The Globe-republican., 1891-11-05
A YEAR OF na',<,ssLENsaa.

4 YEAR OF no'1GDRolEN9aA
Our CoDnsreo LsRgse TAaD Bvse DeGese
In Our History-rhs Hros Tssds Liar P1s
to Shsme-Rssiprocity . soccese-Pree.
psrity and Abundance Ev0rywhsre.
Time has always been On the side Of
American protection. Il has already
demonstrated the falsity of the ante
election charges against the new tariff,
even as it proved the opponents Of pro.
lection in the time of Clay, Webster and
Greeley to be false prophets Of evil In
answer to the charge that the Mckinley
law would cut down our foreign trade,
the figures of our exports and imports
for the first year of its existence are
larger than ever before in our history.
Instead of being q Chinese wall. 46.9
per cent Of our imports for the first
nine months Of the laws existence came
in free of duty. against $40 per cent.
for the corresponding period of the year
before. This in spite of the abnormally
large importations of tin plates during
the entire period. and notwithstanding
that the free sugar clause did not take
effect till April l. There can be no
doubt that next year the percentage Of
free goods will be much larger That
the new law would depress prices Of
farm produce is answered by a substan-
tial and uniform rise in all the farmer
sells And the Mckinley prices"
humbug on which the free traders rode
to victory last November has been lit
orally annihilated by the market re.
ports Almost everything the farmer
buys is cheaper than before the law
was passed
But" your free-trader will say, tho
Mckinley tariff did not bring the good
prices of farm produce, nor reduce the
prices of manufactured goods The
former was caused by the failure of
crops in Europe. and the latter by the
low price of raw materials"
1t does not matter what caused these
changes There will be differences Of
opinion on that question. It is entirely
distinct from the one now under discus
sion, which is the falsity of the charges
and predictions made concerning the Nc
Kinley tariff. 1t may be the spots on
the sun, the influence of the dog star,
the baccarat scandal, or all of them
combined, which caused the existing
enviable condition of the American
farmer. 1t does not affect the validity
OF our present argument
If prices of farm products are not
lower because of the present law. and
they are not: if our trade with other
nations is more rapidly growing than
before the law was passed, and it is; il
prices of manufactured products are
not higher than they were under the
old tariff, and they are not, then, in
either or all of these cases the free
trader prevaricated prodigiously in the
campaign last fall That is the point,
and the only point we insist upon here.
The latest triumph of the Mckinley
tariff is in the lately concluded argu-
ments for reciprocal trade with Spain
and her possessions, and with Germany.
IF reciprocity with one country is
good, reciprocity with another country
is also good. wrote that clever sophist,
Roger Q. Mills, in the May Forum. and
the whole army of free traders APP
plauded. took up, and are still repeat
ing the sentiment 1t soon took the
form of direct assertion that the re-
ciprocity clause of the new measure
was applicable to the countries Of
South America only. and in this form
has served the purposes of the dishon-
est as we'll as the unthinking free trade
demagogue. 1t is the lie most recently
nailed by time.
For already the Mckinley tariff act
has secured special favors for American
products from two important European
countries In our last issue can be
found a synopsis of the treaty with
Spain, the successful negotiation Of
which is due entirely and solely to tho
new tariff act. It will give US virtual
monopoly of the trade Of Cuba and
Porto Rico, and. as in the case of the
other treaties before concluded far
mers will get the most important part
of the benefit.
The other country whose doors have
been pried open by the Mckinley law is
Germany. Since 1888 American pork has
been excluded from that country. The
United States minister to Germany, Will
liam Walter Phelps, has succeede i in hav.
ing that restriction removed. Our govern
ment has demonstrated and negotiated
and tried in every way to accomplish
this end for eight years, but all in vain
till the Mckinley law was passed. Then
Germany listened to reason. Eight
ninths of all the beet sugar imported into
the United Suites comes from Germany.
The imports foot up nearly $4,000. 900
for last year. 1t comes'in free under
the Mckinley tariff. Mr.. Phelps pointed
out to the German government that un.
less it removed the restrictions from
American pork. the president, by the
terms of the new tariff law. could,
after the lst of next January. reimpose
a duty on German sugar. That was
what brought Germany to her senses.
With sugar from Brazil and Cuba COM
ing in free. and a duty on Germany's
sugar. she readily saw that her sugar
trade with US would be killed. So she
removed the embargo on American
pork. thereby opening q market to our