The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1892-08-04
SOME sIoNIEIcANT ADM IssIoNs.
The Carnegie Company Realizes that Pro
teciion is Doomed.


lection is Doomed.
In the early days of the labor contro-
yersy at Homestead the New York
agent of the Carnegie company made
statement for publication in the course
of which he said: "The day must in
fallibly come-it may come at the next
election--when the protective tariff
which built up our mills will cease, aud
it is to prepare for that repeal that we
are making these tonnage increases in
order to defy the competition that on
that day-uow in sight-will arise from
every corner of the land"
Here we have a distinct admission by
an authorized representative of highly
protected concern that IL was the pro-
tective tariff, and not the Bessemer and
other patents, as the Mckinley organs
have claimed, that built up its mills
and made it immensely rich.
The man who made this admission is
too candid, and he evidently has too
much respect for the popular iutelli-
gence to claim that the protective
tariff built up tie mills for Carnegie
and his associates by compelling them
to sell their products at lower prices
and at the same time to pay higher
wages to their men. He does not put
forward that impudent claim. He
tactitly admits that the tariff enriched
them by enabling them to exact exorbi-
tant prices, He admits that they grew
rich at the expense of the consumers of
their products that an act of congress
gave them power, which they did not
scruple to exercise, to collect tribute
from consumers in the form of prices
higher than they would have resulted
from that competition which is now
in sight"
We have also a declaration from one
of the most intelligent benehciaries of
our tariff system Of favoritism that
"the day must infallibly come" and
may come very soon, when this system
of licensed spoliation Twill cease" The
men who get uuearned wealth by
government favor and assistance are
quick to discern the signs of the times.
Knowing as they do, and as this man
admits, that they "reap where they have
not sown," they know that the fact can
not be concealed from their victims
forever. They know that in spite of
cunning sophisms and glittering decoys
and ingenious lies the people will find
them out, and then "infallibilly" the in
famous system of deception and rob-
berry will be destroyed, root and branch,
from the face of the earth. They need
no Daniel to interpret for them the
handwriting on the wall.
And we have still another admission.
1t is that free trade will not destroy the
industries which now enjoy tariff fav.
ors. This man does not say that ION
that day-now in sight"-when the pro.
tective tariff twill cease" the Carnegie
mills will be ruined by foreign compe-
tition. On the contrary, he says his
company is getting ready to meet "the
competition that on that day-uow in
sight-will arise from every corner of
the land" Free trade will bring not
ruinous competition from other lands,
but competition which must be met
from every corner of this land. This is
an admission from man who is in
position to know, that the Carnegie
company has nothing whatever to fear
from the foreign competition against
which IL is protected by the tariff, and
that all it gets by the favor of congress
is just so much in excess of the fair
profit it would get under free competl-
ton, and is pure extortion and robbery.
When so much is confessed, we may
well believe that the end of the system
is din sight."-Chicago Herald.