The herald., 1896-07-12
HOW 1T WAS BUILT

The tariff act of 1880 is tagged with the
name Mckinley. and because of his al
legged authorship of it the Canton Clam
has been held up as the apostle par ex-
cellence of modern protectionism.
There could be no more fragrant error
than the belief that out of the recesses
of his gray matter Mckinley evolved
the measure of 1890. as w. L. Wilson and
a few associates did the tariff bill intro
duced in the house by the ways and
means committee in 1894 and SO sadly
emasculated in the United States sem
ate with the aid of the traitorous Demo-
cratic members of that body. AS a mat
ter of fact, the thing known as the Nc
Kinley bill was prepared by its, benefi-
ciaries. The employees Of the ways and
means committee Of the house arranged
the schedule forms, and the representa-
tives of the private interests taken care
of filled in the blank places. Mckinley
happened to be chairman of the ways
and means committee, and thus en-
joyed the opportunity of personally re-
porting the bill and making the opening
statement in its behalf. He has been
of the tariff rather than the tariff of
him.
The theory upon which the tariff of
1890 was constructed was that of recon-
pense to the great protected interests
which had suffered the fat to be fried
out of them for the payment of the
enormous expenses of the Harrison
campaign. If Mckinley and Republi-
can congress are elected in November
laOiSlatiI-a Fy-{1l
next another legislative atrocity viii be
foisted on the people, and for the eXtor-
tionate character of its eXactions and
the flagrancy of its abuse of the power
of taxation it will far outclass the leg
islative monument of fallacy and fraud
reared in 1890. Compared with the OBJ
legations Mckinley has incurred in or
der to obtain the financial and moral
or, rather. immoral assistance of the
tariff trusts and monopOlies in his cam
paign for his party's nomination and the
other campaign he will have to make
until election day, those assumed by
Harrison and the Republican party in
1888 were trihing.
The principle on which the Mckinley
law was prepared was exposed In a most
ltIllIlS uIdl4llcl ny IeSSlIldH w llSOI
of West Virginia during the debate on
the measure. His arraignment was not
challenged then nor has 1t been since
After affirming with emphasis that the
bill was not the work of either Mckinley
Dingley, Burrows or Payne, the Repub-
lican members of the committee, Mr..
Wilson proceeded
Il turn to the very schedule of the law
now under consideration, and find that
Mr.. Mckinley, i'll presenting to this
house the conference report, September
- 1890, said of it: This schedule has the
hearty approval of the National Wool
growers association and of the several
state associa tions throughout the coun-
try
IN the next sentence he says: And,
Mr.. Speaker, that is entirely true also of
the tobacco schedule, although he omits
To say who hao approved this latter. AS
to the great and comprehensive metal
schedule, constituting so large part of
the tariff and contributing so much of
its political and pecuniary strength, l
read in the report made by Mr.. James NJ
SWank, secretary of the American Iron
and Steel association, made to the pres
ident of that associa ton, that during
the long period in which this measure
(the Mckinley bilU received the consid-