The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-09-25
The Silver
Question a
Dead Issue.


been largely settled through the medium
of Republican tariff legislation. That is
to say, since the Republican protective
tariff laws went into effect we only i'm
port about three-fourthS of the amount
we imported under former tariff condi-
tions; for instance, for the t1scal year
ending July /, 1897, under the Democratic
tariff laws our imports were $764, ,730, ,412,
while for the fiscal year ending July,
1898, under the Republican tariff act, our
imports were only $6l5, 1924 ,191; and this was
in war times when our foreign demands
were largely increased.
The result of tins is that our exports
have greatly exceeded our imports, and,
when this occurs, money flows into the
country. Foreign peoples are paying us
more money than we are paving them,
thus our money for home circulation is
increased because we do not have to send
it abroad. We do not need to increase
our mintage of silver to increase our cir
with our present trade conditions ana for
all home purposes, silver dollar, a pa
the same value. Our protective laws and
trade conditions have, for the present at
least, settled the great monetary Ques-
ton so recently disturbing our country.
AS our population increases the labor
problem becomes of the most serious mo-
ment,. and that party which offers the
most and best opportunities for labor
serves the country best
Taking the month of March of the two
years of 1895 and 1898 as a test. we find
that in the former year the Wilson bill,
a Democratic tariff measure. was in full
operation. 1t appears by an official ex-
animation of 2229 manufacturing estab-
lishments situated in different States that
in the month of March. 1895, there wee
employed 204, $50 men who received wages
In the aggregate of 81 ,049.323 a. for the
month of March, 1885, just three years
after, the same establishments employed
exactly 269 329 hands and paid them S10-.
1875 1856 "a In salaries These factories rep
resented large variety of production and
were widely scattered over the country
The average wages per capita pei.
month in March, 1898. when we had pro-
tective laws, was $S8 60, and the average
wages per capita. per month in March,
laws, was $34 SO, making q clear gain
monthly in wages when the Republican
tariff law was in force of 81 for each
employe-
1t must be. seen that protective laws do
protect, and that they protect labor
against all unfair foreign competition
and they sustain the price of labor and,
therefore, protective laws protect the
laborer and thereby benefit the people.
because the workers are a large majority
of the people.
The protective theory is the Republican
theory of government; the free trade
theory is the Democratic theory of gov
ernInent. The protective theory gives an
advantage to the producer rather than
to the consumer; the free trade theory
benefits the consumer at the expense Of
the producer, and as the people who have
means are the chief consumers, and the
people who have nothing but their labor
as capital are the chief producers, it
should be the policy of the Government
to sustain the producer and let the con-
sumer buy what he needs of his neigh
the protective policy should apply with
| equal force to the men who produce and
to the thing produced, and this is an ad-
| diuonal reason why we should not over