The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1890-10-17

SENATOR MITCHELL OF OREGON.
Mr.. President, let the doctrine of free
trade or a tariff for revenue only, which
is the same thing, as insisted on by the
Democratic party, be inforced as our
American policy and the result will be
that only. those foreign products
which can not be produced in this
country will be taxed, while all others
will be permitted to come in by
the shipload free; and while for short
time the cost Of some of these articles,
both domestic and foreign, may and I'M
doubtedly would be reduced to the con-
sumner, very soon the tables would be
turned, American producers would be
driven to the wall, factories, mills and
machine shops would be closed, the
dreds of thousands of laborers would be
thrown out of employment, the agri-
culturist, the wool grower, the cattle,
hog, sheep and horse raiser, the dairy
man, the manufacturer of butter, cheese
and kindred products would all be COM
PEELED to compete with the unrestricted
and unrestrained importation of these
articles from foreign countries, for all
Of which the United States would be-
come the dumping ground-the free and
open market
And then what would be tie result
further? Simply this: The excessive
importations, having crushed out Amer
lean production and having wiped out
American industries, would at once con-
troll the markets in this country, and
Immediately prices on the necessaries
of life would advance all along the line
to the consumer and, as result the
great masses-the mechanics, laborers
and artisans-would be menaced and
smitten with two-sided, double-edged
sword, one that would cut down I'M
mercifully and relentlessly the rates of
wages, If not indeed in many instances
cause an entire deprivation of employ
ment, while the other would carve on
the rate board of the consumer marked
increase in the price of every one Of the
necessaries of life And not only so. an
other lamentable fact, and one which
must not be lost sight of, would result
from such a state Of things, and that Is
the money thus paid out by the Amer
lean consumer in such state of affairs
for the necessaries of life, would, in
stead of going to increase and aid in
paying the wages Of these same con-
sumers, instead of going to our manu-
facturers and farmers, to the producer
of this country, would go to fill the ex-
chequer of foreign importers, and to
swell the Golfers of the producers of
England, Canada and other countries
When, therefore, it is insisted that
the tariff is tax and is paid by the con-
sumner, the answer is that this is only
the case, or at least most generally the
case, when the tariff is Democratic
tariff-that is, one for revenue only, and
not Republican tariff, or one primarily
not only for revenue but which fosters
and encourages American production,
and the result Of which is not to increase
the price of the commodity to the con-
sumner to the amount of such tariff, or to
any amount but which prevents de-
struction Of industries by q ruinous COM
petition from abroad, and which, in
fact by stimulating competition at
home, reduces it far below in many in
stances and in fact most instances, that
which it would be but for the tariff.