New-York tribune., 1903-02-12
E4CRILEGE.

It is with great pain and CONSERVATION that
we read Of the action of the House Of Repre-
sentatives taken yesterday at the instance OF
Mr. Grosvenor and the Ways and Means Com
mittee. A bill to amend the Dingley act to
admit free of duty domestic animals for breed
ing purposes was passed. Now, we have not the
slightest objection to the free entry of domestic
animals for breeding purposes, any more thah
the leaders of the Ways and Means Committee
used TO say they had to the free entry Of some
other articles which happen to be dutiable, or
to the lower duties on Cuban sugar. Our con-
sternation is not based on any weak fear that
Spanish jacks and Norman stations and An
CORA goats and Southdown rams and blue An
dalusan cocks may by their pauper labor de-
stroy the breeding industry of our own Great
ures brought up under American conditions.
Our concern is entirely for principle
We have been in the last year at great pains
to learn from the leaders aforesaid the abso-
lutte necessity of standing by principle in this
matter of modifying the tariff. They have pre-
sented if to us as structure so delicate that the
least attempt to alter it and adjust it to chang
ing conditions would bring the whole thing
down in ruin about our ears. So we could not
have works of art put on the free list. Neither
would it do to change the steel or leather
schedules. And as for passing a measure of
Cuban reciprocity, that would split the tariff
wide open. It was freely admitted that certain
suggested changes were good in themselves, but
the trouble was that If consent was given to
any change, no matter how good advantage
would be taken by the opposition to bring
forward amendments, and selfish interests
which might rightly be interfered with would
labor to pull down something else, and so there
would be no end Of trouble. We used to think
that the best way to avoid any troublesome
revision on a large scale, which is undenably
difficult, would be to amend the law in the few
particulars in which it obviously needed
change That we felt would satisfy public
opinion and avoid any disposition to overturn
the system as whole. We were told, how
ever, that we were wrong about that. The
whole law was sacred and not even its un-
doubted excrescences could be touched without
sacrilege, not even in line with the dying sug-
gestons of President Mckinley.
Judge, then, the wrench it gives us 10 see the
leaders calmly punching hole in the tariff wall
for COWS and sheep to walk through! Will the
whole thing fall? Did not the beet sugar men
rush TO the opening for fear some Cuban
molasses might pour in? We haven't heard or
any disaster but cannot help feeling anxious.
The tariff apparently was modified just like any
other measure which needs adaptation to the
changing conditions of our national life IL a
few days pass without any explosion we may
get over our fright and in that shall begin
to wonder why it is not possible, with compare
tive safety, to let the country have free art, to
ratify the reciprocity treaties, and otherwise
treat the tariff question with common sense
If free cows, why not free pictures? The home
artists are afraid of the foreign pictures no
more than the home farmers are afraid of the
foreign animals.