The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-04-08
SHERMAN HAS FOUND THE
CAUSE.

In the current number Of the
Forum, Senator John Sherman writes
the opening article. entitled, "Deti-
cheney of revenue the cause of our
financial Ills"
In 1893 Sherman announced in
public interview that the cause of the
panic was the silver purchase act, and
predicted that prosperity would come
within ten days after its repeal: and
all the daily gold press cried,
"Amen'
Major Mckinley and T. B. Reed
have been preaching of late that the
cause OF our financial ills was def
cheney Of tariff protection from the
paupers of Europe. But Mr.. Sherman
sees the childishness of this argu-
ncnt, in that the new Democratic
tariff did not go into effect until a
year after the financial ills had come,
and even then was protective meas
ure giving as high protection as the
Morrill, war-tariff of 1861 or the Re-
publican tariff of 1888
Mr.. Sherman's superior mind per-
| ceives that there is deep-felt want
of some other theory Of the cause of
our present condition, than those il
logical theories which his party has
been putting forth. So Mr.. Sherman
invents the theory worded above. But
is his theory any more sensible than
the others?
How can Mr.. Sherman make out
that the deficiency of revenue was
the cause Of our financial ills, when the
financial ills preceded the deficiency
of revenue? The financial panic
struck the country in the spring of
1893, and the deficiency of revenue did
not come until the decrease in impor-
tations, which result ted from the
panic. II there was any relation be :
tween the deficiency of revenue and
the financial ills. it was that the tinan-
cial ills caused the deficiency OF tariff
revenue by restricting the consump'
tion of imported goods. Mr.. Sherman
would argue that deficiency in the
amount of food and clothing con-
sumed is the cause of poverty, or, that
| the deficiency in the amount of rain
| fall is the ca use of the cloudless
| condition of the sky.
| Mr.. Sherman knows that there was
| also deficiency in the revenue dur
ing the last year of the Mckinley
| tariff, and about the same as during
| the first year of the Wilson tariff
| Cleveland complained in his message
that the Mckinley tariff did not pro-
| duce revenue enough to run the gov
eminent. The fact is. both of these
| two eminent gold-bugs know that no
tariff can be depended upon to pro-
duce revenue during such a financial
| condition as the present. They may
think that they can fool the people
| into making campaign issue Of this
| farcical question OF the d Inference of
few dollars, more or less, in the
revenue collected under these two
partisan tariffs: but the people of this
country are not all fools yet.
AS matter of fact, there was only
$40, 100000 difference between the
amount of revenue collected during
the first year of the Wilson tariff and
that collected during the last year Of
the Mckinley tariff. The latter yield.
ed $199,O00.C0). and the former $780,
OOO,O 900. The per capita differ
ence between Democracy and the G..
0. 2. on this great issue raised by
John Sherman is 3O-cent matter.
The people of the United States are
no longer muddle-pated enough, we
hope, to be carried through caucuseS,
conventions, and prolonged national
campaign on 30-cent issue. There
will always remain d few voters, Of
course, who will sell their birthrights
on penny issue for the glory Of the
old party machine. But this class is
rapidly being diminished, and we hope
soon to see the last remnant of it
taking up it's abode in the asylums for
the blind, deaf, and insane.
f. n. S.