The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-09-07

I which MIR. Harrison calls ns iottef VI NJ
ceptance, he loses his dignity entirely when
discussing the effect Of the Tarif upon the
South. and INDUCES In jesting which shows
that he has much more humor in his COM
position than he has been credited WITH.
He says:
The Southern States have had a
liberal participation IN the Dement'S OF the
tariif law; and, though their representatives,
have generally opposed the protection
nolicv. / reioice that their sugar, rice, coal.
ores. iron. fruits. cotton cloths and otner
products have not been left To the tate
which the votes of their representatives
would have brought upon them
Anv one VIII reads that Mr.. Harrison re
| ~ioicesp at any good fortune that may hap
pen TO the South might know at once that
he was joking, but lest some might thought
lessly be misled by his statements and think
that the South had really been benefited by
the protective policy. it is proper to look at
the subject on its serious side.
Mr.. Harrison starts out by saying that he
is Glad Southern sugar and rice have been
benefited b. the policy of protection. What
a very. very ignorant President be must be.
Sugar and rice. for the very reason that
they are Southern products. and the only
Southern products likely 70 derive any
benefits whatever from protection. have
long since been placed on the free list.
True a tub was thrown to the whale IN the
shape of o bounty to the sugar planter, but
no one knew better than Mr.. Harrison did
at the time that the bounty was given
(although he. evidently has since forgotten
all about it, that this bounty was only u
temporary arrangement. intended TO let the
Southern sugar-producer down easily, and
that il would soon be done away with.
Even though writing in q %jocular mood. as
if he thought the South were Of too little
moment to be seriously considered, Mr..
Harrison certainly could not have meant to
have 90 hagrantly and ridiculously stultified
himself.
Then he goes on and talks about the coal.
ores. iron and fruits of the South being
benefited by the protective policy.
That is rs absurd as his sugar
and rice statement. The South has
of late years developed her ore and iron
industries. and has been enabled to under
sell the highly protected North and West in
that line. But protection had nothing to
do with 1t. To the contrary, the South has
proven that she is able 10 compete with
the world in iron manufacture, and she
would do so ifsuch a thing as the tariff were
unknown. The tariff was never laid, in the
first place, for the benefit of the South, and
what she has done she would have done.
protection or no protection.
As TO Southern fruits being protected.
that is really l~sughable. We have never
heard vet that Southern fruit was in danger
of being brought in competition with the
pauper fruit OF Europe or the West Indies.
and there is not a fruit-grower in this sec
ton who has realized any increase in price
on his products since the Mckinley law
went into effect. While Mr.. Harrison was
diIating or the great benefits which have
Injured to the Southern fruit-grower on &C.
count of the tariff, why did he not include
Southern flowers? Fruits and flowers go
we'll together, and the South Is noted for one
equally with the other.
And now we come to cotton. That is a
product that is e%minently Southern, and
Mr.. Harrison ''rejOices" that it has shared
the blessing of protection. Now If there is
anything in the world that would flourish
under absolute free trade, if that were pos
sible, it would be the cotton industry of the
South. The plant grows right at the doors
of the Southern manufacturer. and he is at
no expense for freight or handling. He has
every facility which nature can
give him for manufacturing the
raw material into cloth. and in
a fair, free fight for supremacy he could
easily beat the world. In fact. all other
things being equal, the South could. under
free trade, become the queen of cotton
manufacturing in the world, and protection
only enables old England and New England
to successfully compete with her. If there
is anything that the South ought to wish
for most ardently it ID that she might have
no restriction whatever in her cotton indus
try, and yet Mr.. Harrison ~rejoices that she
shares the benefits of his m~onopolist's
tariff.
1t would take more space than we can
give to expose the ~fallacies and follies of
MIR. Harrison's letter. 1t is. as we nave
said. d weak piece of special pleading
throughout. But in nothing is it SO abso-
lutely absurd as in its treatment of the sub
ject OF the South and the tariff.