Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1902-04-07

TO the Argentine Republic in return
for very advantageous terms we granted
20 per cent. reduction on wool.
To the West Indies, who favored
! among other articles American canned
goods, we lowered the bars on tropical
fruits.
1t was glorious effort to increase
orr commerce and to gain an outlet for
our surplus product.
When these matters became public,
there was frightened cry from depend
ent protectionists. Manufacturers as
serted that the reduction on knit goods
meant irreparable injury. ~ paper fac
tory in Lee, Mass, was in an agony of
despair at the prospect of a reduction in
the paper schedule The gentle shep-
herds from Ohio, pasturing sheep on 800
an acre land and of the Rocky Mountains,
where government ranges can be had
for nothing, raised mighty shout at the
enormity of 20 per cent. reduction on
wool. Under the Dingley Act the finer
Andean fleeces were practically prohibit
ed, and the reduction would be welcome
to manufacturers. California protested
because West Indian fruits were to COM
pete with her own.
The most amusing objection came from
novelty factories in Providence and At
tleboro, which are supported by kindly
disposed customers who charitably tax
themselves some IS per cent. They adj
dressed the New England Congressman
as follows:-
"Should the French treaty be ratified,
the home market will again be crowded
with foreign made goods and to COM
pete with the same, labor, which enters
largely into the production, must neces-
sarily be the sufferer.
sin 1857 we petitioned for tariff Of
rs per cent. The enactment of the Uin.
gley Bill fixed the rate at IS per cent.
which does not fully reach the point of
equalization.
''To now infringe on that percentage
even per cent, would be blow at
labor and the persons dependent on the
jewelry industry. We earnestly appeal
to you to use your utmost endeavor to
have the treaty rejected"
The Home Market Club, our indus
trial Mentor. not believing that President
Mckinley was guilty of such heresy I'M
til his last message to Congress, began
to pass resolutions. 1t thought that the
wool reduction was an outrage, for the
wool schedule was arranged after long
conference "between the growers and
the manufacturers" 1t is not apparent
from this statement that the question of
revenue or of consumers interests was
of any consequence in this matter. The
organization further declared that the
treaties care not based upon the true
principle of Recip, ocity, which is the ex-
change on favorable terms of dissimilar
and non competing products, and that,
on the contrary, they are based on the
principle of free trade, and will intro
duce damaging. if not ruinous compe.
tition. In addition to this they disturb
the harmony of adjustment between in
dustries, which is an important charac-
teristic of the tariff law, and will there
fore introduce such inequalities as TO
unfavorably effect all business
Senator Elkins OF West Virginia, de-
clared: 81 shall fight these treaties to
the bitter end. They are wrong in prin.
ciple and runious in practice. The re-
publican party made mistake in sug.
costing reciprocity in its platform and in
enacting reciprocity law"
After favorable report by the Senate
Committee on Foreign Relations, Sena-
tor Aldrich, of Rhode Island (snxious
for his novelty constituency, moved that
the matter be referred to the Finance
Committee; and, although Mr. Kasson
secured an extension OF time for ratitica.
ton to save some of the treaties from de.
feat they were never allowed to come tc
vote, and persisted before they were
born. The senate adjourned, and Mr.
Kasson resigned in disgust. Reciprocity
is defined in the Standard Dictionary as
mutual equality OF rights and benefits. u
In modern journalism it is frequently
styled ga sickly republican twin
The foregoing facts constitute the best
} evidence of the insincerity of Republican
declaration regarding so-called recipro
city. The arguments against the treaties
were fallacious excuses. The only "dis
similar and non-competing products"-
to use the expression of the Home Mar.
, ket Club-in which we can trade are
} raw materials from the tropics, rs coffee
chocolate, tea and spices. The tropics in.
} clude the West Indies, Mexico, Central
: America, and South America as far south
as Rio Janeiro, Malaysia, Southern In
dia1 and Central Africa. These count
ries are and always will be industrially
and commercially the poorest. The peo
pie from whom we derive our origin, the
nations which furnish us the finest ex
amples of art and science, the lands
which give us the greatest incentiee tC
,,,l Il. 4.