Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1903-04-29
TARIFF AND THE 1-Rus1a.
Stand Which President Roosevelt
Takes on These Questions

".
ing them separately each one becomes
a satisfactory presentation of the Pres
ident's views ON particular subject.
At Minneapolis the President dis
cussed the Cuban reciprocity treaty.
the operation of the tariff In producing
general prosperity, proposed revision
of the tariff and the relation between
the tariff and trusts No Republican
speaker has treated these topics in
manner better calculated to instruct
the people regarding Republican poll
cies and TO convince them of the wis
dom of these policies. No one can read
what the President says regarding
them without being convinced that the
Republican party is right ON every one
of them. His speech at Minneapolis
was Il complete vindication of the pro-
tective policy in general, of the Cuban
reciprocity treaty as basis of closer
and more profitable trade I Alations be
tween the United States and Cuba. of
the unwisdom VI frequent tariff tinker
ing and of the fallacy that a repeal or
lowering of tariff duties can have any
substantial effect in solving the So
called trust problem.
AS TO the relation between the tariff
and trusts the Presidents views repre-
sent the latest and best considered
conclusions on the subject. Like the
trusts themselves, they are the result
of sort of process of evolution. y
few years ago the Democratic party
thought II had found an impregnable
position in the assertion that the tar
if is the mother of trusts" When II
was shown that there were as many
trusts in free trade as in protection
Countries and as many in unprotected
as In protected industries they had TO
abandon that position. Then they in
sisted that the cure for trusts was to
repeal the duties on trust manufac-
lures. The Kansas City platform of
1900 declared that tariff laws should
be amended by putting the products of
| trusts upon the free list" Three years
Of experience and discussion have dem
onstrated the fallacy ana folly of that
position. No asSemblage Of intelligent
men would now claim that Il repeal of
| tariff duties would solve the trnst prob
lem, and il is doubtful If even IA Demo
cratic convention would do so. Intel
llgent men who recognize the great
benefits of protection as a promoter
of general prosperity admit that the
duties on trustmade goods cannot be
| repealed without at the same time re-
pealing the duties on goods made by
conn citing factories. There cannot be
free trade for one set of factories and
protection foi another set of factories
in the same class The tariff gun can
not be aimed so as - hit if il Is II
deer and miss ii Ii is calf" We
must either have protection for trusts
and for competing factories alike or free
between abolishing trusts and promot-
ing competing concerns. but a ques-
/ tion of aboishing all together Hero
/ is what the President said:
Certain great trusts or great corpo-
rations are wholly unaffected by the
| tariff Practically all the others that
! are e.. auy importance have. as a mat
! ter &C fact, numbers of smaller Ameri-
/ can competitors: and. ef course. a
1 change In the taiiff which would work
injury to the large corporation would
/ work not merely injury. but destrue
4 ton, to its smaller competitors; and
/ equally, of course, such change
| would mean disaster to all the wage
/ workers connected with either the
/ large or the small corporation. From
/ the standpoint of those interested in
/ the solution of the trust problem sucl
! Il change would. therefore, merely
mean that the trust was relieved of
/ the competition of its weaker Ameri-
] can competitors. and thrown only int
/ competition with foreign competitors
/ and that the first effort 10 meet this
4 new competition would be made by
! cutting down wages, and would there
! fore be primarily at the cost of labor
! In the case of some of our greatest
I trusts such change migi,t confer mp
on them Il positive benefit. Speaking
:
/ In the tariff viii affect The trusts for
veal or for woe simply as they af-
/ feet the whole country. The tarff af-
/ fects trusts only as il affects all other
I interests II makes all these interests.
/ large or small profitable and its ben
/ eflis can be tnken from the large only
under penalty of taking them from the
small also"
If it had occurred 10 the President
he might have presented facts 10 show
/ how small IA proportion Of the manu-
facturing interests Of The country are
controlled by trusts and how many
competing factories would be hurt for
every trust that might 30 by the repeal
Of protective duties. The iusi census
report shows hat the product Of trusts
/ in the year 1900 was only il per cent
Of the total gross products Of the man
ufacturing Industries Of the country,
ONLY a small per cent Of the trusts are
ia any way injurious, aud II they are
TO be Punished by repeating the duties
on their products we should witness
the stupendous folly Of Gripping s8
Der cent If all the manufacturing in
dustries of the country IN order to pun
ish small fraction OF "a per cent.
The President represents the great
mass Of intelligent Americans who
have discovered the futility and folly