The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-08-28
WHAT HAS BEEN MADE CLEAR.

In order to divert attention from the
constitutional aspect of the tariff uues-
ton, which our Republican friends are
unable to squarely meet, we are told
that THE people of Utah need not
exhaust themselves by trying to combat
the arguments in relation to it. Quite
right. Our morning contemporary has
suffered all the exhaustion that is neces-
sary in trying to dodge the issue and
appears to be completely '.petered out"
The advice is good. The people of Utah
had better acknowledge the error of the
Republican position or quit trying to
combat the Democratic arguments.
But the wool men and the lead men
of Utah are appealed to and reminded
that they have "lost half their revenue
One wool man is quoted as declaring
/ that his pocket has been so hurt in
the last two years that it has touched
his heart and his eyes are clear"
The reasoning in that is so strong
that it is perfectly startling. A num-
Der of men have only been able to OBJ
tain low price for their wool during
the past two years. The same may be
said of lead dealers. That has touched
their hearts and cleared their eyes.
What of that? There are many other
folks in America, and all over the COM
mercial world, who are in exactly the
same position. What are we to under
stand from this?
Why, our shallow contemporary
wishes it to be inferred that it is a
tariff for revenue that has brought
about all this decline in prices, and
therefore it is wrong and the party that
supports it ought to be blamed for
these losses and be opposed by the
country.
First, is it fact that the tariff which
the Democratic party has only just
been able to establish, has brought the
decline in the prices of wool all over
the world? Or that it has caused the
fall in lead? How has the. discussion
of this question in this country caused
the depression in other countries? But
leaving them out, is it not a fact that
the decline in the United States, both
in wool and lead prices, has occurred
under the full operations of the highest
duties ever imposed? Why then
charge the fall upon a policy not yet
in force?
The Mckinley law was to make the
prices of domestic wool and American
| lead higher. AS soon as the higher
duties it levied were imposed they both
gradually went down. They have not
brought as much to the producer since
as before the law went into force.
What does that prove? If anything
at all,Nit is that a high tariff does not
bring high prices for American raw
Materials" 1t knocks the protective
theory on that point squarely on the
head.
If it is the tariff that has made the
slump in wool and lead, it is the Re-
publican tariff which has done the work.
If anybody's heart has been touched by
losses to the pocket, and anybody's eyes
have been made clear through low
prices of products, let them look at
these indisputable facts and lay the
blame where it belongs.
But is this great country to be gov
erned in its national policy by the dis
ducers who are unable to command as
high a figure in the market for their
wares as they would like? Is the well
fare of sixty millions of people to be
considered, or must the laws be framed
in the special interest of a few thous-
ands of their number:
Protectionists, whose theories are sec
tional, of course always appeal to the
personal interests of a class That is
! the sort of patriotism they inculcate. 1t
is pocket patriotism. People are to
consider what will be likely to benefit
their class or their section of the
country, no matter how mucn the great
majority are affected. That is all in
line with the policy Of party that is
for the classes and not for the masses.
The greatest good to the greatest
number is sought by Democratic legis-
lation. If the few sustain some loss
the proper national policy. So that if
comparative handful of wool men
make less profits and the great
body of the people obtain cheaper goods,
because of a tariff for revenue only
which also provides for some free raw
materials. we say let the welfare of the
whole people be paramount and the few
do the best they can.
But it has not yet been shown that a
revenue tariff will injure either the
wool men or the lead men. 1t has been
demonstrated during the past four years
and especially during the last two years,
that a high protective tariff does not
bring high prices to American raw ma
terials, wool and lead being conspicuous
examples, but it has shown that the
higher the duties on the foreign articles
the lower the prices of the domestic
products in the American market. That
is as clear as the mountain peaks when
the monday sun is shining.
r--z-sz..s---r-rrs.---.-rr-s-
DEMOCRATIC BUSINESS SENSE.
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