The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1891-02-25
MIR. blaine Getting There.

Icdul PiONiNihS0 hhN sHS Ce"Nso
announced as soon to be forthcom-
liug-are not received with any
great degree of enthusiasm by the
high tariff Republican press of this
section, but meet with a hearty well
come from the Western Republican
papers thatopposed the Mckinley
bill. The Democrats accept Mr..
Blainc's narrow reciprocity dick
ers as slight move in the direction
of fair and unrestricted trade with
all nations. They are good as far
as they go. But if reciprocity is so
desirable as 10 few articles with
South American nations, why
would it not be q better thing for
all articles with all nations? For
the wool of the Argentine Republic
as we'll as the coffee and hides of
Brazil. The basis of Mr.. Glove
lands alleged '.free trade" message
of 1887 was the necessity of widen
Ing our foreign markets, and for re-
lieving our industries of the burd-
ems imposed by war taxes. Mr..
Blaine attacked this policy of lower
duties savagcly in his Paris message;
proclaimed tho entire question was
ono of labor and wages, and that he
would conoede emo change that
would impair the protective eharac-
ter of the whole body of our tariff
laws" What no wanted was not
less, but moro, protection. That
was three years ago. The .McKin-
ley bill came as the natural outcome
of Harrison's election, but here Mr..
Blaine suddenly received new light,
parted company with the extremists
of his party, and declared the Nc
Kinley bill would not be worth the
toss of a copper in extending Ameri-
can markets. He took up tho re-
ciprocity idea and secured it's adop-
ton to the extent the monopolists
permitted as part of the new tariff.
Considering the Paris message it
was long stride toward Grover
Cleveland's platform, and is every
where SO accepted. "Not in Amcri-
can political history" says Mr..
Henry Waterson, "not since Daniel
Webster abandoned free trade for
protection, hare we had so com
plete q somersault on economic
questions as Mr.. Blaine's change
from the apostle of restriction in
1887 to the apostle of free trade in
1889 But three short years for the
transmigration of the soul"
Just what benefits are TO be de
rived from this limited application
of the principles of filirer and frccr
trade remains to be seen. As TO the
expectation of manufactured arti-
cles, it will turn on the cheapness
of their production and whether We
can compete with France and En-
gland, from which countries Brazil
now receives nearly three fourths
of her imports. We will have the
advantage of open and free ports in
Brazil, but it is hardly supposable
that Great Britain, which now sup
plies Brazil with -i6 per cent. of her
imports, will rest content. Great
Britain ievies no duties on Brazilian
products except trihing one on
coffee.
The whole question will come
back to the starting point of cheap
production as necessity of extend
ing our trade. That means free
raw material.
Mr.. Mills, of Texas in a recent
interview, discussing the probable
work of the next House, said;
Another measure should receive
the attention of the Democratic
House, and that is reciprocity, full
and complete, with Canada and Mex.
lco-one lying 5000 miles along our
northern and the other 1000 miles
along our southern border. Free
trade with Canada and Mexico is
almost as important to us and to
them as free trade between our
own states"
Further, he declared:
1t is not only rs revenue neces-
sity that the tariff must be reduced,
but the industrial condition of the
country demands an outlet for our
exports, which can only be done by
providing an inlet for imports. Our
labor has reached such state of eff.
ticiency that our production in all
branches is in excess of our consump.
ton and is growing larger year by
year. This excess cannot be CON
sumed in u home market, and it
must find its way to foreign mark
cts, or employment must be reduced.
wages lowered, and the life strug.
gle of the lnhOrino man p,oJa Io,J