New-York tribune., 1895-10-31
TIE CATSE OF TROUBLE.

The Democratic partisan excuse for the pros
tration in 1893 and 1894 las been so often and
thoroughly refuted that the most intelligent and
self-respecting Democrats have abandoned It,
The pretence that the stoppage Of mills and
works after the Inauguration of President Clcve-
land with a Democratic Congress was caused
by n silver law which had been in force for
years. during their period of greatest expansion
and prosperous activity, would put upon the
President all the terrible responsibility for re-
sulting calamitieG. because he refused TO call
Congress together to repeal that law as soon rs
he had the power. 1t is rendered ridiculous py
the fact that the industrial prostratlon continued
and materially increased after that law was re-
pealed The preence has been proved false by
the revival of business after the Democratic
party was defeated in 1894 and its Congress llad
gone out of existence last March, though there
was no change or prospect of change In the cur
rency matter The people showed that they
knew that the pretence was impudenty false
when they cast tremendous ma j0rtles against
the party responsible both for repeal of the silver
law and for removal or reduction Of protective
duties They knew that the repeal had not
belped but that Free-Trade assaults upon the
tariff had incaculably injured their industries
And when it was found that the Free Traders
had so far been beaten, as they allegc by traitors
in their camp that duties were not so changed
as TO permit anything like the expected foreign
competition, the Improvement of business gave
final and conclusive proof that the tariff change
and not the currency had been the cause of
trouble
One Of the clearest proofs that this Demo
cratic pretence was false though scarcely OBJ
in oil tha ycit mpnt Of
tration, has been impressed upon honest minds
hv the peculiar character Of the recovery from
depression When new orders stopped coming
in the spring Of 1893 so that works were forged
TO close. it was not in all Industries alike. The
branches of industry not expected to be affect
ed by tariff revision met no reverses whatever
until the widespread prostration in others had
brought general panic. The stoppage Of orders
was earliest observed, and 10 the end was most
marked in wooen and iron and steel manufact
urcs, which were supposed to be most dependent
upon protective duties. In fact, some iron works
closed Immediately after the election Of Pres-
dent Cleveland The woollen mills, and most
of the iron works, with orders already booked
for the winter ran on for some months. But
the great decrease in new orders, particularly
in these very industries and some others most
a1IecteO Dy tlc liTlu, WIS ItpoItcu III uuuc
Journals before the general stoppage or reduc-
ton Of time appeared in the spring Of 1893.
Throughout the trouble the proportion OF works
stopping and the reduction Of wages were very
much greater In the precise branches of Industry
expected to be most affected by the tariff revo-
luton The most extensive tables published. re
garding the prostraton and the closing Of works,
embrace more iron and woollen works and
This fact and It's precise cause have been
brought out more clearly by the recent recov-
cry. Through the demands Of Pennsylvania and
Ohio which sugar and whiskey traders were
forced TO accept the iron industry obtained
larger measure of protection than any other
lis recovery has been far more complete than
that Of any other industry. The cotton manu-
facture obtained tariff pronounced by some
the most scientific schedule ever framed, and
its recovery fas perhaps been next in order
The wOollen manufacture obtained less prOtcc-
ton than other great industries. with ad valorem
duties while iron and cotton duties were made
specific and ii continues to this hour more
ly depressed. with less advance in wages and
more works idle, than any other great indus
try. He who does no, see conclusive proof in
these facts that the proslration was directly pro-
portoned TO the supposed dependence Of indus
tries upon the tariff and that the recovery has
been directly proportiOncd to the actual or sup
posed escape Of industries from threatened de-
structiOn, is indeed a person Of amazing mental
strabismus.