The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1897-07-23
washington Letter.

The last feeble cry Of the free ira
ders regarding the tariff bill is that it
will disturb our relations with foreign
countries 1t is a last resort and an
unsuccessful one. They have been
beaten at every point; have failed in
all their arguments and assertions
against the bill, so much so that many
members of their own party have re-
fused to vote with them. And now,
seeing that this bill is bound to pass,
they raise the feeble cry that it's pass
age will affect our relations with other
countries. But all this talk does not
worry the experienced statesman or
diplomat. Similar protests have come
to them and to the government time
after time in former consideration of
tariff measures, and they have been
politically received as these are, care
fully filed" in a convenient pigeon
holes and never heard from afterwards,
either in the framing of the bill or in
their bearing upon future commercial
relations of those countries with the
United States.
This custom of filing protests against
pending tariff measures is altogether
one-sided one. as relates to the
United States and the nations which
have made these protests. Tariff laws
come and go with other nations, and
the United States pays not the slightest
attention. A prospective system grows
apace in Europe and elsewhere, and
such nations as France Germany, Aus
tria-Hungary, Spain and others which
are now scolding about our proposed
new tariff, increase year by year or
from period to period their protective
tariff rates. but in all these cases the
world over, the GIFTED States has never
entered protest of general character
against anybody's tariff laws Or pro-
posed tariff legislation. There have
teen occasions. in which attention of
foreign governments has been called
to certain Of their laws or regulations
which seemed to bear unjustly upon
single industry in the United States
or to discriminate against productions
of this country as compared with
those OF other countries, but there is
TO case on record in which the govern
ment of the United States has offered
any protest to general tariff measure
proposed by other countries which
would bear with equal weight upon all
nations sending their produce to the
II arkets of these countries.
That any nation should assume to
offer a protest against proposed law
by another nation. which law is to bear
with equal weight upon the produc-
tions os all nations, article by article,
seems rather absurd, but that these
protests should come from nations
which themselves have a high and
steadily growing protective tariff adds
very much to the interest, not to say
the Importance, of such a proposition.
1t seems a little curious, for instance,
to observe that Italy, which collects
about five million dollars year tariff
On American petroleum, and equally
high rates on many other articles,
should be offering protest, either
officially or otherwise, against tariff
legislation by the United States. Some
people might suppose it trifle inap-
propriate for Germany, (which collects
a tariff of $2S5.60 per hundred kilos on
certain grades of clothing and 12OO
marks per hundred kilos on other ar
ticles of a similar character. should be
assuming to offer a protest against