The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1903-08-28

duty of seven dollars and fraction that
gives to steel and iron products their
present value.
THE DINGLEY TARIFF LAW.
81 confess that have an admiration
for the Dingley tariff bill. L believe
that its schedules were determined upon
after careful, laborious, painstaking
study, that they We're adopted as the
right and proper duties that would give
the power of production to our people,
and do not believe the silly calumnv,
promulgated after its great author was
in his grave, that the rates were pur-
posely made exorbitantly high in order
that we might have something to trade
on with other nations in establishing
reciprocity.
'Of course, every republican knows
that with changing conditions of mar
kets, of volume of production, of cost of
raw material, of labor saving devices
and machinery, of lessening rates of in
terest, of increased skill, of cheaper
methods of transportation, the necessity
for particular rates will undergo change,
and it is the avowed purpose of the re-
publican party that when the propriety
of change is obvious that it should be
made.
FREQUENT CHANGES ARE HARMFUL.
But experience shows that frequent
and unnecessary changes are harmful,
that they disturb the general current of
business; that if a revision is in prog
ress men hesitate to manufacture, they
hesitate to buy; change in rates will
modify prices, and hence on all occasions
where revision is in progress for many
months the great business interests are
disturbed, factories are closed, wages
are lessened, employment is decreased,
and during the waiting period all in
terests suffer. Hence frequent changes
are impolitic, and l believe that the re-
publican who announces himself as
stand patter' simply means to say that
he is opposed to unnecessary change,
but that he is ready at all times
when rates are too high or too low
to make such notifications as will
secure fairness and justice, but looking
at all times to the protection of the
seventy million, one hundred thousand
American citizens who are engaged in
manufacture.
II believe in the Dingley bill. 1t is a
little more than six years since President
Mckinley gave it his approval. These
six years have been marvelously pros
porous ones. During that period the
balance of trade in our favor has been
in excess of 1924 millions of dollars
that is, since the adoption of the Ding
ley bill we have sold outside of the
limits of the United States 1924 millions
worth of merchandise more than we
have bought.
FAVORABLE TRADE BALANCES.
During the last thirty years we have
had twentysix years in which the bal
ance of trade has been in favor of the
United States. In the first seventytwo
years of the life of the government
there had been fifteen years only in
which the balance of trade was in our
favor. During that fifteen years the
balances in our favor were less than
$3.50, 900, 900.
During nearly all of that period the
country was operating under the demo
cratic doctrine of practically freetrade.
II call attention to this seventy-two
years of free trade and its meager bal
ances in our favor in order again to en-
phasize the stupendous total of 1924
millions that have come to us during
the past six years Wesee the beneficial
influence of this protective system as IL
Illustrated in the Dingley law in the last
circulation statement of the treasury
department, which gives the general
stock of money in the United States at
over 1896 millions of dollars, nearly
onehalf of which is gold, furnishing a
circulation of $29. 55 per capita. This
sum of 1906 millions seems to be more
marvellous when we contrast it with the
sum total of 407 millions of currency of |
all kinds in the United States in 1861, |
when democratic free-trade ended
Here is growth of nearly twenty |
three millions of circulating medium |
that we have amassed since we have |
changed the policy of this government |
to one that preserves our markets for |
our own producers and our labor field !
for our own laborers.
NON CoMPETITIvE RECIPROCITY.
IL am not one of those who are averse |
to making all proper efforts to extend
our trade through reciprocal trade rela-
tions with other nations. am in favor |
of reciprocity, but am in favor of the |
reciprocity of Blaine, of Conkling and |
Grant and Mckinley. want the reci-
procity that gives the right of entry to |
our markets to the non-competitive arti- i
cle-the article that we need, but that |