The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1893-09-02
Which Way Lies Prosperity.

Mr.. David y. Wells, the eminent
economist, in a recent interview ex-
presses the view that the present seS-
sion Of Congress, if it results in the
action upon the silver and tariff pro-
posed by Mr. Cleveland. will be follow
ed by a period of stable prosperity. Our
present troubles do not come from the
exhaustion of our recources, natural
or acquired, but from foolish legisla-
ton that hobbies their development.
First, says Mr.. Wells, we must have
the Sherman act repealed, and close
upon that we must remove the tariff
tax on raw materials and reduce the
tax on imported manufactures. A
new era will then arrive, in which
manufacturers will flourish by widen
ing their market and consumers will
find the cost Of living cheapened by
reductions in the price OF all sorts Of
necessaries.
Il anticipate" says Mr.. Wells,
great material advances when bust
ness is placed on more permanent ba-
sis. Our trials and tribulations of to-
day, as it were, drop in the bucket-a
mark on the sand. Time will adjust
our affairs if legislation be wise
1 Tariff reform is heroic remedy for
the objectional system that has pre-
vailed, and it must be effected. The
transition period from the artificial
condition produced by the hotbed sys-
TEN of stimulating manufactures will,
no doubt, be awkward, but time will
adjust all difficulties, and with the tar
if placed upon an equitable basis this
country will advance in an unexam-
pied career of prosperity"
Mr.. Wells is himself a large manu-
facturer, and is. in position to Judge
whether the prospect of tariff reform
has contributed to the present strin-
gency. Il do not agree, he says, with
the views of distinguished high tariff
men that uncertainty regarding the
future of the tariff schedules causes the
present condition Of business. tndi-
viduals may be filled with doubt, but
these fears are not conyulsing finance
or causing business to stagnate. To
) some extent. the economist thinks
the dollhouse Mckinley tariff has con
tributed To the embarrassment of man
ufaeturers He says: 1.-The over pro
duction of manufactured goods wa'
never as great as during the last year
Excepting some special lines, the ca
pacity of the manufactures Of The
United states is greater than the eX
istng market demands. The forcing
system of high protection has deycl
, oped more manufacturing than ther'
is a call for. Foreign markets hayl
: been cut off by the handicap of TIN
tariff tax on raw material some $40,
600, 600 a year
But better times are coming Will
2 our return to sounder monetary ant
tariff doctrine. This country ha
enormous powers Of recuperation. |
presents tempting opportunities 70
| the investment Of foreign capital
The incoming of such capital has bee
the cause of very much of our pas
! prosperity, and it will return to u
e when once assured that the invest
: ment of gold will not be repaid in de
e precated silver. The Sherman LAY
has since 1890 acted as a scarecro,
q to foreign Investors. Its repeal wi
A cause them to flock back to- countr
b where capital and labor win the larl
9 est returns. Several years may elaps
= before the full harvest, but its comm
O will cause the present hard times
y be forgotten Il can see only pro-
e perity for our people, says Mr.. Well
u ''when our economic conditions a
5 settled.