The Columbus journal., 1902-02-05
DEFENDS PRINCIPLE.

DEFENDS PRINCIPLE.
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND AMEN
lcAN THEORY OF PROTECTION.
Cestaia ReaaJustilento Ol. SehoAalso
wan H A6as FronsTlDe - TaDe
~ the FaFtv t. aelo Frosesve TIE
Protective PxaneiDle.
The Republican party has for many
years declared for the principle Of pro-
lection. 1t has yet to giye platform
sanction to q single schedule. Pf1nc1-
pies endure; details Of their applica-
tion must necessarily change with The
ever changing conditions Of human af.
fairs.. The American theoey Of peotec-
ton 10 that our tariffs shall nourish
Q weak industry until 1t 10 strong: that
our tariffs shall prevent the foreign
producer from using his accumulated
capital to win the American market
from IN American industry by under
selling It here until It IL driven to The
wall.
1t II nonsense to talk about general
tariff revision OF tariff reduction"
while the Republican party enAures In
vigorous strength. but It 10 not at all
unlikely that the Republican party. -
the champion Of protection. will make
certain. ~readjustments Of schedules
that viii help to preserve the protec-
tive principle. This 1t may be expected
to do from time to time with the same
courage and rare that have always
marked its action as affecting the
financial and Industrial welfare Of the
people, and there Is excellent reason
to believe that about the FIRST schedule
to be taken up will be that affecting
steel and iron.
1t is some years siDce Mr. Carnegie
declared tlAt American steel NO longer
needed protection. and It II some
months since Mr.. Schwab. president Of
the United States Steel corporation, de-
clared that his company could lay
down steel .billets In England at SO
per ton. But the price Of steel billets
remains in the nelshb0rhoOd Of 81
per ton. just a little below the import
ing point. Boiler plate has for months
stood hut : cents below the point Of
profitable importation. Two or three
times Of late the price Of tubes has
reached the point at which they could
be shipped in from abroad and pay
the duty. Aud what Is true Of these
IL true Of all the common forms Of iron
and steel that are used rs raw matefis!
by the manufacturers Of hardware, ma
chinery. implements. cutlery and all
the manifold finished f0rms OF iron
and steel. Mr.. Schwab mado the state
ment q few evenings ago at Chicago
that conditions In the steel trade would
Justify an advance Of 20 per cent all
along the line. but that It wOuld not
be made lest industry be discouraged.
Such an advance could not possibly be
made without bringing to this country
the surplus stocks OF iron and steel
German manufacturers are trying hard
to unload and tempting importati0ns
from Belgium and Great Britain. Bel
gian and British manufacturers can
turn out steel billets at from $18 to SO
per ton. 1t Is nonsense to imagine that
the United States Steel corporation and
the lesser steelmaking concerns that
work In entire harmony with It would
permit the importation OF British. Bel
gian or German steel and iron when
they can undersell them in their own
market. As the case stands, then, the
manufacturers Of the multitudinous
forms Of finished iron and steel and
their consumers are together contfibut-
ing to the Golfers Of the United States
Steel corporation, the Republic Iron
and Steel company, Jones & Laughlins,
Colorado Iron and Fuel, Schloss -Shef-
field and others almost the full amount
of the tariff and will continue to do 90 IN
hong as the tariff on steel and iron exists
and the present still demand continues.
Do they get their money back In
protection for themselves? Possibly
some Of them do. but the great major
ity Of them do not. The American
manufacturers Of typewriters, Of bicy-
Giles. of agricultural implements. Of
electrical machinery. Of machine tools,
Of engines and Of various foundry
products feel the protection on their
products just about as much as does
the Kansas farmer the protective duty
on corn. With some OF them freight
rates give almost as effective protec-
ton Of their home market as they give
to the makers Of brick, while others
find their real protection In the i'm
mems superiority Of their product over
that Of foreign competitors. Given
anything IKE m equal chance In q neu-
trail market. and tho American agri-
cultural implement. the American ma
chine tool, the American steam or gas
engine, the American locomotive. the
American typewriter and the Ameri-
can electrical generator and motor will
drive similar products made abroad
out Of the running In less time than it
takes to tell about It by their superior
u,,olltw - Hoo@On and uoek~0noh&n !