Crawford avalanche., 1896-08-06


trend of the gold movement was in our
favor. and during only two of the remain
ing six years-that is to say, in 1889 and
1S9l-was the outward movement large
enough to attract attention. In 1889
there were large importations under the
tariff of 1888 for the purpose of antici-
pating the increased duties of the Nc.
kinley bill. and this caused an outward
fiux of gold in payment. In 1891 the ex-
traOrdinary outflow arose largely because
of the Barring failure, which caught in
its crash many foreign holders of Ameri-
can securities, who. being pinched for
ready money, had to return some of those
securities to this country fror redemption.
These explanations are ample to account
Tor the exceptional exports which char
acterized two of the years of the Harri-
son administration, when the revenues Of
the country were upon highly protective
basis. Adding imports together and COM
pairing results for the fifteen years in
question we find that the aggregate inn
ports OF gold exceeded the aggregate ex-
ports to the amount of $101. .56S,310.
During this period the national debt was
reduced from S2,349, ,561 .23204 in 1879 to
81 ,563 ,612. 1858 in 1892. a total reduc-
ton of $TS5,954, 1854.
Now let us turn to the years from 1893
to 1896, when tariff reform" held the
boards:
1893. Exports .............sS sS7 5O6 AGA
io0t' ,oot Exports ............ 452S,942
iSo: iSSo: Exports .................. 309S4, ,449
Aooo 'CAports .''............... I4,511 ,2J2
sEleven months ended May 81
Here we have q total loss of gold dur.
ing the short era of Democratic tariff
reform" of $191 ,531 .1O6. or a net loss in
four years of $0J,962,976 over the nes
gain accumulated during the preceding
fifteen years. During these same disas.
trOus four years of Wilson-Gorman tar
iff reform, the national debt has been in
creased in principal $500, ,454 $50. and in
interest yet to be paid almost $3.50, 600.
600, or over $500,0O0.000 i'm all Had
the voters of the United States not heed.
ed the false arguments of Democracy in
1892 the national debt, instead of being
increased in principal and interest over
half billion dollars in the intervening
four years. would, at the same rate of
decrease which prevailed from 1879 to
lS92, have been lowered to the extent of
S224, 4,5oS,5O1 .32. and instead of n loss of
Sl91 ,J31 JOG through gold exports we
should. at the ratio of the preceding ff-
teen Republican years. have had n net
gam through imports amounting i'm the
four years to $27,0S5.O12. Recapitulat-
ing these losses, and not saying anything
| of the tremendous personal losses inflict-
cd by the tariff reform" experiment
npon. all classes of American citizens
for these in the aggregate are obviously
incalculable-we find that the "change of
1872 from Mckinley protection to Will
son-Gorman free trade has cost the gov
ernment of the United States directly, in
its finances, not less than $949. ia
625.32, a conclusion reached as follow s I:
Loss OF gold through actual
export Observation-Disclosures S197 ,53l, Jog. 90
Loss OF gold through what
would have been Imported
had the Republican ratio
from 1878 to 1892 obtained
from 1892 to 1896. ....... 81. 7.OS5. .OIo 90
Loss through Increase In ma
tional debt ............... 500, ,oOo, 600. 90
| Loss through what would
have been the reduction OF
| debt had the Republican ra-
tio of debt reduction which
prevailed from 1879 to 1892
prevailed also from 1892 to
1896 .................... 22455s. .507 30
Total loss. s................s9 .s949, ia, ,625 30
This loss has nothing to do with the
| question whether gold or silver
| standard is the better. 1t is a direct
| fruit of the Democracy's unwise agita-
| ton against protection: a palpable dem.
onstration that the tariff is emphatically
an issue in this campaign.-Scrpmton
| Pa.) Tribune.