The times., 1897-05-30
The Screaming Tariff Farce.

The people OF the United States are pub
Acly, as the leaders a1ad press of the Re
publican party are privately, aware that
the present tariff agitation has not only
fallen flat. but thatits gratBitous denorali-
Zation Of business and confidence already
has amounted 10 a signal defeat of the
Mckinley Administration before the coun-
try. In the present condition OF national
knowledge ON the subject, it has become
inexorably manifest that Republican prot
estations Of desire to produce prosperity
and furnish reTenue 10y means OF PRO
tective" tariff measure have been hypo-
critical, false and only designed TO cover
the reaI object of the Mckinley-Hanna fis-
cal policy, which is to force legislation
which will involve the enormous enrich
ment OF the trusts and monopolies that SUBJ
seribed the millions TO buy Mr. McKinleys
election; thereby to reimburse them and
to place them under new and exaggerated
contributions to the corruption funds of
the coming elections in 1898 and 1900.
All prercnse of any national need for the
tariff Impressions now sought to be put
upon the people practically has been aban-
doned The condition Of the public revenue
and of the United States Treasury renders
it no longer possible to delude the country
with any such 1ea The record of each sue
ceeding week continues TO show increasing
lythat the Wilson tariff is sufficient to pro-
vide for the public needs, in the absence OF
abnormal extravaganza on the part of the
Congress The Treasury statement, pub
lislled on Tuesday last, shows that the def
icit for the current month SO far is only
S594779. as compared with a deficit of
$4.44 PAT for the same perlodin 1896.
In view of the situation thus disclosed, it
is not u matter for surprise that Senator
Aldrich who has our sympathy the Of
ficial advocate la the Senate of a dis
credited policy and a decomposed measure,
should be forcedto take an apologeticstand,
and to acknO wledge, in effect, that the Re
publican doctrine of protection in fact,
does not protect anything except the bene-
hriaries who dictated the DingIey bill, and
does not furnish the basis for Government
revenue. In his opening speech Mr. Aldrich
was forced to admit that, even with the In
ciusion OF S2I 600 900 frotnincreasedtaxes
on beer and tobacco, and SIS, 600, 600 more
from an invasion of Mr.. McKinley's free
breakfast table in the matter of tea, the
best lia could hope for the pending bill was
aD excess of S2,725, ,02S over expenditures
for TIE next fiscal year. He even felt OBJ
Iiged 10 qualify this anything but rosy esti-
mate by conceding that the figures of the
Bureau OF Statistics, which previously he
hadindorsed. tended To show that the Ding
ley-Aldricll-AlIi bill would not provide
sufficient revenue TO pay the expenses OF
tile Government, ''or revenue greauyin ex-
cessof that produced by the act OF S94, in
1896" Since the Wilson act of 1894 gives
everyindication of producing much larger
revenue in 1897 than it did In 1896. the
confession that the proposed tariff. even
with the questionable internal revenue fea-
lures included. is a failure az regards
revenue. is at once complete and pitiable
It serves to illustrate the ridiculous state
Of Generalization to which the great Re-