New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-04-17

4 ELL WHICH SHOtLD III bIiiHN'
The forkcd road OF a deliberate choice may
presently lie before the Republicans IN Con
crcss. II may bc in their power 10 defeat any
tariff legislation 10y This Congress. II may be-
ir th,jr uovcr 10 purge the pending bill Of some
vicious features. or To- permit lis passage Win
out Improvement. IL it came from the Demo
cratic committee and caucus merely rc'"fdihI
their votes against H. Their choice may DE
irr.yocablc involving The welfare Of millions.
some difference of inclination has appeared
among Republicans. because IL is their h'Il'i
tina, the country may be effectively served ia
more WAYS than one.
Practical experience Of the Tariff bill. ~ the
Democrats have framed ii. would be- ~ almost
iucalculahlc benefit II would teach the voters.
50 that for the lifetime Of generation they
would not forget the practical consequences 81
jntrllsting tarilfmnking power 10 theoretical
opp,ucnfs Of Protection. by contrast ~ re-
suits with those attained under the present
tariff The trial would teach the vital necessity
Of maintaining the defence Of home Industries.
Men who have doubted whether any defence
v.os necessary or whether in some cases rs
cre,t q defence IA existing laws gave would
Icorn by eypcricncc Friends Of Protection
would he enlightened also. They would learn
from experience that in some eases Industries
have become more solidly established and are
I'm less need Of defence than they had sup
| poscd while in other cases the measure of pro
lection needed may be greater than was sup
nosed Some industries have imposed upon the
country it may be, by pretending necessities
| which do not exist, while others have mlStakcn
| IL asked little but need more. Statesmen OF all
uartics and voters Of all parties would be en-
| lightcncl by experience, so that wiser action
| might be attained for many years to come than
could have been reached in any other way.
All education worth anything Is costly, and OF
this lesson the cost would be frightful Ii Is no
| extravaganza OF language TO say that the cost
would be beyond calculation For il thousands
| of works should be closed for some years, no
| one can say what would become Of the many
| thousand workers and their families. how much
! they would suffer, how far their lives would be
| SACRIFICED how much the future Of multitudcs
! Of children would be- distorted or how many Of
| the works would ever be rcopencl. There il
the added risk that, when the people demand
added risk that. when the people demand
restoration Of protective duties. as they surely
| Will, 10 one can say whether new tariff
| will then be framed as good AZ the one now In
| force, as brave in preparing for the future. as
| moderate In many textures, OF dS thorough III
| others A great law which has been tested and
found 10 work wonders Of bcncficcnce might
not be re-enactcd as II stands or reconstructed
by men as wise or as fortunate as the original
! trainers.
| 1t Is Il dangerous matter for Republican law
makers TO take the responsibility Of making n
| Democratic tariff less offensive and more easy
to pass. That Is rarely part of the duty of a
minority. when convinced hat in principle and
in practical tendency the measure Of the ma
iority is radically wrong. If il were possible
by amendment TO make the bill good one. the
case would be different. When il is not pos
| siblc when 10 amendment that can by any
| chance be carried can do more than modify a
little the evil consequences and increase the
chance that the bill may pass. the minority may
have no higher duty than 10 abstain absolutely
from acceptance of any responsibility what
| ever. 1t seems on the whole 10 be the duty of
Republicans in Congress to Kill the pending bill
| II they are able and by the exercise Of every
| power which they possess under existing rules
and established customs. They have been trust
| cd by constituents 10 defend rs far as they
could the industries Of the country. II II be the
! Will Of the Higher Power which directs tho