The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1892-08-12


That law was passed by unanimous
vote inthe Senate of the United States
and by a majority of five to one in the
House of Representatives, was reported
by Mr.. Madison, who was afterward
President of the United States, and was
approved by Washington.
If it is in violation of any Constitution
it is not that of the United States. 1t is
a manifest violation of the Constitution
of the Confederate States. Possibly that
is what they mean. Happily for us
however, we don't recognize that instru'
ment-and never did, and we are not
operating under it. 1t went down before
the resistless armies of the Union com
manded by Grant and Sherman, and the
Constitution of Washington and Lincoln
was sustained, which from its birth time
until now has recognized and justified
the principles of protective tariff.
Hamilton and Madison, Jefferson and
Calhoun, Clay and Webster, Adams and
Jackson always asserted and maintained
the constitutionality of protection.
y = =
THE TRUE AMERICAN PRINCIPLE.
If we were just beginning anew as a
government and had meyer had a tariff
law, would not that be the correct
principle? The things we cannot make
for ourselves or produce for ourselves
we must buy elsewhere, and, therefore,
we want no tax upon them, but the
things we can produce among ourselves
and for ourselves, il is economy for our
people to buy from each other, and if
the foreign producer wants to enjoy any
part of this market, he must be subject
to the terms we shall fix in the interest
of our own countrymen. That is the
principle of protection. That is the
doctrine of patriotism. That is the
principle of our country and our country
men first That is the principle of home
and family. That is the doctrine of true
Americanism. The Republican party
has never hesitated to impose duties
upon non-competing foreign products
whenever the revenue necessities of the
Government required it, but believes in
it only as public necessity.
We have free trade among ourselves
throughout our forty-four States and the
Territories. That is because we are one
family; one country. We have one
standard of citizenship, one flag, one
Constitution, one nation, one destiny.
That is why we have free trade Bmong
ourselves. Our relations with the nations
outside are necessarily different from
our relations umong ourselves. They
are separate organism-a distinct and
Independent political society organized
to work out their own destiny. They
are our commercial rivals. We deny to
these foreign Nations trade with us upon
the same terms we enjoy among our
selves. The foreign producer is not en-
titled to equality with us in this market
He pays no taxes; he is not amendable
to our laws; he performs no civil or
military duties; he is exempt from State
county and municipal taxes; he contrib
utes nothing primarily to the support
of the Government or its progress and
prosperity. Upon what principle, l
pray you, should he enjoy equal privil-
eyes and profits in our markets with our
producers, our laborers, our taxpayers?
We have no way of reaching him except
through the Custom House. He is I'M
known to our Tax Collector, who visits
us annually-but this official cannot visit
him. The arm of the State is too short
and the power of the Federal Govern
ment too limited to touch anything he
has or possesses. And so we say to him,
when you want to bring your products
here to compete with ours, this being
our home, our natural market, 'thOse
products must have attached to them a
and that condition shall be
the payment of duties which shall 90
into the public Treasury to relieve in
part the taxpayers of the United States
from the burdens which rest upon them.
\
CLEVELAND AND CALAMITY.
Mr.. Cleveland, fear, has not consult
ed the markets since 1890. He had in
mind the campaign prices then prevail
ing, and seems to have been unadvised of
what has occurred since. Mr.. Cleveland
had not then read the report of the Sen
ate Committee appointed by joint reso-
luton of that body to investigate the
effect of the new tariff law upon the con
sumner and producer and upon the wages
of labor. l commend the careful read
ing of that document to the distinguish
ed gentleman with the hope that he may
correct the error in which he has fallen,
and with that rugged honesty which his
friends ascribe to him, publicly proclaim
the wrong he has done 20 truth and the
false impression he has made of the
legislation of his own country. The
value of the report, the reading of which
l commend to the gentleman, will be
seen when l state that it was made by
the following Senators: Aldrich, Allison,
Jones, Harris and Carlisle, and
that the report is unanimous one.
This report has ascertained and stated
the cost of food, clothes and clothing,
fuel and lighting, house-furnishing
foods, drugs and chemicals, metals and
lumber and building ma
terial for each month, commencing the
first day of June, 1889, and ending Sep
TENDER 1, 1891. The result of the inves-
legation, which has been most careful
and scrutinizing and absolutely nom
partisan, shows the decline in the retail
price of PA selected articles-articles of
comfort and necessity-to be GA of one
per cent. less by one method of compu-
,atioh and is per cent. less by another
n September, 1891, than during the
months preceding and covered by the in
The committee, in addition to the in
for the twenty-eight months
noted, asked the Commissioner of Labor
% ascertain the retail price in three
,ities-namely, Fall River, Mass,
Chicago, ILL.,, and Dubuque, Ia.,-of the
ia articles referred to. The result of
lis investigation shows further decline
IL the cost of living in May, 1892, as
with September, 1891, of 2.1
ler cent. and as compared with June,
July and August, 1889, of 3.4 per cent.
This report also shows in every part of
t constant tendency to lower prices of
he necessaries and comforts of life.
This would seem to dispose of Mr..