The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-02-24
The Tarir and the deficit.

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The ridiculous talk about insufficient
revenue because of the tariff keeps on
just as if there were no figures to con-
tradict it. The Republican Members of
Congress and the led editors seem to take
the American people for fools. Cur own
Evening Journal shot off some acct
dental figures for December customs du-
ties a day or two ago and triumphantly
pointed to the necessity for a Reed
Dingley law-to reduce the revenue still
further we presume.
customs duties are not hard to get. Even
Republican papers could print them if
they wished. They refrain from doing so
because they contradict the party theory,
and dismal generalities answer their pur-
pose better. Here are some of the facts
The revenues from customs in the ealen-
dar year. 1892. were s1s1. 7s7. 1856; in 1893,
they were sl7s. 2s1, 1876; in 1894, they were
s1S1, 26l. e54. Here we see McKinleyism at
work. In three years it causes a reduc-
ton of about $50, ooo. 600 in the annual rev.
enue of the Government from the tariff.
Can any argument be more unanswer-
able?
Now let us take 1895. the first year in
which the Wilson-Gorman tariff was in
operation, what do we ind
We find the total customs receipts of
the Government to nave been s165. 426. SoS,
an increase in one year of over s4,0o0,O 900.
We ask again. could any answer be more
effeetual to the humbug Republican talk?
And we know that the volume of for
eign trade is increasing steadily, SO that
1896 may be expected to show an increase
in customs receipts, probably to $1S5, 600
coo and possibly to a vastly greater sum-.
got back to $3.50, co., coo or more. very
near where it was in 1890. the banne
year. when McKinleyisrn had not yet
got its grip on the neck of our com
merce.
The pervers.on of the Republican po-
sition is really calculated to drive a rea-
sonable man distracted. The four fiscal
years of comparatively mild tariff which
preceded MeKinleyism. viz, ending in
1887, 1883, 1889, 1890, produced a total rev
enue from customs receipts of $3.50, s79.
1874. The four fiscal years of Mckinley
ism, ending in 1891. 1892. 1893, 1894. pro-
duced $732, 148, III. a reduction of $151. $780,
gu. And yet they want us to return TO
McKinleyism in the shape Of the Reed
Dingley villainy for the purpose of in
creasing the income of the government.
But when one of these fools or rogues
or combinations Of folly and roguery
sees the above figures, he switches off on
another tack. He begins to talk about
nerotection to our home industries, the
afeed of encouraging our manufactures
oNell, let us see, growing cereals and
other food products is one of our lead
ing industries. In the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1892, before McKinleyism got in
much of its fine work, we exported to
Europe agricultural products to the value
OF about $500. 900, 600, our total domestic ex-
ports being s1.0l5, s2,ell. The very next
year, our agricultural exports fell to
$615, GOO, 900, with a total of 1891, 030, 1855 of
domestic exports. New competition, you
say. Yes. but what made the compete
ton but our own mad destruction of
the markets that we had controlled.
IN the calendar year, 1895. we find
on the other hand. the exports of ar
ticles manufactured in the United States
amounted to 500. 1887 III against SIT 800.
s5s in 1894. This a gain of about s23,351,-
1872 in a year. In the four years Of Nc
.K~inieyism there was a net gain in ex-
ports Of domestic manufactures Of about
ss.oOo.ooo.
vastness of the home markets in compar-
ison with anything we can hope to gaii;
abroad This is in the first place a mere
assumption. Nobody can state the limits
of our possible success in the markets OF
the world. But the mere fact that we
ran export more and more every year
with profit is conclusive proof that we can
hoid our avn markets against foreign
competition except In respect 20 materials
which out country does not afxord q