Semi-weekly interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1881-1905, 1890-12-19
RECIPROCITY.


Cleveland sent his great tariff message
to Congress. Mr.. Blaine with unseemly
haste cabled from Paris his pronuncia
mento, taking the most direct and posi-
tive grounds against the message. This
declaration of Mr.. Blaine and his sue
ceeding campaign speeches largely gave
direction to republican sentiment on the
tariff, were potent in Harrison's election
and as final sequence, the passage oil
the Mckinley bill. In the light OF his
previous conduct, it is difficult to sur
mise Mr.. Blaine's real motives in antago'
nizing the Mckinley bill. Possibly il
was jealousy of Reed and Mckinley; or
he may have foreseen the storm OF indig-
nation brewing over the advocates OF
protection and determined to cast an an
Choir windward. Whatever may have
been his real motives no doubt he now
congratulates himself that he has made
a most fortunate escape, and smiles COM
placently over Reed and Mckinley
hopelessly buried in the debris of the
political cyclone.
/ Mr.. Blaine's reciprocity project is a
very transparent device to distract the
minds of the people from the turpitude
of republican legislation and furnish
himself hobby upon which he hopes
to ride into the White House. Why
must reciprocity be limited to China, ia
pan and the American States South of
us? The American States, it is true, are
situated on the same continent, but the
people are not kindred or similar to us
in any respect. Neither are they the
material from which civilization is form
ed. They are Spanish, mongrel, Negro
and Indian their religion is the lowest
type of Catholicism; they are supersti-
tious and ignorant beyond our powers of
conception and in the main idle and
worthless. Spaniards are the ruling
class; and Spain herself is the tail end of
the Latin race. She has been in a State
of decadence for more than three centu-
ries and her colonies, wherever planted,
have proved turbulent and thriftless.
SAYS Mr.. Blaine, "The Mckinley bill
has not provided market for a pound
OF bacon or bushel of wheat" But he
proposes at one bound to make the farm
er rich and happy by Carrying Goals to
Newcastle" Who ever heard OF the
people of a thinly settled country, of
vast area and fertile soil, being compell-
ell to import agricultural products?
Neither do China and Japan, to which
nations this reciprocity is also to apply,
purchase our provisions and grain to
any considerable extent. These are an
Anticipated people, abstemious and ex-
elusive in their habits and import but
little. None OF these nations has at
present any specially restrictive law
against our farm products. Our farmers
are compelled to sell in the open market
OF the world anG therefore have as much
access to the markets of these nations,
under present conditions as they are
likely to secure under any reciprocal ar
rangement. All, but says Congress in
its assembled wisdom, you must buy
from us, if you do not, we shall place
heavy import duty on your tea, sugar
and coffee. Yes, it proposes to extor'
from our own over-taxed masses, as tariff
on the necessaries OF life, a hundred
million dollars annually. What for?
To punish the mongrels of South Ameri-
ca and the heathens of China and Japan
because they will not walk up and help
pay the republican fiddler. lis highly
improbable that the astute statesmen of
the republican party have the least idea
that their reciprocity project will result
in any benefit to the farmer or masses,
but they perseive that by their finely
planned scheme, il all else fails, it will
be plausible excuse to reimpose tariff
duties on these necessaries OF life and
supply large revenue to an exhausted
treasury. The prevailing idea no doubt
is that reciprocity can be so managed as
to greatly inure to the benefit OF the
manufacturing interest, at all times and
places the especial pet Of the republican
party.
Under natural condition Of trade the
United States would export many manu-
featured articles to countries named. But
our high pressure tariff has destroyed
our shipping and so enhanced the value
OF everything we produce that we are
unable to compete with other nations in
manufactured goods. The very fact that
high tariff is necessary to keep foreign
goods from our own market is an open
admission that we do not expect to ex-
port any protected article for sale in the
open market of the world.
But there is sought to be conveyed
with this term, reciprocity, vague and
mysterious notion that the present gov
eminent possesses the power to make
some special arrangement with these
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