The Robesonian. [volume] (Lumberton, N.C.) 1870-current, 1897-03-31
Is 1T WORTH ITs
Wilmington Star.

meet the necessities OF the GOVERN ,
ment. The shortage in revenue is
taken advantage of as justifica-
ton for an increase Of duties,
which would have been demanded
all the same if there had not been
a deficiency in the Treasury, which
they attribute to the Wilson tar
if, making no allowance whatever
for the straitened circumstances of
the people for the past few years,
which caused reduction of I'M
ports even with the lower tariff |
rates. Had the duties been higher
the imports would have been still
less and the revenue probablyl ess.
The fact is that the Republican
party leaders resolved to make the
fight for the recovery of their lost
power on the tariff and they did
make it in the next succeeding
Congressional election, when the
money question was not an issue
and the Wilson bill was. They
were successful in ousting many
Democrats from Congress and Sc
curing a majority of Republicans
in their place, and they did it by
playing the tariff. The financial
crash and the industrial collapse
had come, and they were smart
enough to charge the Democrat
ic tariff with it; the people in
terested in growing wool and in
manufacturing industries were
simple enough to believe it and
the result was political reaction
from 1892 and Republican victory
! in 1894, which gave them the
House of Representatives. What
. hypocrisy then to say that this
: tariff movement is to supply reve-
nue. when they made it three
years ago and yelled for higher
. duties then quite as loudly AZ
l they are doing now.
D The simple fact is that the rea
t inspiration behind this movement
is more protection, rather THAI
! more revenue-protection will
d incidental" revenue, although
i they will not admit this. The re
= al purpose was shown when tn
|. Committee on Ways and Mean
4 was giving hearings to persons in
\ terested in higher duties. The oh
o ject of these hearings really was t
o. ascertain about how much protec
ton was wanted and expected
- They all didn't get just what the
Id wanted, for the trainers of tn
or Dingley bill realized that Will
es they could count surely on I'll
as Republican majority in the Hou:
=, :. with the Senate constituted as
no is they couldn t count Oh that al
" would be compelled to be som
he what moderate or run the risk
ID having their bill strangled in Il
- Senate. This accounts for the a,
70 pearance of moderation in son
fu- of the schedules, while in othe
the inability of the represent
ID tives of the protected to agree
~ these hearings neccssitated col
in promise, and more moderate
&C. than would have been shown
rr, they could have agreed and the
I'D was a reliable Republican MAORI
"" in both House and Senate.
In To illustrate: Judge Lawrent
lea of Ohio, who represented hims'
| to and some of the other boss WOO
growers who are trying to ma
,ao money by growing wool, with p:
eal turc lands worth from $50 to 81
and an acre, wanted practically pl
the hibitory duty on some woods a
'ere an absolutely prohibitory duty
,,at others. He proposed to tax Al
;ses tralian wool clean out of the M
hat ket. This aroused the wool
Ids manufacturers, who felt they w
Win in danger of being sacrificed TO
+,.+ wool-grow ers, and there was
of clash. The manufacturers want
at free wool, with which they W
AXE getting along pretty we'll,
ease they wanted also protection fr
dc dc the ''pauper'' wool spinners a
ions weavers of Europe. There had
de- be a compromise here, ard as
mis- was resolved to give the plead
the wool-growers protection they !
10 placate the wool manufactul
or with q compensating increase
rok- tariff to offset the anticipated
uble hanccmcnt in the price of W
MS with its eleven or twelve cent
A Nv pound duty. That was done,
thev wool went back on the dutia
Gov list, and the duties were pro,
E ne goods.
not t!onally increased on woo
. .u How will this operate? III
leen are very Few men in this coul
and engaged in wool growing Pre-
get for market. Thousands of fla
ers who raise sheep "a few on t
mn' farms) give no attention to "
E. y