Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1892-06-13


asmuch as Only the Establishment Of
New Industries and Increase OF Old
Ones Are Asked For.
The American Protective Tariff
league. of which Mr.. Cornelius N. Bliss,
of New York, is president, is preparing
for the coming political campaign by
gathering facts bearing upon the pro-
tective tariff. It styles its work the
preparation Of the Mckinley census, and
in the circular letter sent out 1t says:
I'VE desire TO gather and publish
complete information regarding the ef-
fects of the Mckinley tariff upon all the
industries of the country. This infor-
nation may be naturally divided into
two classes. viz, first, newly estab-
lished industries due TO the Mckinley
tariff, and second, developments and in
crease in established industries due to
the Mckinley tariff, no matter how
small or how large the industry. Please
give us complete information regarding
those In your locality, and furnish the
same exclusively on the inclosed cards.
If you need additional cards we will
furnish the same free upon your request.
Please sign each report so that there
may be no question as to its reliability"
The data thus collected Is TO be fur
nished by the American Protective Tariff
league to the various press associations
each week, and the census is to be pub
hshed in full in The American Econo-
mist as fast as the information is re-
ceived.
The difficulty in the way of implicitly
trusting census of this kind Is the OBJ
viously interested character of the re-
turns those collecting it are to receive,
and the probability of their receiving
much the larger part of their returns
from those who are personally interest
cd In demonstrating the advantages of
the protective system. The census is
not an official census.
The census takers in this instance are
special pleaders. They ask to be in
formed of the newly established indus
tries and the development and increase
In established industries since October,
1890. They do not ask for illustrations
Of q decline In Industrial activity or a
complete cessation Of business which
may have occurred within period COW
cred by their iniquity.
More than this, 1t may be fairly as
sumed that the question of how far the
Mckinley tariff is responsible for the
building up Of new industries or for the
development of established industries
will be answered by those who are de-
sirous of making out a good case for the
national statute. The claim has been
advanced over and over again that If 1t
were not for the protective tariff the
rates of wages in this country, in unpro-
tected as well as protected industries,
would sink to the level of the wages of
the so called pauper labor of the Old
World. That is, scoop net is thrown
out, and everything In the light of an
industrial improvements is credited to the
protective tariff.
We have not the least doubt that this
will be the case In the Mckinley CEN
sus. Our country has gained In the last
two years some millions of population.
To supply their needs would require a
considerable enlargement in our indus
tries, but we shall be told by these CEN
sus takers that even this increase is
wholly attributable to the benefcent ef-
fects of the Mckinley tariff. As we
have pointed out, no interrogatory is
made as to declines Of business activity.
There are industries that have been seri-
ously and injuriously affected by the
Mckinley tariff law, and we dare say
that these would show q decline in the
number Of hands employed, in the prod
uct and in the wages paid, but the
American Protective Tariff league is not
solicitous of obtaining information of
this character.
We make these comments simply to
show that an array of industrial data
collected by the interested advocates of
a particular line of policy must Of neces-
sity be partial and untrustworthy re-
port, so far as concerns the drawing of
general conclusions. The United States
census bureau and the United States
labor bureau have collected a large num-
Der of facts bearing upon our manufac-
turing industries, which can, we believe,
be depended upon, but the census pro-
posed in the circulars we have referred
to Is simply campaign census made by
the high protectionists to bolster up their
case, and while considerable amount
of desirable and useful information viii
be collected, it will be of kind which
will have no bearing whatsoever ON the
general questions of tariff legislation
Boston Herald.