The Courier. (Genoa, Nev.) 1899-1904, 1902-02-28

happy over the tarin situation. In facb
they are out OF harmony. The lack
of perfect concord was first manifested
by the failure of the Senate to ratify
the reciprocity treaties negotiated by
the late President Mckinley, who was
himself high priest in the temple of
protection. He saw plainly, however,
that we had .sgot beyond the industrial
condition which merely required that
foreign goods should be kept out of
free competition with American goods
In the home market. On some lines we
were producing far beyond our own
consumptive capacity and for the sur
plus we must find markets abroad. It
was with this condition in view that he
so earnestly advocated reciprocity. He
strongly urged upon his party the
necessity of making reasonable COM
mercial concessions to other countries
in order that our own surplus products
might find freer vent. Thus far, his
party while protesting to endorse his
policy to the letter, has failed to take
the first step toward carrying out this
feature of it.
TRUST CONTROLLED PRODUCTS.
Mr.. Mckinley had not gone the
length of proposing the removal of
duties from trust-controlled products,
but nothing can be more certain than
that he would very soon have reached
that point, for the two propositions
are closely related. The huge indus
trial combinations which have been
made during recent years, besides OPP
pressing the consuming public in this
country, are a grave menace to our
foreign trade. Operating at home be-
hind the impossible wall of the tariff
they sell their products here at prices
which enable them to make heavy cuts
in export prices, and thus invade for
eign markets under circumstances
which place their competitors at a Sc
rious disadvantage. Mr.. Schwab, the
head of the steel trust, in his testimony
before the Industrial Commission, adj
mitted that the export prices of our
leading manufacturers were, upon an
average, about % per cent below the
prices charged to dealers in the home
market. This is the condition Of which
foreigners SO bitterly complain, and
upon which they base their demand
for commercial reprisals. Upon these
questions lines of cleavage are begin
ming to appear in the Republican party,
and among It's representatives in Con-
gress the division is becoming clearer
day by day.
Some are in favor of modifying the
rigor of the tariff by reciprocity treat
les, and some are opposed to making
any concessions whatever; some take
q further step in advance and urge
the removal of duties from articles
the production and prices of which are
controlled by the trusts, while others
are opposed to any such action. 1t
need scarcely be remarked that theexs.
treme tariff men are much the more
numerous and determined.
REPEAL OF WAR TAXES.
The recent action of the Committee
on Ways and Means in reporting a bill
for the repeal of the war taxes, may
be taken to indicate the prevailing
trend Of Republican Congressional
thought. The purpose of this move is
to so reduce the revenues of the gov
eminent as to enable the high protec-
ZIONIST to argue plausibly that any
lowering of duties through reciprocity
or antitrust measures will endanger
the condition of the Treasury. They
plead now that the "war taxes should
be removed first. OF course the whole
contention is illogical and insincere.
The lowering, or even the total removal
of duties from trust products will
scarcely reduce the revenue at all for
those products are not imported to
any extent worth considering.
RECIPROCITY.
After the war taxes are all repealed
there viii still remain a surplus of
revenue estimated at $50, 100000 annu-
ally. The reciprocity idea, as now pro-
posed, only involves a reduction of one
fifth in the rates of duty. This would
result in some additional imports, and
it is easy to see that with surplus of
$50, 00o, 900 to begin with, great deal
could be done along this line without
creating deficit.
TAX ON CORPORATIONS.
Besides, lift is thought that there is
any real danger of shortage of rev.
enue, such contingency can easily be
met, in good part at least, by adopting
the Newlands proposition to reduce the
tax on sugar and petroleum refiners
from one-fourth to one-tenth of one
per cent on gross receipts, and then ex-
tend 1t to all industrial corporations.