Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1896-1899, 1897-05-24
WHY 1T WILL FAIL.

OF the senate finance committee unit
its origiI al trainers cluld hardly tin'
traces OF their work, as great thing
| we're claimed for the DinRley tariff il
its original form as a restorative o
prosperity and a remedy for our seri
Gus ills. II may be that there is some
occult power in this tariff which viii
enable US to lift ourselves out Of the
slough Of industrial depression by oul
boot straps, start the cart be
fore the horse, build prosperity upon
expectations, aud put it in the pawer
Of manufacturers to prosper by start
ing up their mills eyen though there
be no market for the products. But II
there is not some such magic
power in the Dingley tariff it must
fail as a restorative OF prOsperty-it
must fail to bring prosperity to our
Manufacturers, for the mere starting
up OF mills will not make a demand
for manufactured goods, and to in
crease the output Of mill and factory,
with the result Of piling up the prod
ucts in store houses, cannot but lead
to ruin and disaster and a thickeniDg
of the clouds Of industrial stagnation'
The building of higher rates with a
view to repressing inportations Of
foreign goods can avail our manufac-
turers nothing, for it is not an in
crease in importatiOns OF foreign
goods, it is not a replacing Of the pro-
ducts of our own mills, in our own
with goods of foreign manu-
factur, that has been the cause Of
depression. There
fare to build up tariff duties to check
imports, TO provide remedy for an
evil that does not exist, can profit us
nothing. The seat Of our troubles
les in dire falling off in the con-
of manufactured goods
les in the improverishment of those
who buy the product Of mill and fac
.Ory.
In short, our farmers and planters
have suffered such serious losses from
.he fall in prices for their products
that has taken place during the past
few years that their ability to pur.
chase manufactured goods has been
much lessened. Consequently mar
ket of sufficient breadth to absorb the
products of our mills and factories
las been wanting, and necessity tue
shutting down of mills. the curtail-
nent of production and general man
depression has followed,
70 great has been the fall in prices for |
,ur farm products that our agricult- |
lral production did uot realize for
heir crops last year within $500, ,000,-
100 as much as they received in 1892.
Consequently they had this much less
o spend for manufactured goods.
That such diminution shOuld have
ed to dire manufacturing depression
S only natural, and as this, namely,
,he falling Off in domestic consumpt-
lOn, has been the cause of our troubles,
We cannot pull ourselves out of the
dough of industrial stagnation by
up tariff duties to exclude
of foreign goods. Com
pared to the curtailment in demand
ior manufactured goods, occasioned by
diminished purchasing power Of our
farmers the increase or lmpOrtaIlOns
If foreign goods. and the loss of mar
let to our own manufacturers on this
account is ininitesimal. The abso-
ute exclusion OF foreign manufac-
.ured goods from our markets would
all far short of making good the loss
n market occasioned to our manufact-
lrers through the depreciation in the
lalue OF agricultural products.
The one aud only sufficient remedy
or manufacturing depression is the
fitting of the premium ON gold and
.he consequent bounty on exports
rom silver using to gold using coun-
.rles, which has led TO the deprecia-
ion Of our farm products aud thereby
,own the seeds of manufacturing de-
preston.
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