The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-04-03
,s,KrNLEy ON "PKorECfION'.

! In The speech which Cor ernor Mckinley
| made last week a Minneapolis to the
convention OF Republican League Clubs
he said that the people have realized the
mistake they made in rejecting the Re-
publican protection platform at the Presi-
Dental election of 1892. ard that they
now feel the mistake most sensibiy, and
regret it most deeply.
Is this q fact? For our part we do not
believe there is a word Of truth in 1t.
The doctrine Of protection" is a plan
By which all the other Americans shall
be forced to buy manufactured articles at
tho prices which the Americans who make
them choose to put upon those articles.
when without protection" they would
buy those articles at the prices 10 which
they would be brought by the whole
to as. II is obvious that the Americans
who wish to buy those articles would
get them much cheaper II their admis-
sion here from abroad were free than
il they are shut out by protective"
duties. and they are compelled to pay for
them what the American manufacturers
choose to charge for them. We are GER
tain, then, that all Americans who want
70 buy such articles, and are in no way
interested in their manufacture, are OPP
posed 10 the principle Of protection"
IL
terested in buying them than in manu-
featuring them, we feel that we can say
with confidence that the overwhelming
majority of Americans are opposed TO
protection.
Nothing could be more palpably plain
than this proposition when it is consid-
cred with reference 10 any one manu-
featured article standing by itself. Take
any article used generally by every Gam
lily in the United States. All are inter
tested to get the article at the lowest
possible price and none are interested
to have the price Of them high but the
manufacturers of the special article. But
those engaged in the manufacture are to
all the people Of the United States as one
grain Of sand on the sea shore is to the
sea shore itself How. then, does the
principle Of protection" come to have
so large a following? 1t Is because all
those engaged in manufacture make com
mon cause together and constitute
party Of '1og-rollers." 1t is a party
formed upon the platform Of you tickle
me and III tickle you" The manufac-
turer Of some other article would like to
ge, this general article of domestic use
az cheaply as possible. and he would be
glad to see protection" confined to his
own article. But he knows that his article
would have to so if they stood alone.
Therefore he enters into combination
with the other manufacturers, and they
agree mutually to aid each other in
securing protection" and thus it comes
about that the protection" party is
made up of all that part of the people
who are engaged in the business Of so
shaping the laws Of the United States
as that those who do lot manufacture
shall pay tribute to those who do. Now
much the larger part OF the people do
not manufacture, and. therefore, much
the larger part of the people is dead
opposed TO the principle Of plucking,
which protection embodes. These are
the people who rejected Mr.. McKiney's
fine platform of protection" in 1892. and
they are just as strongly minded to re-
ject it to-day as they were in 1899.
But the people whom they put into Office
in 1892 have very sorely disappointed
them. In the first place, instead of ad-
dressing themselves at once to the duty
that they were elected TO perform, they
Immediately set themselves to work to
disturb our measure of value and me-
lium of exchange and introduce turmoil
and confusion in the daily operations of
trade and commerce. In the next place
when they commenced giving half hearted
attention 10 the business committed TO
their care they proceeded TO deal with il
upon the theory that an evil once we'll
fixed upon the people had better be left
there and made a little more endurable
than to be cut up by the roots and cast
aside. as the people had instructed them
they wished should be done. If Governor
Mckinley had said that people regret the
way in which their representatives have
deceived them and disregarded their
wishes and commands. we think he would
not have been very wide Of the mark.
But In saying this he would have made
no accession to the support of his doc
trine of protection" He would have been
only saying what is true. that the peo-
pie are disguested. because their repre-
sentatives have not cut the principle of
protection" out of our institutions. root
and branch, and that for that reason,
and their folly In attacking our money,
folly that rises to the Importance of
sin. they will probably relegate them all
to long period of inglorious ease, with
not single disturbance that flows from
public trust.
-------------------------
STEWART CONFEssES.