Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1895-08-03
M,kINLEY,s CANDIDACY.
Little Prospect of . Revival OF the Ultra
Protection Law.

Little Prospect of = Revival of the Ultr'
Protection Law.
IL the fate Of William Mckinley, Jr.,
!, MS a candidate for the republican presi
Dental nomination should depend on 9
O. comparison Of the apparent results o.
s his tariff and those of the present
tariff, he would get left by n large ma
orjty. A few weeks ago the Mckin-
ley organs were Disconnected to find
, that the silver question was the upper
] most thought in the public mind, be-
i cause it had n tendency to hide the
benefactions of the tariff OF 1890, and
e the calamities of that of 1894, Now
t the danger Is that the contrast be-
tween them will become too glaring,
and that the ~offenses of Mckinley, as
the chief engineer of the republican
defeats OF 1890 and 1892, will be too
freshly brought TO mind For 1t is not
TO be denied that the contrast is very
great We publish elsewhere n care
fully prepared statement of the show
ing in a large number of protected In
dustries, telling us how employment
has increased and how wages have ad-
vanced in protected manufacturing in
d~ustries since the Wilson bill became a
law, and the contrary effect in the
same shops after the Mckinley tariff
went In force,
We shall not take mn unfair ndvan-
tage of the McKinleyites, however.
We do not accept the maxim: Post hoe
ergo propter hoe. These figures do not
prove that the Mckinley tariff was
worse than the Wilson tariff, or that
the latter was better than the former,
The fact is that the difference between
them was not sufficient to account for
the industrial changes here recorded.
There were other o%verruling causes,
and among these the currency. or rath-
er the credit question as dependent
upon the currency question, was by far
the most important. The Sherman act,
~so-called, by which four million five
hundred thousand ounces OF silver were
bought each month and added to the
nat money OF the country, shook con-
tidence on both sides of the ocean in
the standard of value. Gradually, but
with increasing volume, capital was
withdrawn from the country. taking
the form of gold exports, which be-
came so large that after this act had
been in force two years and Il half a
genuine alarm filed the public mind.
The panic Of 1893 was the conse-
quence. 1t came just at the right time
to enable the McKinleyites to say that
1t was caused by the election of Cleve-
land and a democratic congress. They
availed themselves Of the maxim Post
hoe propter hoe to the fullest extent,
and they persuaded the workingmen
OF the country, who had lost employ
ment and had had their wages cut
down, that this was the true cause OF
their sufferings. The workingmen
could not understand the mysteries of
finance, and although the democratic
party, under the lash of President
Cleveland, actually did the only thing
that could possibly restore confidence
and revive business, by repeating the
Sherman act, they voted by over
whelming maiorities for a republican
1t takes time to bring prosperity
back after so rude a shock as that
the business of the country re-
In 1898, but the true remedy was
applied and the result was sure to fol-
1t has now come. The Mcliin-
are trying, in a feeble way, to
play their old trick over again. As
they said before that the panic was
caused by the apprehension of what
the democrats would do, although they
mad actually done nothing, so they are
now that the good times are
by the hope of what the re-
publicans will do, although they have
actually done nothing, and there is no
chance of their doing anything tariff
wise fortwo years to come.
This is an argument that will not
bear close examination. It may serve
for the campaign of this fall. but not
for next year. Long before the autumn
Of 1890 1t will have worn out. Most
likely the campaign Of 1896 will turn
other questions than the tariff, but
II the tariff is then uppermost the
most effective battle cry will be to
let it alone" That will be the fetch
ng argument with the workingmen,
to a large extent with their en-
Dloyers also. In that case Mckinley
Will be unavailable, because he stands
or a change-the same kind of a
that he made before. Es-
will he be committed to re-
tore and even increase the duties on 5
WOOL, in accordance with the demands {
If the wool-growing triumvirate, S
lawrence, Harpster and Delano And, l
II course, any change in reference to {
WOOL must bring in corresponding {
in woolens. worsteds, mixed I
FOODS, textiles of all kinds; in short. ]
everything that anybody wants if he Q
las a pull with the committee of
ways and means, Does the republican |
want to wake up the spirit that c
mote it in 1890? If so, it can be |
pretty sure of doing 1t by making Me- |
smiley its candidate next year.-N. Y. I
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