The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1901-03-07
A SETTLED QUESTION.
IS THE TARIFF NO LONGER
OPENED TO CONTROVERSY
Dangers of Too Much Confidence Demon
strated by the Fact That Projections
Enemies Are Only BfdinE Their Time
for Another Attack.

Overconfidence is a more subtle but
a scarcely less dangerous evil than is
lack of confidence 1t has betrayed the
American people more than once Be
cause the country has been prosperous
SO long, because its prosperity had
grown continually greater, the major
ity of US got to imagining that we
would go on being prosperous, no mat
ter what we did or what policy we
adopted. The people began really to
believe that business and politics had
little or nothing to do with each other,
and so they voted for change in 1892
We have gotten over that folly now
and are not likely to make the same
mistake again But our overconhdence
is laying another trap for US. This time
it takes the form of saying that the
tariff question is settled, that there IS
no need of counting that as an issue
any more Only a few days ago the
New York Sun said editorially:
THE tariff question has been remov-
ed from controversy, and practically
has settled itself This policy
of developing American industry has
received practical vindication so com
plete that there remains only feeble
academic opposition to it. Politically
it is accepted by all parties 1t did
not provoke controversy in either OF
the two last national campaigns
The Sun forgets, apparently, that
the platform of the Democratic party
adopted at Kansas City last July de-
nounced the Dingley tariff law 1t for
gets, apparently, that Mr. Bryan. the
late Democratic candidate for the
presidency, is still on record as declar-
ing that protective tariff is vicious
in principle, or it would not say that
politically protection has been accept
ed by all parties The editor of the
Sun must have been curious1y unob-
servant of the words and writings OF
many political writer's besides MI
Bryan; he must have skipped many
things in recent editions of many pa
pers which must be on his exchange
table his neighbor, the Times, among
the number If he thinks that the only
opposition to protection Is e1ther
feeble academic
There can be no doubt in the mind
of any person of sense or judgment OF
the fact that the American people are,
by an overwhelming majority, in favor
of the system of protection. So far as
belief goes, the tariff is settled; but
not all the free traders are by any
means convinced. They are only bid
ing their time and not until denun-
Citations of protection are eliminated
from all political platforms. both state
and national; not until the leaders OF
all the political parties are men who
stand on a protection record viii tbs
tariff question be no longer a polftica
issue. The policy of protection is safe
enough if little guarding IS done
but no policy and no principle is safe Il
It's friends forget it. Its enemies vii
not be SO forgetful. and the Sun ane
every other protectionist paper which
is inclined to think that the tariff Is
no longer an issue in politics and need:
no further defending will do well tt
remember that the enemies of protec
ton are always watchfu1. The tariff i:
settled for all time in favor of protec
ton only if the protectiOnists of th'
country see to it that they are equal,
Wafchful.