Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1896-02-13
DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
VOICE OF THE PRESS ON ITS
POLICY.
From Maine to Mexico the Press L.
United Against the Do Nothing Re-
publican Congress-Tin Plate Fraud
ulent Cry.

Addressing free-traders. a Chicago
organ of McKinleyism asks: 1.-TWO
years or so ago were you not bowling
that the tin plate duty was an Infamous
lmposture that could not result in the
establishment of tin plate industries in
the United States?''
No. F'ree-traders were not bowling
that two years ago or at any other
time. So far from denying, they have
always affirmed that it was possible to
establish an industry by the tariff
method or by the bounty method. They
have always affirmed that If persons
wishing 10 engage in industry were as
sisted by bounties high enough or by
armlng them with power to tax their
fellow citizens heavily enough they
could succeed
This is the very thing to which free
traders strenuously object. They in
sist not only that it is wretched econ
omy but that it is grossly Ubiquitous
either to tax the people and hand the
money over to individuals to swell
their gains OF to give those individuals
power to collect taxes from their neigh
supreme court of the United States in
the opinion that this sort of thing is
not taxation but robbery under the
forms of law. and that government can
not justly do any such thing.
With respect to the tin plate indus
try, so far from saying that it could not
be made profitable by the tariff method,
they have strongly objected TO being
taxed by that method to make it profit
able They have strongly objected TO
being taxed to make that Industry ex-
cessiFely profita BILE, as they were under
the Mckinley law. The proof that
they were so taxed in seen in the fact
that the tin plate men have gone right
on establishing more plants and in
creasing their output under the new
duty, which is little more than half as
high as the Mckinley duty.
The organ asks whether it is not
true that nearly 100 tin plate plants
were established under protection. and
that these 100 rivals for the posses
sion of the United States market were
free from suspicion of trust combina-
ton until after the enactment of the
tariff of 1894 There was an American
Kinley law existed. and it has been in
existence ever since. 1t may be that
this association did not attempt to re-
strict production or to maintain prices
until after the repeal of the Mckinley
tariff That was hardly necessary,
because they could not produce tin
enough to supply more than half of the
American demand and there vas no
difficulty about holding prices up to the
figures made by the tariff without forE--
ing trust.
The industry had not arrived at the
trust stage. That stage is reached
only when an industry has become so
developed that it is able 10 oVerstock
the home market. Then competition
sets in and it is no longer possible TO
hold prices mp to the tariff leve. other
wise than by combination. Their the
trust comes in and enables the pro
tected captains of industry to exact
their full pound of flesh.
1t is thus that the tariff breeds trusts
by supplying the motive for their or
ganization The protectionists have
been telling the people that their sys-
tenn reduces prices in the long run
tectees. They have been telling false
hood. for the trust steps in and throt-
ties competition, while the tariff en-
ables it to practice extortion. This is
not less true of the tin plate industry
than of any other, for it is still in en-
joyment of plenty of protection. 1t is
not true, as the Mckinley organ would
have its readers believe, that the new
law has deprived that industry of pro-
lection. If the stage of real competi-
ton has been reached, which proba bly,
is not the case, the tariff motive to
organize trust for the practice Of ex-
tortion has come into play, just as il
has in score or more OF industries
which are still much too CONSIDERABLY
protected.-Cbicago Chronicle.