The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1894-02-09
FRIDAY FEBRUARY, Q 1894.
EXTRACT FROM A SPEECH OF
HON. M N. JOHNSTON.

Mckinley tariff Of 1890.
We say to every man IN every corner
Of the world who has anything to sell
which the American people wish t.
buy, and which We do not or cannot
ourselves produce ingrcat abundance,
come and welcome. Bring your wares
with you free of dnty, or let or hind
rance of any kind, and sell them to
our people just as cheap as you can
and just as much as you like.
In 1892 We imported from foreign
countries 81, O3O, 0OO, 600 worth Of goods,
and more than half (,5 per cent? OF
those enormous imports were Of this
class, and came in absolutely free of
duty under the present law.
On this principle we have placed
upon the free list all such things as
coffee, tea, pepper, nutmegs, cloves,
cinnamon, rubber, and all the tropical
fruits. Such things can net possibly
grow in our climate. A tariff ON them
would bc a tariff for revenue only,
which we Republicans do not believe
in, because that kind Of tariff is tax
added to the price of the article and
paid by the consumer.
The Republican party does not
believe In a tariff of that kind, and SO
we have abolished 1t entirely. There
is another class Of goods which,
although produced in this country to
a limited extent, the supply is SO lin.
tied that home competition does not
regulate the price. II there were q
tariff on such articles 1t would be q
tax paid by the consumer, and so We
have abolished it by placing suct
things as binding-twinc fiber, bees
wax, turpentine, whalebonc, ivory
raw silk, ETC., also on the free list.
But when it comes to that larg,
class OF articles which are or can b.
produced in this country in such over
whelming abundance that the HON,
competition regulates the price, ther
we impose duty on the foreign com
petitor If he seeks to crowd upon ou
market an article the like Of which
we have in plenty OF home and there
fore do not need to shipin from abroad
Such articles IL sold here to any con
siderable extent must 60 at the pric.
fixed by American competition, ant
the duty is paid by the foreigner To-
the privilege of entering our market!
and not by the American consumer
In this class are included such articles
as wheat, barley, hay, potatoes, horses
meat, butter, eggs, cheese, wooden anG
cotton cloth, carpets, nails, hardware
crockery, glassware, etc.
Thus it will be seen that the Repub
can party is consistent In theory and
In practice In favor of a protective
tariff for every industry and produc
tion In which our people can .advan
tageously and extensively engage ant
entirely opposed to any tariff atall OF
articles which would result in revenue
only.
The Democratic position is much
more difficult to define. They are To-
one thing in theory and another ii
practice. Their platforms, while usu
ally so worded as to mean one thinf
in New England and Pennsylvania
and quite the opposite In the west ant
south, generally denounce q protectiv,
tariff and favor tariff for reyenu,
only. Therapeutics differ even NOR
radically than the most divergen,
readings Of their platforms, and ar,
made to suit districts, on Gen. Han
cocks theory that the tariff is a loca
issue.
AS for what sort of a thing a real
sure-enough Democratic tariff law is
we Of this generation are as yet en-
tircly in the dark, as that party ha
mover been in a position to actual,
write tariff law upon the statut,
book since 1876. The Chicago pla
form Of 1892 denounced Republican
protection as Unconstitutional, ,
rcbbery and fraud" and the Nc
Kinley law as the eliminating
fetUclty," and declares for a tariff TO
revenue only.
A few Democratic members actual,
seem to stand on the Chicago platform
and say they believe In a tariff 70
revenue only, but as yet no bill for
tariff of that kind has been reported
and at the present time it does NO
seem probable that these gentlemen
will be accorded even the poor oppor
tunity Of recording their names in 1
yea.and-nay vote In favor of such {
tariff.
The tariff In the bill reported by the
chairman Of the Committee on Ways
and Means is not put forth as tariff
for revenue only. 1t processes to be
q protective tariff, but it does not pro
tect. 1t is a base imitation and q
miserable counterfeit. 1t is framed
by men hostile to and ignorant of the
protective principle. 1t could not be
anything else than failure.
Here is a complicated system, in
vented, created and operated for a