Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1897-03-27

ident jackson hardly overstated the danger
of a surplus when he declared that it was
more dangerous than standing army;
and yet, dangerous as a surplus is, it is not
so dangerous as the extravaganza which is
always resorted to in order to prevent its
accumulation. 1t cannot be forgotten that
many of those who now advocate high
tariff and defend the extravaganza which
1t engenders did not hesitate to denounce
the administration of President Buchanan
because in it's last year the appropriations
exceeded the sum of $60,0OOOOO. Our popu-
lation al that time was nearly half what 1t
is to-day, and if the government were now
properly and frugally administered our
expenses, including liberal pensions for the
soldiers of the late war, ought not to and
would not exceed the sum of $3.50, 100000
IF the system of unnecessary taxation
is indefensible because of the extravaganza
which it encourages, ii is still more so on
account of the trusts which it fosters and
promotes. 1t is not more certain that pro-
lection encourages extravaganza than it is
that it breeds unlawful combinations of
| capital. Indeed, protection is justified upon
the aVowed theory that competition should
be restricted. True enough, it assumes the
patriotic pretense that foreign competition
| ought not to be permitted against our
home Industries; but they little understand
| the selfshness of human nature, and es-
| pecially they little understand the SELFISH
| hess of that human nature which relies
| upon the favoritism of the law to increase
its fortune, who suppose that these men,
| having secured themselves against for
| eiSn competition by the favor of congress,
will fail to secure themselves against do
| mestic competition by voluntary combina-
ions among themselves.
1T is an old adage, and it is as true as 1t
! is old, that competition is the life of trade,
| and whatever tends to restrict competition
must tend to restrict trade. The majority
| of the committee seem to think 1t an easy
matter for us to build a tariff wall about
| our borders and thus prevent the foreign
erS from trading with us, but they forget
| that the same wall which shuts the for
| eigner out shuts us in, and that regula-
/ lations to prevent the foreigner from trad
| ing with us must at the same time prevent
us trading with the foreigner. We be-
| lieve in the principles of competition, and
! we believe the people of the United States
can successfully compete against all other
| people of the world; and we denounce as
a crime against the best interests of our
| people any law which leaves the consumers
of this land subject to the eXactions of
| reckless and corrupt combinations formed
to destroy competition and control prices.
'"The report of the committee on ways
| and means Is singularly silent upon the
old preteXt that these high taxes are i'm
| posed for the benefit of American labor.
| and the silence may be taken as conced-
ing the democratic contention that the in
telligence and skill of the American fac
| tory operative are all the protection which
he needs or desires. The labor argument
of the protectionist can be reduced to an
absurdity which makes it amazing that II
should ever have been seriously advanced
I'VE are unable to offer a substitute for
the pending bill, because we have not been
allowed reasonable time to prepare one
| Congress convened in extraordinary ses-
sion on Monday, the 18th day of March, and
this bill was introduced the same day and
referred to the committee on ways and
means, which met the next morning, and on
Thursday it was ordered to be reported to
the house. The majority of the committee
had spent the three months of the last ses-
sion of the last congress in the preparati ation
Of their bill, and yet they refused to allow
the minority three weeks in which to pre-
pare a substitute. We are unwilling to
propose n measure that has not been care
fully matured, and we must therefore con-
tent ourselves with protesting against the
passage of the committea's bill"