Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1901-02-18
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OuSAOAS~SSOAJ WILL NORTHUP.

New Jersey conscience has at last
been pricked, and bill was introduced
into its Legislature the other day
prohibiting any future granting Of
charter under the laws Of that State
to corporation having q capital of
over an hundred millions.
Responding to this feeling Of unrest
and knowing, what has been patent
for years,--that our protective tariff
framed upon the false pretense that 1t
will, by cutting off the products Of
foreign 'pauper labor" stimulate and
encourage domestic competition and
thus finally cheaper prices at home,-
really operates to screen combines
whose sole purpose Is to stifie domes-
tic competitors while the duties keep
out the foreign manufacturers from
interfering with them while they rob
their nelghbors; knowing this, we
say,-which is admirably illustrated
by the fact that the Cleveland con.
tractors are now buying nails which
were made in their own city, trans
ported to Germany and back again
to Cleveland,-with the freight both
ways added, at lower price than
they can buy Of the combine in the
same Cleveland market; knowing
this, and that the Armours are buy
ing salt in Portugal aud bringing 1t
hither at less than the extortionate
rates exacted by the trust at home;
knowing all this, we again cay, Mr..
Babcock brought in n bill which had
at least the merit Of forcing the gov
ernment to withdraw from its partner.
ship is such vlliany, and which pro.
vldcd for n removal of all customs
duties from iron and steel products.
His object, he says, was to temper
the trusts operations by admitting
free to the domestic market all com.
petlng products made abroad" In
proposing this measure Mr.. Babcock
contrnvened no Republican principle
or profession. No tariff advocate has
ever openly claimed that protective
duties We're defensible except during
the infancy of the protected industry
Republican statesmen have vocifer.
ously disclaimed any purpose other
than setting the business upon Its
feet, and then observing n mastery
inactivity. And especially have they
protested that IL the infants should
ever become so strong and SO impudeni
as to abuse the parental bounty by
placing the home market under trib
ute to them, then their advocacy OF
protective duties should cease.
The opportunity to redeem these
oft-repeated pledges came In Mr.. Bah
cocks bill. For was not the infant
n century or more old?--not only hat
It's power and its appetite been alb
normally increased by Mr.. Morgan''
scheme Of rolling ten combines int
ono, but II has become notorious tina
for years past instead OF having t.
fight for the home market in iron an,
steel products, we really have hel,
the foreign market In our own hands
SO that tariff duties have served nj
purpose except as n club to beat dow
competing industries within our owl
borders.
That this is so is abundantly prove,
by the following table, showing tn
aggregate of exports and imports o
iron and steel and of manufacture
from them for the last calendar yeal
as compared with the initial year o
each OF the two preceding decades:
Exports, Imports
, 1000 ..... .$i20, ,633, ,iS0 S2o,443, 90
. 1900 .., 27,000,13i 44,452,25
1850 ..,... 12,059,000 65,3206O
[ Here then, Mr. Babcock thought
l was chance to see whether, withou
breach OF Republican faith, and witt
4 out doing violence to any strugglin
{ but nascent business, our goyernmer
!. should or not surrender abjectly to
q combination which at the nod Of /,
| l..