The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-10-10
THE IOWA IDEA

The Iowa Idea" is a new political
praise, applied to the tariff revision de-
mand from members Of the republican
party for the purpose Of controlling the
trusts. While this new political n
OF many republicans is called the Iowa
idea, it IS by no means confined to the
members Of the party in that state.
Starting in Iowa, it has spread far be-
yOnd her borders into other sections Of
the northwest and has reached as far
even as the great manufacturing state
of Massachusetts and even the owners
of industrial plants n the business
men of Boston hav become converts TO
the new idea
To combat this movement among the
republicans Senator DoIliver, of Iowa,
made a speech in Chicago d few days
ago. He took the position that the re-
movaI of duties on foreign goods that
compete with trust made products
would haye no effect on the trusts and
that there was no need to regulate the
trusts, as they are already regulated
by the laws of trade. To prove the first
proposition he resurrected that old re-
publican theory that the producer pays
the duty on all goods imported into this
country. He did not have anything 70
say about those products on which there
was a prohibitive tariff and of which
there were no importatiOns. Take for
instance petroleum on which there Is
now a duty OF fourteen cents a gallon,
which completely closes the American
ports TO the foreign article. No one
can deny that n Standard Oil Com
pany takes advantage of this tax to
increase the price of this product. Rus
STA is the only country besides the
United States which exports refined pc
troleum, and to bring hers into Ameri-
ca her shippers would have to pay Il
duty of fourteen cents a gallon. Con-
s%equently none is imported and the
American has the market en-
tirely to itself. We called attention the
other day to the fact that boraX was
sold at seven and Il half cents a pound
in this country, while the American
product was shipped to Europe and sold
at two and u half cents a pound. But
- lIiC AdLlIL vi v SChNS PONAN :
could be sold here as cheap, if not
cheaper than in Europe. There are
many other articles in similar condition.
Anthracite coal is a commodity very
necessary at this time. the importation
of which is prevented by the high duty
imposed upon it under a decision of the
treasury department constituting a
clause of the Dingley bill.
Under the claim that there is no need
to regulate the rusts by legislation be-
cause this is already lone by the law
of supply and demand, Senator Dolliver
pointed to several combinations which
had failed through bad management.
a poor argument is this when confront
ed with the existence of scores of other
combines that are growing rich off the
people by destroying competition where
the trusts have to buy and closing all
foreign markets to articles they have
to sell.
This Iowa idea has taken root in the
minds of the masses in the republican
party and it is Speeding rapidly. There
are some of their leaders who have
rightly judged the signs of the times
and are governing their actions accord
ingly. OF these Speaker Henderson has
already acknowledged defeat. In Mas
sachusetts three republican candidates
for congress have joined the procession
and taken positions in the vanguard Of
the movement. They see that tariff
reform is the coming issue and they
ave felt the public pulse carefully
enough to know on which sid will there
be victory and they have trimmed their
sails to the prevailing breeze.