Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1901-08-13
Republican Tariff Victims.


party for a reduction of the Dingley
tariff may be described as a Northwest
ern movement. 1t is mainly, though
not wholly, movement among Repub-
licans west of the State of Ohio and
north of the Ohio River and the State
of Missouri
The people of this region, which Tor
convenience we may call the West,
were never protectionists of the bigoted
sort. Their interests have always been
chiefly agricultural, as they are still,
and they have never taken very kindly
to the idea of having to pay eXtortion-
ate prices for manufactures in order
that capitalists in the northern Allan
tic States might thrive.
The Republican party of the West
originally was party opposed to the
extension of slavery, not party of tar
if robbery. 1t attracted to itself null
titudeS who were Democrats on the tar
iff question because they were victims
and not benefciaries of protection. 1t
became the dominant party in the
Western States as the party opposed
to the extension of slavery. 1t waXed
stronger as the party which stood es-
pecially for the preservation of the
Union.
1t tolerated high tariff as a war rev.
enue measure and not as an economic
policy. 1t exacted n promise that as
soon as the war necessity should pass
the war duties should be reduced and
the revenue tariff restored. 1t eXacted
a partial fulfllment of the promise in
the early 7O's, but lapsed into tolerance
of the high rates under stress of a
shortage of revenues in the years of
depression following the panic of 1873.
But Western Republicans continued to
exact promises of reform, and their
leading newspaper organs vigorously
assailed both the principle and the
practice o. protection.
Meantime the Pennsylvania and New
England Oeneficiaries of the system by
a judicious use of part of the spoils
were getting the party under complete
control, and in 1880 they felt strong
enough to repudiate all their fine prom
Uses of reform. 1t was then that the
Republican National Convention in
Chicago declared that all internal taxes
should be repealed rather than yield
one jot of protection.
The Western Republicans were beat
~, IN, l,t1f n 1894 and 1900
they showed what was liable to hap
pen to a party which repudiated its
agreements. They have not been de-
ceived by false pretense that the panic
of 1898 was due to the success of tar
if reform party, and the indications
are that they mean to make something
happen again.
Representative Babcock is not walk
ing in the dark. His proposal that
American manufacturers who can sell
their goods all over the world without
protection shall not have a tariff to en-
able them to exact from % to 100 per
cent more from Americans than from
foreigners shows what is going on in
the Western Republican mind.
Mr. Mckinley is so far in touch with
that mind that he knows something is
sure to hit the party very hard unless
the protected shylocks make some con-
cessions. This is why he is no longer
the extremist of 1890. That is why he
has come over to the Blaine idea of
reciprocity. But Western Republicans
will not be satisfied with SO small 4
concession. They will demand that the
trusts be deprived of the tariff lancet
with which they are bleeding the
American people.
MI Mckinley suspects as much. He
suspects that neither he nor any other
Republican can win in 1904. Hence
this patriotic self-abnegation."-Chi-
cago Chronicle.