The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-01-09
TIRE LEX TALIONIS.

According to The HERALD's DISPATCHES
PRESIDENT HARRISON, who has delayed his
retaiiatory proclamation beyond the time
contemplated by Congress, has received
such an opinion from the encouragement
as must delay its issuance till about the
18th of March. That is to say that, as the
proclamation cannot recite q day in ad-
vance on which it is to go into operation
the only course left is to give notice that
three months from now the proposed
measure will be proclaimed.
1t is peculiar kind of retaliation that
is contemplated. 1t is not punishment
Tor what has been done, but for not doing
And it Is not punishment of the
countries upon which it is to
operate osteusibly, but upon American tax
payers 1t says to Austria-Hungary and
certain South American countries that if
they do not accept for their people the
terms Of the MCKINLEY ''reciprocity,n the
United States will retaliate upon our peo-
pie by making them pay high tariff duties
on their exports here, This argument has
already operated upon some of the nations
where the benefits proposed were greater
than the losses that would ensue, but it is
yet to be shown that the United States will
be the gamer. 1t is certain that England,
France, Prussia and Canada are in no such
friendly commercial relations with US on
account of the MCKINLEY bill as to justify
the expectations of those who imagined
they saw in reciprocity the foil to the
dangers of the high protective system.
Unfriendly comments in England, France
and Germany on the exorbitant duties i'm
posed by the present tariff are not dimin-
ishing, but multiplying. This only pro-
vokes what the protection Republicans
would fain have US believe is patriotic re-
sentiment WHAT, they say, do we care for
European feeling! We have devised a
measure to give increased employment to
our capital and labor, and if foreign indus
tries suffer by this, it simply affords d
proof OF the wisdom of our legislation
But there is not so much protection in this
sort of talk as might be imagined. The
English, French and Germans are good
customers Of ours. They are buyers, as
well as sellers-and they cannot
buy from US unless they sell TO US. We can
buy from them 80 per cent cheaper than we
can buy at home, and the sole object of the
MCKINLEY tariff is not to prevent them
selling to US, but to prevent our buying
anywhere except OF the protected manu-
| misunderstanding the Salt Lake mechanic
| to give SIS for the tools he ought to buy for
! SO, the extra So going into the pockets of
eastern tool manufacturers as so much
protection.
| These foreign customers of ours have it
in their power to retaliate That they dc
not do so is because they are unwilling to
| depart from policies which have seemed
to them the best for their inter
national intercourse. But they may
| be forced to do this. AS we erect a
| barrier against their goods they may erect
barrier against our farm products, and
so the retaliation we provoke may fall upon
the farmers of the west
This is the inevitable working of our high
protective system. 1t is designed exclu-
sively for the benefit of the northeastern
manufacturing states. Since its effect is
to prevent our people from purchasing
cheap foreign goods, and as the articles we
chiefly export are farm products, the re-
talistory duties which foreign countries
/ levy on these products come home at last
! to the doors of the western farming states