Los Angeles herald., 1892-05-05
THR rHIMBLERIG OF EXTREME PRO-
TgCTION.

Surely there is nothing faint-hearted
about our esteemed contemporary, the
San Francisco Chronicle. 1t has made
big advances on the old modest position
of the father of protection, Henry Clay,
and it demands protection for protec-
tion's cake. Clay was very much more
conciliatory in his programme. He con.
fined his demands to the protection OF
our infant industries. The San Fran
cisco journal appreciated the fact that II
was somewhat embarrassing to keep on
CRYING out for the protection OF
infant industries when these said
industries were wearing manly top
boots. So it got rid of the difficulty
by advocating protection for protec-
tion's sake, on the principle OF low
ing virtue for virtues sake. The tin
plate "industry" is one OF the most
loved of the Chronicles protected
specialties. 1t has been absolutely in
different to the fact that tin mining is
really an infant industry; and that, if
the Mckinley bill had provided for
duty on tin ore, the Temescal and other
tin mines of California and OF the
United States would have been helped
out. The tin miner is to get nothing
from the Mckinley bill, but the makers
of tin plates are to get everything. Pro-
lection for protection's sake in this in
stance resulted in a profit of twenty
million dollars to the spectators who,
in anticipation of the passage of the
Mckinley bill, imported enormous guam
titles of tin plate. California's share of
this largess to men of means amounted
to over 100000, as was shown by a
table published in the HERALD about
the time of the passage of this measure.
Meanwhile, the Temescsl and other pro-
ducers Of tin we're allowed to 60 on and
develop their interests as best they
could. They were treated on the prin-
ciple of live horse and you will get
grass. That is to say, if the tin pro-
ducer could live without production for
five or six years, he might then, when
he did not need it, look for some assist
ance from the Mckinley bill. DR.. John
son, in his celebrated letter to Lord
Chesterfield. said that the shepherd in
Virgil grew enamored of love and
found it native of the rocks.
There has been greal deal of dispu.
tation as to the meaning of this passage,
but there can be no doubt that the
treatment of our tin producers by con-
c-oo, b,o boo,, ovoaod;pplp roolyv t. =,
pleasing to know, however, that at least
as respects the Temescal tin producers
they haye been Independent of con-
gress and the Mckinley bill. They
have gone right along developing their
rich lodes, and are now adding to their
plant, and expect shortly to double their
production. From this circumstance
we should be justified in assuming that
the neglected interests are the more
thriving ones. There has been no COM
plant from Temescal that the workmen
there are underpaid.
Far different has it been with the pro.
tected interests. There has been no
question of the fact that the Mckinley
bill has already increased the already
exorbitant duties OF the tariff which it
replaced, which has been generally re-
ferred to as the "war tariff" This
phrase is misnomer. The Republican
party in 1866 enacted tariff which was
a very considerable advance on tnas
which had prevailed during the war. 1t
was this last tariff which was increased
by the Mckinley bill, and this notwith-
standing the fact that, ten years ago,
special committee of Republicans, of
which Henry ]. Oliver, leading iron
baron of Pittsburg, was chairman, ad-
vised reduction of 20 per cent in most
of it's schedules. Having grown in love
with protection for protection's sake, it
is not at all extraordinary that the ap-
petite fattened upon what it fed. If the
people of the United States at the COM
ing election shall fail to rebuke this
growing tendency, which seeks to still
further rob the consumer, it will un-
doubtedly attain fantastic extremes.
While it is a conceded fact that the
tariff of 1865 increased the war tariff,
and while the Mckinley bill still further
increased these exactions, we are asked
to submit to them because they were al
in the interest of the American work
ingman. As matter of fact, the pas
sage of the Mckinley bill was followed
almost Immediately by strikes in tht
iron and steel mills of Andrew Carnegie
and other iron and steel barons all owe
the United States against reduction o
ten per cent in the wages scale of thei
employees. Precisely coincident witt
the enhanced protective duties was thu
demand that the workingman shoult
take less than his old share of the profit
of the most highly protected industries
The coming campaign will be Tough
out largely on the issue of the McKinle,
bill. During the inevitable discussion
of this measure the hypocrisy of th'
Republican advocates of that measur
will be laid bare. If the workingmal
has indeed shared in the enormous sun
which has been taken from the con
sumner by the Mckinley bill the fact will
be made apparent. If, on the othe
hand, as is in sooth the fact, while tn
so-called protective duties have gone VI
the wages of the workingmen have gon
! down tho vardiot of tho ploctjouu Of a.