Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1893-12-22

leading manufacturers OF Rhode Island.
amongst whom was Mr.. Slater, the
father Of cotton spinning in this country,
met at the counting room of one of their
number and after, deliberate consulta.
ton, came unanimously to the conclu-
sion that they
Had Rather Be Let Alone.
Is their business has grown up natur-
ally and succeeded well, and they felt
confident of its continued prosperity if
let alone by the government. They
argued that by laying protective tariff
their business would be thrown out of
its natural channels and be subject to
auctuation and uncertainty. But. as
usual, the clamor of selfish and less far.
seeing men, and the ambition of law
makers to usurp the place OF frovloence
prevailed. The country entered on q
protective policy, with the unfailing re-
suit that the government help begot
violent demand for more government
help.
The report goes on to give history of
the tariff legislation since 1916, and con-
tinues:
The history of American industry
shows that during no other period has
there been more healthy and rapid
development of our manufacturing in.
austry than during the Is years of low
tariff from 1886 to 1861, nor more
healty and harmonious lgrowth of agri-
culture and all the other industries of
the country.
A Salutary Lesson.
No chapter in our political experience
carries with it more salutary lesson
than this. and none could appeal more
strongly to lawmakers to establish just
and rational system of public revenues,
neither exhausting agriculture by con-
slant blood letting, nor keeping manu-
tacturers alternating between chills and
severs by artificial pampering. In this
direction alone lies stability, con-
cord of sections and of great
industries. We have already said
that the public discussion may
disclose errors Of minor detail in
the schedules Of the bill. To escape
such errors would require so thorough
and minute a knowledge of all the divis-
ions, subdivisions, complex and mani
fold mazes and involution of our chemi-
cal, textile, metal and other industries,
that no committee of congress, no mat
ter how extended the range of their per-
eonal knowledge, or how laborious and
painstaking their efforts, could ever hope
to possess. We have not forgotten
that we
Represent the People
who are the many, as we'll as the pro-
tected interests, who are the few, and
while we have dealt with the latter in no
spirit OF alnfriendliness, we have felt
that it was our duty and not their priv
ilege to make the tariff schedules. Those
who concede the right of beneticiaries to
fix their bounties, must necessarily COM
NIT to them the framing and wording of
laws by which those bounties are Sc
cured to them. A committee of congress
thus becomes merely the amanuensis Of
the protected interests.
The state Of the treasury is touched
upon and the statement made that some
schedules are left higher OH that account
than they otherwise would be.
The change from specific to ad
valorem duties is commended and the
reciprocity clause OF the Mckinley bill
condemned.
Considerable space is also used in
commenting upon changes in certain
schedules, such as iron, tin and sugar.