Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1893-01-19
SUNK BY PROTECTION
SOME OF THE CAUSES OF THE
RECENT AVALANCHE.

Homestead-Reform Clubs and Peck's
RePort-The People Deserve Credit.
Cleveland's tariff message of 1887 is
generally supposed to have started the
campaign of education which has al
ready routed protectionism, and which
will not stop until we have better sys-
tenn of taxation than the present one.
But this famous message was only one
of the milestones on the road out of the
miasmic swa1nps of protectionism and
special privilege. Clear headed men
like w. G.. Sumner, David A. Wells and
Henry George have been pointing out
the inherent and increasing evils of this
monopoly breeding system. Intelligent
citizens were becoming aroused to the
importance of these evils and dangers.
President Cleveland was among this
number, and fortunately he had the op-
portunity, the patriotism and the man
hood to issue his emancipation proc
lamation, which applies to whites as
we'll as blacks. The monopolists who
were fattening on the protected spoils
of the people quickly scented danger
and poured out few of their millions
to save their robber tariff system. By
means of false theories and cries and by
bribery they succeeded temporarily.
The Mckinley tariff act was the one
great object lesson for the people. This
laundering piece of legislative patch
work, named after Mckinley, but
fashioned by and for trusts and monop-
olies, has made more converts to tariff
reform than any Democratic pamphlet.
1t raised duties on hundreds of articles
in October, 1890. Prices of many of
these advanced at once. 1t lowered
duties on sugars in March, 1891, and
within one week prices dropped almost
exactly as much. 1t raised the duty on
tin plate July 1, 1891, and prices ad-
vanced over 1890 prices by the same
amount. The Democrats had declared
that the tariff was tax; the Repub-
licans denied it. Everybody was OBJ
serving the effects of the new tariff law
to see which party was right. The
demonstration was complete. On three
occasions prices followed duties. If
Mckinley had not touched the duties on
sugar and tin plate the demonstration
tention nor been as convincing. The
tariff is as much tax on clothing, cut
lery, etc., as it was and is on sugar
and tin plate, but the use of shoddy, cot
ton and cheaper materials makes it
difficult matter for most people to de-
tect the tax in clothing, carpets, cut
lery, drugs, cigars, etc. The Mckinley
bill did its own talking and cannot re-
ceive too much credit.
The Congressional Record edition of
Henry Georges book, protection or
Free Trader was an important cause.
More than 100000 copies of these were
sent to voters, mostly in Wisconsin, Illi-
nois and Ohio. The result shows that
the cry of British free trade" will nc
longer hold voters in Republican ranks
! The wonderful effect of this book was
most marked in the congressional dis
.ricts of Tom L. Johnson and of Michael
d. Harter in Ohio In both of these re-
districted districts Republican majori-
ties of from 1000 to 5000 were changed
to Democratic majorities equally large.
The Homestead tragedy and the
strikes and riots in Tennessee, in Buf-
falo and in the Coeur d'Alene mines
in Idaho did much to arouse earnest
thought and to direct attention to the
sham protection given to workingmen
by duties on goods, and the greed and
hypocrisy of the Carnegies and the
Fricks who receive but who neglect to
turn over to their employees their share
of the tariff bonus.
Pecks labor report undoubtedly did
much to increase Cleveland's majority
in New York. 1t gave increased wages
in industries in which all concerned
knew that there had been reductions.
This fact stimulated every big and little
Democratic paper in the state to expose
the falsity not only of the report, but of
all claims of protectionists.
The gross exaggerations and the lying
statements of the Republican press when
dealing with the condition of the tin
plate, pearl button, wool hat, glove, to-
bacco, cutlery and hundreds of other
protected industries opened the eyes of
many honest Republicans and made
them ashamed of their party and sick of
McKinleyism.
The New York Tribune and The Amer
lean Economist deserve especial mention
in this connection. The well developed
tendency of these and other high tariff
papers to credit everything good to Nc
Kinley and everything bad to Democracy
and free trade increased the odium al
ready attached to McKinleyism. Fam
ines in Europe, with good crops here and
consequently good prices; more wool on
sleeps back and all Improvements in
machinery were some of the things cred
tied to McKinleyism and protection. The
dexterity shown by Harrison, Mckinley
ana other leading Republicans in trans
terrlng themselves to opposite sides of
certain questions-as the desirability of
cheapness-after the election of 1890 was
Illuminating spectacle to many Repub-
licans who had not forgotten the deca-
logue.
The Reform club of New York DUR