The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-03-30
SENATOR BACON AND rHE rARIFr.

SENATOR BACON AND THE TARIFF.
The Louisville Courier-Journai seems
TO think that Senator Bacon was not
happy in the use of terms to express
his tariff views in an interview which
was published recently. It says that
the Republican papers are copying the
interview with comments of approval.
According to the Courier-Journal Sena-
tor Bacon is reported as saying that
while he is a low tariff man, he is
aware that a full realization of such
an idea is far from practicable. He
would pull off some of the bricks from
the tariff wall, but would not rae
the wall to the ground. He would low
er the rates to a point where labor
would still be safe, and at the same
time withdraw Federal protection from
interests that are now sheltered be-
hind prohibitive tariffs and are en-
abled to charge extortionate prices"
The Courier-Journal criticises Sena-
tor Bacon for saying that he would
take a few bricks off the tariff wall
the term wall meaning a tariff for
protection, and if few bricks were
taken off it would still be a tariff for
protection, not a tariff for revenue.
1t is probable that what Senator Ba-
con meant. and probably said, was that
he would not undertake to do away
with the tariff-that he would protect
labor, but would remove the shelter
which the trusts enjoy. When the
tariff question is taken up again in
Congress it will be found to be more
complicated one than at any previous
time-that is, that there are more diff
culties and influences in the way of
reforming the tariff than ever before.
There is no doubt that the tariff is
a great hindrance to the exporting of
articles which we manufacture in
competition with other nations The
protective system enables and encour-
ages our manufacturers to put up
prices in the home market, and higher
prices excite operatives to demand
higher wages. The result is that the
cost of production has become so great
that we cannot get outside of our own
market. Notwithstanding the fact that
We raise the cotton the great bulk of
it is manufactured into goods by for
eign labor. 1t would be manufactured
here if the labor cost were not 50
great. 1t is true that we export some
coarse cotton goods, but the goods
in which there is the greatest profit
are manufactured in European mills
on account of the high prices of cot
ton goods in this country there is a
pretty steady demand for higher wages
and strikes are following the demand
The same thing is true in most kinds
of manufacturing. The price of soft
coal has been advanced rs cents a ton
That means that the prices of all sorts
of articles in the manufacture of which
coal is a factor will be advanced.
Wage-earners are not to blame for
demanding higher wages. The cost of
living has advanced on account, large
ly, of the protective tariff. Besides
they see that the prices of the arti-
Giles they make are advanced and they
~want a share of the prosperity. Re-
publicans claim that the present pros
perity is due to the Dingley tariff. 1t
looks as if that tariff were gradually
bringing about a condition of affairs
that will be as bad as any that ex-
listed during the troublous times round
about 1895