Los Angeles herald., 1890-09-01
THE PLUMED KNIGHT TO THE FORE.

James G. Blaine is not exempt from this
weakness. We all remember how we
were assured that the Pan American
wars between the Republics of the
American continent, north, central and
south, the empire of Brazil included.
Everything like difference of opinion
was to be settled hereafter by arbitra-
ton. Sweet peace, with white wings,
was to brood over all American lands.
Peans of praise went up all over the
Union at this triumph of the statesman
ship of the great chief of the Jingoes.
Scarcely, however, had the Congress
adjourned, than war broke out like
rash all over Central America, and the
distant empire of Brazil was rocked from
center to circumference even during the
sessions of the Congress. The stories of
blood and thunder that have reached
us from Guatemala and other
Central American countries have been
enough to discourage all believers in
peace and arbitration. The very spirit
of Donnybrook Fair appears to have
taken possession of our southern neigh
bors since the adjournment of the Pan
American Congress, and it has been only
needed to see head to hit or throat
to cut in countries to the south of us.
Not whit daunted by the failure of the
peace part of the programme, the
Plumed Knight now assures us that we
are to have reciprocity in trade with the
Spanish-American Republics, and that
all we have to do to accomplish this
desideratum is to withhold free sugar until
the people of the Southern Republics
consent to buy more of our products.
All this is, OF course, very pretty, and it
is Just as practicable as the universal
peace programme, and it will have just
as substantial results. One good, how
ever, is likely to flow from the agitation
set on foot by the man from Maine, and
that is the defeat or material curtail-
ment OF the Mckinley tariff bill. With
that measure defeated or modified, and
the Lodge Federal Election bill knocked
out-and to both measures the Plumed
Knight is irreconcilably opposed-the
American people can we'll afford to in
dulge few vagaries of craftsmanship,
out of compliment to Mr.. Blaine.
The expectation that we can materially
increase our trade with the Central
and South American states is, of course,
highly fallacious as long as an ex-
travagant tariff upon imports enables
American manufacturers to get rich by
spoliating the consumer of the United
States. Whatever roseate pictures Mr..
Blaine may draw of the possibilities OF
commerce with our neighbors of the
South, that trade. could never amount
to one-third OF the domestic consump-
ton. Under high tariff prices would
accordingly be adjusted to fleece the
larger class of consumers-thataa is to
say, our fellow countrymen. And as
long as that policy prevails the Brazil
iani the member of the Argentine
confederation, and the other South
and Central American countries, will
buy where they can buy the cheapest; );
and that will be. in the future as in
the past, from English, French and
German merchants.
OF course, there is one way in which
we might build up trade with Central
and South America, and that would be
by selling to those countries at cheaper
rate than to our own. But the Ameri-
can people would scarcely submit long
to such discrimination. 1t was once
done under Republican war tariff with
salt. The Onondaga Salt Company, of
New York, under the high tariff on salt,
manufactured SO much of that staple
that it had to seek market in Canada
for its surplus: When it was found that
the Onondaga Company were selling salt
in Canada for one-half the amount they
charged the people Of New York under
high tariff, howl was raised that re-
suited i'll an inquiry which showed that
this model company-the archetype of
the modern trust-was making dividends
OF one hundred and fifty per cent. year
on it's capital stock. Public Indignation
was so great that the tariff on salt was
Immediately lowered to something like
reasonable limits.
In his Waterville speech Mr.. Blaine
said that there is no such thing as
war tariff. To some extent this is true.
He says that the tariff of 1883 left very
little of that tariff. He might have
added that the war tariff itself was
essentially modified in 1865, after the
war had ended, and that those modifca-
tions were in the direction of higher
duties. Very many of the articles in
the Mckinley bill are considerably
higher than the duties in the war tariff,
and many of those in the existing tariff
are in excess of those imposed prior to
the postwar tariff of 1865. In this
instance we see that the Plumed Knight,
with his customary tricky logic, begged
the question, and juggled with the in
telligence of his hearers, thing that no
man knows better how to do than he.
Educational.
Experienced resident governess desires en-