Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1902-03-01
THE TARIFF QUESTION.
GroundIess Fears of PrOtectionfst
Leaders Concerning the Agi-
tation of 1t.

One of the principal objections urged
in Washington against the trade con-
cessions to Cuba, which are dictated
not only by considerations Of humani-
ty, but also by our own requirement of
larger markets, is that any legislation
on the subject will "open the tariff
question" 1t is not at all strange that
the leaders of the house of represent
.atives should be reluctant to open the
ts4ff question, says the New York
Tribune. 1t is 4 urfac%lt Issue. to deal
with at best. No schedules can be made
without some heartburning, and when
they are once settled naturally nobody
cares to raise the ghost Even the most
perfect of tariffs at the time of it's en-
actment in a few years, through COM
mercial changes, becomes open to just
criticism. The original duty on tin
plate, for instance, was true states
manship, and directly led to the build
ing up of a great industry. So ener-
getic, however, have been American
manufacturers and so fertile their in
vention that now their business would
not be in the least affected if the duty
were cut in two. They could not sell
all their goods at the European price
and make q profit, but they could COM
pete with the foreigner on his home
ground with certain part of their
product. This and other out of date
features of the tariff law are perfectly
well known, but there is no feeling
aroused over them, and there will not
be until popular attention is directed
toward the tariff as an obstacle to the
accomplishment of some object on
which the heart of the country is set.
Then every abuse, every undue bit of
protection in the schedules will be
made a target, and before passions are
cooled not only will the main thing
desired be accomplished, but the whole
tariff structure may be put in jeop-
ardy.
The leaders have good reason for not
wanting to open the tariff question,
and there is no way by which they can
throw it wide open more surely than
by stubbornly refusing to do the OBJ
viously right thing by Cuba. The Amer
lean people are interested in this Gu
ban matter. They feel that moral
obligation rests upon them. Their
good faith, their generosity, their rep
utation before the world as benef-
cent power dealing wisely and justly
with it's dependents are at. stake. If
congress does not promptly respond to
their desires great popular indigna-
ton is sure to be awakened. Free
traders will take advantage of it to stir
up opposition to the tariff in general.
Already hundreds of people who have
known and cared nothing about the
tariff are being led by their sentiment
al interest in Cuba to abuse the pro-
tected interests and say that tariff
ought to be abolished when it becomes
so much our master that we cannot,
for fear of disturbing it, pass little
simple law to relieve from want a peo-
pie whose rescuers and protectors we
proclaim ourselves to be. If congress
wants to open the tariff questiontlet
it turn a deaf ear TO Cuba and. the
American people who are interested in
Cuba. If it wants to leave that trou-
blesome matter in peace, it will sat
isfy popular sentiment instead of pro-
voking it to Impotence with the whole
protective system.
There is really no reason why Cuban
concession should precipitate general
tariff agitation. The Foraker law for
Porto Rico did not, though it involved
more far-reaching tariff principles and
was the subject of bitter contest and
widespread controversy. IF we cannot
pass any law like that proposed for
Cuba without opening the tariff ques-
ton, how can we pass one rebuilding
the tariff wall between the United
States and the Philippines? The house
leaders have already found it possible
to NEEDLE with the tariff by passing a
bill to meet the new conditions in the
Philippines, and the excuse that the
conditions in Cuba cannot be dealt
with without crumbling the tariff
structure into ruins comes little too
late to be accepted. One would think
to hear such arguments that the tariff
was like one of those little glass toys
of the physicists called Rupert's drops,
which disappear in powder if the small
est tip of their glazer surface is broken.
For our part, we do not believe that
the protective tariff system is so use
less or so ridiculous that it must be
kept in locked case, and that our con-
gress cannot, for fear of EARRING such
an idol promptly and effectively deal
with conditions which it meets AS
protectionists we decline to take any
such view, but regard tariff as use
full and adaptable instrument of gov
eminent, and we should think the pro-
tectionist leaders in congress would
be the last men in the world to avow
that they could not do their obvious
duty to Cuba for fear the tariff could
not Stand the St1-a II,