The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1893-12-30

1857 which.altered the duties on wool?'
The history of American Industry shows that
during no other period has there been n more
healthy and rapid development OF our manu-
featuring industry than during the fifteen years
Of low tariff from 1876 to 1851. nor a more
healthy and harmonious growth of agriculture
and all the other great industries Of the coun-
trv.
No chapter in our political cxperien ce car
ries with IL n more salutary lcssion than this,
and none could appeal more strongly TO law
makers to establish a Just and rational system
of public revenues. neither exhausttng agri-
culture by constant bloOd-lettinG. nor keeping
manufactures alternating between chills and
fevers by artificial panpering, In this direction
alone lies stability. concord of sections, and
OF great industries. We have already
said that public discussion may disclose errors
Of minor detail in the schedules OF our bill.
To escape such errors would require so thor
ouGh and minute knowledge OF all the divi-
sioas. Subdivisions. complex and manifold
mazes and involutions of our chemical. textile,
metal and other industries. that no committee
Of congress, no matter how extended the range
OF their personal knowledge, or how labOrious
and panstallius their efforts, could ever hope
to possess.
We have not forgotten that we represent
the people. who are the MANY, as well as the
protected interests. who are the few. and
while we have dealt with the latter in no spirit
OF unfricndliness, we have felt that IL was our
duty and not their privilege to make
the tariff schedules. Those who concede the
right of EenetCiarIes to fix their own hourties
must necessarily commit to them the framing
AMI wording Of the law by which those boun-
ties secured to them com
mi;tee OF congress thus is merely the
amanuensis OF the protected interests. II has
been shown so clearly and so often in the de-
bates Of this house, that nearly every i'm
portant schedule OF the existing law was made
in its very words AMI figures by representa-
tives Of the interests it was framed TO protect
that il is unnecessary in our report TO present
the record proof OF this fact hut it may not he
amiss to cite further evidence TO show that this
is not only the necessary rule. but the open and
avOwed method OF framing protective tariffs
When the senate substitute for the bill
PASSED by this house in the Fiftieth congress
which substitute Is the real basis OF the exist
ing law-was being prepared Senator Hoar, OF
Massachusetts. appeared before the senate
subcommittee and used this language: In
stead OF COMM, before your subcommittee for
4 formal hearing on our Massachusetts indus
tries | thought the best way was to carefully
prepare a table of all the various industries per
haps sixty or seventy in all, and ask Brother
Aldrich to 90 over them with mo and ascertain
what the people wanted In each case. and if
there were any cases where the committee had
mol alftaty uoNt tNdtl4N Nlltl iL' I'NlA4ohtiN
desired or had not inficxihly passed upon the
question. could have a hearing before you.
hut find I'm every instance the action Of the
committee. as Mr.. Aldrich thinks 1t likely to
he as entirely satisfactory to the interests !
represent. with the exception OF one or two.
and the papers in regard to those cases have
handed TO Mr.. Aldrich,'
No stronger indictment Of the whole pro
iective system could be made than that which
-fs.1 fh.ln AZ a
United States senator. that laws which impose
taxes on the great masses OF people must he
written In language SO technical that the most
Intelligent citizen can not fully understand
them and that the rates Of taxation SHOULD be
dictated by the scltishnesS and greed OF those
who are to receive the taxes. We have be-
Iicved that the first step toward
reform OF the tariff should he . release OF
the taxes on the materials OF industry. There
can he no substantial and benen rial reduction
upon the necessary clothing and other com
forts Of the American people nor any sub
Stantial and beneficial enlargement OF the field
Of American labor as LONG as we tax materials
and processes Of production. Every tax upon
the producer falls with increased force on the
consumer Every tax on the producer in this
country is n protection 10 his competitors in
all other countries. and narrOwS his
market As to limit the number aui lessen
the wages OF those TO whom he caa
give employment.
Iron and coal are the basis Of modern indus
try. The abundance and ChcapneSS OF their
supply offers Us in many lines q; productions
the manufacturing supremacy OF the world.
While the mines Of other countries are becom-
ing exhausted. and the cost Of mining in
consequence Is increasing, We are con
stantly discovering and developing new
sources OF supply The discovery of the i'm.
mcnse beds Of Bessemer ores in the lake re-
gon. and OF foundry ores in several OF the
southern states. their convenience for trans
pOrtation and for the assemblaSe OF materials,
the use OF the steam shovel in mining-all these
have so cheapened the cost of producing pig
iron and steel as to take away all possibility
and danger OF foreign competition in almost
every part OF the country.
Not less rapid has been the growth OF our
coal production. The coal area OF the United
States rs statei by Mr.. Saward in the Coal
Trade for iSg3. is estimated at l9a. 90 square
miles. Of which iaO,OO) can be comfortably
worked at present. This coal area is over
three times larger than that OF the rest OF the
world combined. The existing duty OF seventy
five cents ton on iron ore and on bituminous
coal can not he justified either as 4 protective
or n revenue duty. The imporiationS into
this country are too small TO add
materially to our revenue, while no one con
tends that the cost OF mining is higher in the
L nlttu ~llltS tndu III bit NoHhtAttS AAat
seek our market. II coulc never have been in
tended that legislation which establishes per
feet freedom Of internal trade among the
states should counteuance laws that hold one
section of the Union, however remote. tribu-
tary to other sections for the supplies OF those
necessary materials whose location is or
daincd Icy natural law. and not by human
choice.
This house in two congresses in recent years
f,,lI .laln
wool upon the free list it is not deemed neces-
Sary in this report 10 attempt a restatement OF
the reasons for doing so. II is enough to say
that the tariff uIon wool. while bringing no
real benefit to the American wUOl-grower, least
of all to the American farmer who, in any bal
ancins OF accounts. must see that he yearly
pays out a good dollar for every doubtful dime
he may receive under its operation. has
disaStrously hampercd our manufactures and
made cruel and relentless war upon the health
the comfort AMI the productive energy OF the
American people.
Logs are already on the free list We have
gone 4 step farther and put undrcsset lumber
generally on that list This may serve to
cheaper and improve the dwelling houses Of
some of our people, but 1t is justified II it shall
accomplish nothing more than TO delay the
rapid destruction OF American forests. We
have also placed Temp and fax unhacled
on the free list for the reasons
stated above. that may give to the
American wOrkingman untaXed material TO
work with and that we may give the finished
product. as far as possible. 10 the consumer
with hut a single tax, and tina. 4 moderate one.
instead of n medley and cumulation Of taxes
gathered during the process of the production.
In addition TO these sO-called raw materials
we have released from tarEin duties certain
important articles and manufactures which we
have shown our capacity to produce cheaper
than any other country, such as pig copper
and the more important agricultural
implements. Any article or manufac-
ture which can sustain the competition Of
like foreign articles in other markets, can de-
fy such competition in the home market. and
is not protected by the duty, but by its own in
trinsic superior cheapness and quality. The
only effect OF duty on such articles IS to en-
able those who make them to charge higher
prices 10 the citizens Of their own country
than they charge TO foreigners, and this has
been notoriously the case with both copper
and many agricultural implements. In
adjusting duties upon what may be
called the finished product, we have tried
TO impose such rates viii not dcstroy or dis
tress any OF our home industries on the one
hand nor on the other SECURE to them IN op-
pressive monopoly Of the home market For
this rule We have the recognized authority
both OF well known and leading tariff refOrmers
and OF those who in days past were considered
moderate protectionists.
II IS neither necessary nor practicable in
ha ErFrla