Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1893-10-05
UNPARALLELED CHEEK.
Iron and Steel Manufacturers say There
Should BE No Revision OF the TarifY

Iron and Steel Manufacturers say There
Should BE No Revision OF the Tariff
One of the manufacturers who has ap-
piled for hearing before the ways and
means committee is James w. Swank,
manager of the American Iron and Steel
association. He protests against the
material reduction of the tax on pig
iron and all forms of finished iron and
steel in letter, in which he says:
"If there is no surplus in the treasury
to be reduced; if prices of domestic
products are fixed by home competition
and not by tariff duties; if they are now
lower as a rule than they ever have been
in our history; if days wages of an
American workingman will purchase
more of the necessaries of life under our
present tariff than ever before; if the
paternalism that cares for the general
welfare is sanctioned by the constitu-
ton and by the exact terms Of our first
tariff act, what reason or show of reason
remains for a revision Of the tariff at
this timer We know Of none. But we
do know and the country knows Of one
overshadowing reason why it should not
be revised"
He then refers to the financial and in
dustrial crisis, attributes it in part to
''the apprehension Of still greater disas-
ter and stagnation which would follow
a revision Of the tariff" and says:
''Shall this apprehension be justified
and intensified by persistence in policy
Of tariff revision which rests for support
solely upon the discredited theory that
the tariff is a tax, and which would en-
courage the importation of manufac-
tured commodities that can be produced
at homer
Such cheekl Such statement can
come only from man Injured by 80
years of protection to blufing the peo-
pie out of their own. No revision be-
cause, forsooth, Mr.. Swank's friends,
the Republicans, looted the treasury to
prevent reduction of duties and to
compel the country to submit to McKin-
leyism for the rest Of the century? No
revision because our constitution may
be found to sanction paternalism-by the
protected manufacturers, we suppose?
No revision because prices are lower than
ever before? No revision because wages
are higher than ever before? Norevision
because the theory that the tariff is tax
has been discredited? When7 Where? BY
whom? No revision because the present
crisis is due to an apprehension of tariff
reduction? Holy smoke! Mr.. Swank
should appear before a lunacy and not
tariff commission. Much tariff has made
him mad.
1t isnota question of whether prices are
lower now than formerly. It's question
of whether or not they are as low here as
abroad. The wage Garner is entitled to
| the lowest prices. He should be permit
ted to obtain the most possible for his
wages. 1t is not possible to increase
wages by placing duties on goods; it is
possible to increase the purchasing power
of wages by taking duties off goods.
This the Democratic party is pledged to
do, and this it will do if it has to make
good considerable deficiency of revenue
by taxing the incomes Of those who have
grown rich by means Of protection spoils.
Must the ways and means committee
spend IA days listening to the rawlings Of
/ such men as this one2 Must its intelli-
gence be insulted by such statements
from supremely selfish products Of our
protective system? Where do the farm
ers, laborers and mechanics come in?
Will there be before this committee no
representation of the 65, ,OOO, 900 consum-
ers who have been taxed for 80 years to
produce these fine specimens of pluto
Gratis and empty headed autocrats?