Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1895-09-26
MISTAKE OF M.klnLM.
The Champion of Protection Ignores Al
TsSuea Fsut fh. Tariff

The Champion of Protection Ignores Al,
Issues But the Tariff.
The speeches of Sherman and Nc
Kinley at Springfield. o., are not en-
couraging. Not word was said by
either of them marking out construc-
tive policy to meet the exigencies of
the times. As of the democracy of old,
their whole stock in trade consists of
denunciation of the other fellows.
without hint of what they would do
to remedy situation due, more than
to anything else, to their own enact
ments. When Mckinley said the tariff
must be and is the issue, the wish was
wholly responsible for the thought,
which has no other foundation. What
about the overshadowing financial
question and the preservation OF the
gold value standard and the integrity
of the currency? Hardly a word be-
yond damnin9 the administration for
its efforts put forth to rescue the ma
ton from the most critical financial
position it has ever been in.
Gov. Mckinley did touch upon the
need of more revenue, which is a mat.
ter to be emphasized. But he would
simply make it an excuse for advancing
not the revenue duties, but the So
called protective duties, which are de-
signed to check and not increase duty
paying importations. He repeated the
familiar claim that ''at no time from
the passage of the republican tariff
law of 1890 down to the close of Presi-
dent HarrIson's administration did that
: law fail to raise all the revenue needed
to meet every expense of the general
government. and during no part of that
period DID the gold reserve fall below
500. 900. OOO."
What are the facts about this? The
Mckinley tariff did not go into full
effect until April. 1891, when the du-
ties were removed from raw sugar.
The secretary of the treasury had
meantime paid off a years interest on
the funded debt in advance, and things
were all cleared up for two years of
generous existence for the treasury.
The results can be seen from this COM
parison of the net cash balance and
funded debt as they stood on April l,
1891, and March 1. 1893, when the Har-
rison regime ended:
Total cash balance. April. 1891 sl5s 4.S s3i
Total ia cash balance. March. 1898 sis41ssos7
Funded debt. March 1. 1898 5soGSiOOO
The treasury in this time had lost
S34, 297, 900 in net cash and reduced the
debt but SIS, 800, 900. The Mckinley
act had failed by SO much, at least, to
provide the necessary revenue. The
gold reserve had meantime fallen from
nearly Si50.O0O 900 to SOB, 100000. So
rapidly was the government beginning
to run behind that Secretary Foster,
IN his report OF December, 1892, said
that 1.-The revenues should be SO in
creased as to enable the treasury de-
partment to maintain gold reserve of
not less than S125, 900, 000" If, as Gov.
Mckinley now says, the Mckinley
tariff act yielded sufficient revenue,
why, after two years, was more rev.
enue needed to keep up gold reserve
to SI25, 900, 900 when the act started out
with a reserve nearly s25, 900, 900 larger
than that?
But it will be said that the demo
caused importatiods and revenue to
fall off because OF an anticipated re-
duction of the tariff. What are the
facts here? The revenue from Gus
toms after Mr.. Cleveland's election in
1892 were larger than they had been
in the corresponding months of the
previous year-that great and prosper
GUS republican year of 1912. when the
prospect of a democratic victory had
not come into being in the mind Of
anybody. In November, 1892 for ex-
ample, customs receipts aggregated
$4,000, 900. against So, 600, 900 in the
previous year; in December, SIT. 2O0.-
600. against s14. 300, 900; from January
1 to March 1, WITH a democratic presi-
dent and congress preparing to take
their seats. $1,000, OnO, against S34,-
loo, 600 in the same time the year be-
fore
And yet the treasury was all this
time running behind, and Secretary
Foster had given an order to the bu-
reau of engraving and printing to pre-
pare plates for new issue of bonds.
Gov. McKinley's sincerity in asserting
that at no time did his tariff law fail
to yield all needed revenue does not
shine forth very brilliantly in the face
of these disagreed BILE facts And all
he can suggest by way of remedy for
our present difficulties is restoration
of his deficit-b breeding and debt-increas-
ing tariff.
1t is just as well to keep these facts
of recent political history in view.
The people want to see fair play.
They are not greatly impressed just
now with democratic capacity in gov
eminent, but they will not applaud
this solemn-faced stone-throwing from
republican party leaders daubed all
over with a record of financiering reck
less and demagogic beyond anything
known to the nation in years--Spripg-
field (Mass-) Republican.