Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-07-21
TO TALK WITH MARS.
MklNlEY WILL ASK QUESTIONS
ABOUT PROTECTION THERE.

Cheaper to Foreigners Than in the PRO
tected Home Markets. Is Now Ready
for the Mars Statesmen.
Apropos of the announcement by Edi-
| SON that it may be possible to converse
with the inhabitants of Mars, when that
planet in August approaches to within
about 100000 miles of our humble
sphere, Major Mckinley has prepared a
set of questions which he hopes the in
habitants of Mars will kindly answer in
time for campaign purposes here this
fall. Mckinley's absolute faith in 'spro-
tection," with its reciprocity safety
valves, as the promoter of civilization
and the forerunner of the millennium
has led him to attempt the novel plan of
going to Mars for campaign material.
The following are some of the questions
now ready to fire at the unsuspecting
Marsarian statesmen:
am Major Mckinley, author of the
Mckinley tariff bill-of course you have
protective tariffs there: Yes. 1 sup
posed SO, wish to ask few questions in
regard to protective tariffs
arc ihOSC Alihi MS WHICH CIOSS AIc
surface of your planet at right angels at
intervals of every few hundred miles
really canals to facilitate communica-
ton and commerce, as our free trade as
tronomers suppose, or are they immense
tariff walls to obstruct trade and foster
home industries:
Do you make your tariff walls strong,
high and absolutely prohibitive, or do
You leave reciprocity holes in the back
door for the benefit of foreigners who
will open similar ''cat holes in their
walls:
Do You put high duty on wool to
make 1t dear and on timed plate to
make it cheap:
Do you take duties off of sugar be-
cause they are taxes upon the consumer
and leave them on steel rails because
they are taxes upon the foreigner:
suppose each division on your planet
lets in few foreign goods-just to give
foreigners an opportunity to pay its
taxes. Can all countries get rich in this
way? What ones can:
Do you ever admit that the consumer
pays any taxes at all:
Do you encourage manufactures by
Il On raw
Are your manufacturers grateful for
the protection they get, or do You have
to FRY the fat" out of them every cam
paign:
Have you Fat Fryer's Guide"-that
is, list of protected millionaire manu-
facturers like our New York Tribune
has published to aid in raising campaign
funds:
H. 4 +Iat
lower prices faster when restricted to
small countries than when spread over
the entire planet:
Do Your protected manufacr Irers ever
form combines or trusts TO prevent COM
petition, restrict production, raise prices,
lower wages and bring your whole pro-
tected system into disrepute?
Do these trusts then begin to sell goods
% or 80 per cent. cheaper to foreigners
than i'll your protected home markets."
depending upon the tariff to prevent
home consumers from reimporting these
goods:
Dc you ever aid manufacturers in sell
ing cheaper to foreigners by paying
drawback duties-i. e.. refunding duties
paid on raw materials when such mate
rails are being exported in a manu-
featured form:
Can You keep the farmers in line by
giving them all the bogus protection and
shoddy reciprocity they want. while
their farms are declining in value and
are mortgaged todeath:
Do You succeed in getting the people
to believe that You are making nearly all
of your own timed plate and employing
thousands of American worklnen, when
of all, and this mostly from imported
plates and by imported workmen:
Do you keep men on the free list and
succeed in making laborers believe that
they are protected by tariff on what
they consume?
Why is it that labor in unprotected
industries always gets better wages and
has steadier employment than labor in
protected industries?
Here in the United States we have
protection against the pauper labor of
Europe; but, strange to say, in Europe
the low wage countries all have protec
ton against the high wage country
England. Have you got good argu-
| ment to explain away this apparent in
consistency? Do you have the same
trouble on Mars, or do the facts there fit
the protective theory:
Is cheapness a curse:
How do you make it appear consistent
to encourage inventions to make things
cheap and protection to avoid the curse
| of cheapness:
Wouldn't it be better to destroy ma
| chinery. railroads and ships in order to
| prevent cheapness and to provide more
employment for labor?
Is it possible that trade is beneficial
that is, to both parties:
What is your remedy to prevent wage