. But
what intelligent mechanic does not know
by experience that while an increase of
tariff taxes will enable the Republican
party managers TO "fry more fat out ofthe
benefited employers, TO be used in perpe-
trating election frauds, the mechanics
wages will not be increased one dollar?
What intelligent mechanic does not recOg-
nize that the Mckinley bill brushes away
all former fimsy protestations OF Republi-
can interest in the welfare Of the consumer
and stands exposed as political scheme 10
bind the manufacturers through the wOr-
ship of mammOn 10 theparty in power, and
through these in turn squeeze out of those
who live by the sweat of their brow money
10 purchase v0tesy
TAXING POWER M0RTGAGED.
Indeed was il aptly said during the last
Presidential canvass that the Republican
leaders had mortgaged the taxing power OF
the United States 20 the manufacturers for
the fat that was fried out of them. In order
TO reimburse themselves the manufacturers
will fry the means out OF the leanness OF
the nqonlp The mora the Rpnublican lead