Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1896-10-31
THE COUNTRY'S LOSS.


Whatever virtues may be claimed
Tor the Wilson law there is confessedly
one which it does not possess" writes
Major Mckinley in his letter of accept
ance. 1T lacks the essential virtue of
its creation-the raising of revenue
sufficient to supply the needs Of the
government"
The net loss in the trade balance OF
The United States during the first fif-
Leen months operation of the tariff Of
1894, as compared with the first fifteen
months of the tariff of 1890, averaged
100000 for every business day of the
year.
The loss has continued. It has inten-
sifled the industrial misery promoted
by the agitation for an inflated and
deprecated currency. While the latter
may be considered more responsible
than the fiasco tariff for what has be-
come a fixed condition of depression
and panic, the Wilson bill cannot es-
cape its proper share of responsibility.
If the treasury had been in continu-
GUS receipt of sufficient moneys for the
current expenses of the government re-
sort to sale of bonds might have been
averted. The gold reserve had to be
kept up to S100,O00,OO0 in order to re-
deem legal tender notes. For this pur-
pose Secretary Sherman disposed of
bonds in 1878 to the amount of 500, ,00O,-
900. The reason was we'll known. We
had resolved to return to specie pay
ments. If the tariff law framed by Mr..
Wilson, assisted by Senator German,
had performed it's proper function, the
treasury gold reserve might not have
needed replenishment in 1894 and sub
sequently to the amount of $262, ,000,-
900. If none of the treasury gold re-
serve had been used for current ex-
penses it would have remained in the
treasury. A balance of S123, 100000 was
clearly spent for other than redemp-
ton purposes.
The great national parties of the
country have been agreed that imports
should contribute substantially to the
support of the general government.
Major Mckinley does not hesitate to
say that it will be his aim if elected
president not only to approve legisla-
tion to this end in order to avoid fur
ther accumulation of public debt, but
also to give encouragement keenly
needed to the occupations of the Amer
ican people.
In this posture he is in direct antag.
onism to Mr. Bryan, who is an avowed
free trader. The Bryan idea is to admit
free to the mints of the United States
the silver of the world and, If neces-
sary, to close the mills of the United
States to American labor, permitting
the products of foreign labor to come
in as freely Us foreign silver. The Nc
Kinley idea is to keep the mints of the
United States closed to silver except as
now provided by law and by a judi
cious and reasonable tariff to open
and to maintain open to American
labor American factories and foun-
dries.
Our shops are closed or running on
half time at reduced wages and small
profit, if not actual loss. Our men at
home are idle, and while they are idle
men abroad are occupied in supplying
us with goods" writes Major McKin-
ley in his acceptance letter. "If our
labor was well employed and employed
at as remunerative wages as in 1892
in few months every farmer in the
land would feel the glad change in the
increased demand for his products and
in the better prices which he would
receive"
Are American farmers SO dull as to
be lured away from the plain common
sense of this proposition to the Bryan
absurdity of 53-cent dollars and the
continued paralysis Of the only mar
ket on which the American farmer can
safely rely-the home market?-Chi-
cago Times-Herald.
Vote for Patterson for