The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-01-12
A, COSTLY THREAT.
The Enormous Losses Caused by the
Operations of the Tariff Tinkerers.

To the Editor of the Indianapolis Journal:
With ignoring history, unskilled and mere
theorists in charge, government has many
times proven a costly experiment. The pres
ent attempt at Washington has already
been exceptionally so. The last previous
experiment in this line, in 1857 to 1861 was
disastrous enough, but that blow for COM
parative free trade came upon the country
when there were only few iron works IN
PENNSYLVANIA and further east, and at the
budding time of our great factory system
A few millions Of capital were then en-
ployed, and there were few thousands of
operatives only. The history of the times,
voiced from the message of the President,
the press and the wall of the impoverished
was earnest enough, but was not largely
representative as now. In about third
of century since then under uniform and
favorable public policy, hundreds of mil
lions of capital have been put
into manufacturing industry, and
many millions of wage earners have
been employed These great industries
have spread from New England, New York
and Pennsylvania TO almost every part of the
country. In turn this has stimulated a.gri-
culture by furnishing vast home markets
for the surplus, and in the same period in
duced the building of about three-quarters
of present railway system, adding more
than tenfold to our domestic commerce. This
is. in brief, the comparative difference in
which the present threat TO repeat the eX-
pertinent of 1857 finds the country. Taking
the manufacturing, the agricultural and
the commercial industries into the count,
there are now hundreds of thousands. in
volved where there were but hundreds then.
And so, touching every angle Of these varied
industries, which had become interdependent,
one upon the other, TO the amount of So
O00, 600 900 in trade annually, it is hardly TO be
wondered that the present threat awakens
SO many voices, elicits so many protests,
imDOyeriSheS
Noting the reports of the commercial
agencies and the Associated Press since
amidst which the country finds itself, an
approximate estimate may be made of
what the present threat has already cost.
Leaving out of the estimate all indirect
cost to the country, and including only the
more palpable and real items in the count,
it stands TO this date about as follows:
Loss in wages by reason of idle
Loss by reduced wages of others. 9S,670,000
Loss by idle capital in fac
tories Io0,VVV,VVV
Total ............................s57 $50, $40. 900
But in addition TO these items. is TO be
considered the loss on the agricultural
products by reason OF low markets and
idle consumers and the loss TO the rail-
WAYS and other commercial industries by
reason of the general stagnation. lit
facts will enable any candid person to see
what ten months OF the present admins
tration has brought upon the country.
For a moment consider this matter from
the free-trade standpoint, that tariff is a
taxi TO consumers, which, In the main. is
a fiction. Taking the great collection OF
comparative prices on protected articles
afforded by the Senate committee report
for 1891 and 1892, together with the prices
given In the London Economist for Great
Britain, and IL is apparent that the Ameri-
can tariff tax could not exceed the aver
age annual duty on imports, which is about
si72 600 600. Thus IL is seen that the three
Of in
months exceed this tax on consumers by
more than S4O3 500 0O0 TO say nothing Of the
other great items of loss referred to but
not computed And 50 the threat TO in
augurate absolute free trade in many for
merly protected productions and compar-
alive free trade in others has already cost
the people Of this country in the past seven
months more than three times the whole
annual tax" We are told that this work
upon which Mr.. Cleveland was elected
promised il. If the history Of two or three
former experiments In this direction was
not believed. nor sufficient to against
IT, is not the existing disaster justification
enough for a change OF base? IL is a re-
markable Consistency that cOmpels a
party To walk into the jaws OF defeat,
which surely awaits II this year.
Such reduction OF home Industry, home
manufacturing and therefore increased inn
portation as will be assured by the passage
OF the Wilson bill may not continue to- in
fict S575, 000, coo of loss each seven months.
as ii has in the past seven, but IL must be
plain that the loss annually will be a far
greater tax than the annual average duty
the plan before US Of managing the affairs