The San Francisco call., 1897-07-03
PROTECTION SENTIMENT.

The people of the Nation have had
sufficient illustration of the ruinous effects
Of free trade to make them turn from the
path that leads to disaster and poverty
and shun it forevermore. The late Presi-
Dental election, with its overwhelming
majority for protection, represented q
grand movement on the part OF the vot-
ing masses that was not to cease with the
realization of the popular desire tor an
administration, backed by a majority in
each branch of Congress, that would give
the country genuine Am erican policy.
The movement has con- ntinued and the
trend is more and more toward those
principles which are the glory of the Re-
publican party and which constitute the
best safeguard of the Union.
The experience of the Nation with the
combined ills of free trade and Cleveland
ism during four years OF business distrust,
closed mills and poverty taught the peo-
pie better than statesmen and politicians.
with reasoning and statistics, could teach
them. They had practical demonstration
of the very results that were foretold when
Democracy assumed the reins of Govern
ment in 1892. The people were misled
Of the benefits" that would ensue from
looping off tariff from wool and lumber
and coal and mum berless other things.
As Lincoln once said: you can fool all
of the people some of the time and some
of the people all the time, but you can't
iool all of the people all of the time"
The Dem ocracy fooled a majority of the
people in 1892. but it wa. different in 1896.
The many had acquired wisdom in the
school of hard experience. OF course,
some people may always be fooled, but
the vast numb Der who control the destinies
of the Republic were quickly undeceived
When Cleveland went into Office in 1892
he had solid Democratic Congress to
work with. In 1894 The Congressional
election left hardly enough Democrats in
the House of Representatives to make
respectable caucus. This was but pre-
lude to the complete victory of last year
There is no cessation now 10 the growth
of the protection sentiment Especially
is it spreading in the States of the South,
the strong hold of Democracy. The Amer
lean Tariff League, which has been serv-
ing newspapers with protection literature,
announces in the last issue of the A meri-
can Economist that for the service in ques.
ton an unprecedented number OF replies
have been received from neutral and free
trade papers. Since the last general elec-
ton the total mum ber OF newspapers thus
served has increased from 3449 to 5673.
The bulk of the increase came naturally
from protection papers, but 4S6 came from
free trade and 259 from neutral publica-
tions.
From Georeia. Kentucky, Louisiana,
Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee,
Texas and West Virginia was received
the majority of the applications from
newspapers which have hitherto been ar
rayed under the free trade colors. The
most surprising increase is that of Texas,
where formerly the league furnished its
literature to only fourteen papers, and
where now the mum Der is increased to 109
This is deemed the strongest possible evi.
dence that the principle of protection is
to-day accepted in every section regard
less of previous party affiliations. Free
trade is dead and buried. That ruinous
policy cannot be resurrected. We shall
attain our full measure of pros perity only
through the wise application of the Amer
lean policy OF protection.