Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1892-05-04
PRACTICAL TARIFF STUDY
HOW THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
CAN FAIL OR WIN.
History Coming Back on the Democratic
PeFty-McMillin VS.. Fact-Those Rags
from Beggars' Backs-How to Fall
Paragraphs and Illustrations.
Tariff Questions Solved.

Question No. Al. Why do nearly all the text
| books. used by the colleges, and the advanced
| schools of this country, on Civil Government,
| teach free trade?
l. The question slightly errs in as
Stunning too broadly that the colleges and
| advanced schools of this country do
/ nearly all teach anything relating to the
question Of free trade or protection, and
that they teach through textbooks. On
the contrary, very many of the minor
colleges do not teach political economy
at all most of those which devote much
attention to it, teach it entirely through
lectures. Many of the professional
economists have no opinion whatever
on the question and disaffirm that it is
any part of the business of economic
teachers to take any ground upon either
the tariff question, the depreciation of
silver or any other burning question"
which is the subject Of party agitation.
The American Economic AssoCla-
ton is an association dominated by pro-
| tesslonal teachers, comprising upward
of 500 members, which holds annual
meetings and publishes extended dis
cussions, and the American Academy
of Social and Political Science and the
American Statistical and Social Science
associations represent the same class,
but none of them has, so far as we know,
ever discussed or published paper on
| the tariff question, on the United States
Bank, or on any currency question
which has become political issue, or
more than one on the silver question.
2. The polite, discreet and current
| policy of American colleges is to profess
neutrality, impartiality or Indifference
concerning the tariff question, as being
one an aggressive attitude upon which
cannot attract students and may repel
! them. These follow in the wake of the
American Economic Association. If
they use text book they use Walkers
| or Ely's, which aim to be neutral.
Those who lecture quote the free trade
and prOteCtionist text books as present
ing adverse positions. The chief ex-
cepTions have been Yale, Harvard, Will
Jams and Michigan, where Sumner,
| Perry, Dunbar, Laughlin, Taussig and
Adams have agressively advocated free
trade, but Of late in q moro subdued
| tone.
3. Political economy as taught in
| the colleges has been mainly written
| and is constantly being rewritten by
men like Stuart Mill Ricardo, Bastiat,
George, Carey, Amasa Walker and the
like, who never entered college; or by
men like Adam Smith, whose expert
ence in college has caused them to write
labored treatises to prove that colleges
are not what they ought to be. AS in
the case of Calico, the spectacle maker,
and of Franklin and Edison, the cleo
tricians, it is the world that must teach
the colleges. Really great men first
cross the threshold of a college, if at all,
either to found 1t or to teach it, not Oft
en- to learn in it. The business men of
America are as far ahead of the colleges
in practical political economy, as the
manufactures Of America are ahead of
its philosophers and theoretical chem
lists IN making iron, steel, soap, ink, pa
per or cloth, in refining oil, construct
ing machinery or utilizing steam, sum
light and electricity. None OF these
could pure collegian do.
Question No IS Are not American bicycles
made as we'll as English bicycles?
The ordinary American road wheel is
better than any other similar wheel in
the world. Some people prefer En-
g!ish racing wheels; but then some
people always prefer foreign articles to
those of American make. So far as
strength, durability and beauty are con-
cerned, the American bicycle cannot be
beaten.
Question No A. What is the difference be-
tween duty and tariff?
Duty is sum of money required by
the government to be paid on the i'm
pOrtatiOn of foreign article A tariff
is list or schedule of duties.
Question No. IS. When the duty exceeds 100
per cent, does the foreigner give US the goods
and pay us for taking them?
lake yard of calico for example,
which you can buy anywhere in this
country at cents. The duty on such
goods is cents yard-thatis 125 per
cent. Who pays it? Why, no one. 1t
is not paid at all. Yet if there is in
this country an anglomaniac who in
slsts that similar calico made in Man
chester, Eng, is worth cents q YARD
more than that made at home and i'm
ports it, he will doubtless pay the 125
per cent. duty, and he ought TO. It is a
tax on his un-American foolishness.
But if the Manchester manufacturer is
determined to sell his calico regularly IN
our markets in open competition with
the equally good or better American
products selling at cents yard, then
he must pay the 5 cents yard into the
United States treasury and sell the
goods at cents a yard, thus losing l
cent on every yard. If he does not he
fails in his effort to enter this market.
AS q matter Of fact, the Manchester
manufacturer knows better than to
adopt such course. He looks else
where for market for his calico, and
fOO VIC 11hlO4iCdIA pCOpIC LII Gll0 I'LL
disturbed enjoyment Of the cheapest
and best calico to be found on the face
Of the h.-Amerjc0n Economist
History Coming Back on the Democratic
Party.
The other day the Hon. Robert f.
Doan of Ohio, created no end of merri
ment on the Republican side Of Con-
gress, and no little confusion among the
free-trade ''reformers," by quoting
from Democratic pamphlet circulated
in his state during the campaign of 1888.
The tariff act Of that year, wherein the
duties on wool were slightly reduced,
had just become law, and the Demo-
cratic leaders called upon the people to
resent the injury thus inflicted upon
their great industry Of wool growing,
and place the Democrats in power who
promised to restore the old higher rates
| on wool
It was assuredly an appropriate time
for Mr.. Doan to produce the document
| embodying these sentiments at q time
when he himself was IL the act of dis
! charging the duty of protesting in the