The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-03-13
GREATER THAN HARRISON, BLAINE
AND M'hINLEl.


The doubtful honor of declaring that the
dying expression of the late President Nc
Kinley in favor of reciprocity is not good
political economy and is not good Repub-
licansm has been reserved for Representa-
tive Tayler. who represents a part of the
old Mckinley district. Mr.. Tayler is serv-
ing his fourth term in Congress, yet be-
fore the Republican caucus, Tuesday night,
he had made no other reputation than
could be obtained by leading the anti-Morv
mon raid in the last Congress. Now he
comes to the front declaring that Harrison,
Blaine, Mckinley and those leaders in the
Congress that put reciprocity in the Nc
Kinley law were mistaken. and that Presi-
dent McKinleys advocacy of reciprocity
in his last speech was the declaration of an
enthusiast rather than statesman. He as
good as declared that Harrison, Blaine,
Mckinley and other men of national repu-
tation favoring reciprocity are no longer
entitled to regard as party leaders and
statesmen, but modestly offers himself as
a wiser and greater man than all of these.
Still it can be said that Mr.. Blaine and
President Mckinley were not in Congress
three terms each before they had made
national regulations, while Mr.. Tayler
achieves notoriety by denouncing their
craftsmanship.
The information which Mr.. Tayler gives
regarding the beet-sugar experiment is as
wonderful as his conceit that he is a greater
man than was William Mckinley. For in
stance, he makes the remarkable state
ment that this protection of beet sugar is
the first instance where the farmer has
been assisted by the protective tariff; yet
William Mckinley was telling the farmers
of the country twenty years ago that the
duties which made sheep growing an in
dustry and protected them from the inva-
sion of the Canadian farmers was of great
value toSthem. and they believed It. Now
Mr. Tayler tells us that 1.-THE American mar
ket for $l0O, 100000 worth of sugar is right
fully the American farmers market"
when, after more than dozen years of
the most systematic promotion, assisted by
the Department of Agriculture, the Ameri-
can farmer has not been induced TO pro-
duce half the annual increase of the con-
sumption OF sugar. With all this promo
ton, during a dozen years, the American
beet sugar last year amounted to 124,SO0
tons, as reported by the trade, or a little
over . per cent. of the sugar consumed,
and yet MIR. Tayler talks as if the farmers
were already raising the sugar of the
country He is simply and wildly prepos-
ferrous
Now a word for the other side. The
Harrison administration. represented by
Secretary Blaine. secured the insertion of
a reciprocal clause in the Mckinley tariff
bill. Ii is said that when men like
Mr.. Tayler opposed it in committee,
in his Impotence at such stupidity, he
brought his silk hat down upon the table
with such force that he crushed it, But
reciprocity was made part of the law, and
a treaty was made with Spain for Cuba.
Before the negotiation of the treaty our
export trade to Cuba in 1891 was $12, pa, SIS;
in 1898, under the reciprocity treaty. it was
S24, 157 69S. A Democratic Congress destroy
ed the treaty, and our exports to Cuba
fell to $3.50 $50 in 1896. Our exports to
Cuba are now S2SO7S.7O2; they might be
doubled with reciprocity, and the increase
would be largely the products of the farm.
1t is curious to note that while Mr..
Tayler and his allies are, like the Demo-
cratic Congress of 1894. sneering at reel
procity with Cuba, English merchants are
clamoring because they see in the proposed
reciprocity with Cuba the loss of every
of the island Fortunately, such excellent
men as Mr.. Tayler may regain their equi
librium after a time and come to the con-
clusion that, after ALL Harrison. Blaine
and Mckinley may have known something.