Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1903-08-27
PANICS AND TARIFFS
PROTECTION AN AID IN TIMES OF
FINANCIAL STRINGENCY.

with Labor Employed and the Home
Market Well Secured the RuinOus
Effects of Business Depression Are
Reduced to a Minimum.
The contention of the Springfield Re
publican that 1t is better not to change
our tariff law till after the inevitable
panic comes, which 1t has been looking
for daily for some years, seems to be
sentiment that we can all unite In.
While there is no sign Of any imme-
date or important break in our pros
perity, yet it Is quite likely that in the
course of time there may come a de-
preston in business or even the so
called panic that the Republican is SO
eagerly looking for.
A protective tariff Is not necessarily
absolute insurance against bad man
agement, against crop failures, against
war, against anarchy or many other
unpleasant things that may happen,
and happen suddenly without almost
any warning. But If a reversal of busi-
ness for either long or short period is
to come 1t Is better that 1t should come
during the operation of protective
tariff than at time when free trade is
assured or in operation. Under protec-
ton we could more quickly and surely
recover from a panic or business re
versal Under free trade we could not
recover at all till we had re-enacted
protective tariff and felt its effects. We
have had instances in our history to
demonstrate this assertion. The panic
of 1873 and the business depression of
the few years following, caused by
phases of the financial and business
world growing out of the war are
pointed to by free traders as proof that
protection will not prevent such dis
asters. AT the same time we must ad-
nit that we recovered rapidly and sure
~ and most effectually under the tariff
which was then in operation, and con-
tnued on with increasing prosperity
until free trade came in 1894 to upset
our progress. But we did not recover
from any other panic In our history
caused by free trade except by a return
to protection.
III
that would lead to any precipitation of
a financial crash or industrial depres-
sion. 1t Is true that the voluntary ac-
ton Of we'll paid and well employed
workingmen might lead to q lack of
confidence in financial circles that
might prove disastrous to our business
interests. But we do not believe that
our intelligent laboring classes will go
too far In their contention for higher
wages and fewer hours of labor. AS
compared with the working classes
elsewhere and with our own working
men Of previous years our laborers are
far better paid for far less hours Of
labor and are enjoying better living
than was ever before known.
The cry of the demagogue which is
heard now and then that the wealth
Of the country is being secured by a
few at the expense Of the many-in 9th
er words, the rich are growing richer
and the poor are growing poorer-can
be proved to be absolutely false. Never
before were the so called middle classes
and even our poorer classes so well off
as they are today. Never before did
the working classes. which compose
the great mass Of our citizens, possess
so many homes in their own names, so
many titles to homes partly paid for,
so many insurance policies providing
for the future, so many deposits in our
savings banks and so many opportuni-
ties for adding to all these many advan-
tages. Over thirty millions of our
eighty millions of mainland inhabitants
are agricultural laborers and their fami
lies. And whether these farmers are
situated In the manufacturing states Of
the east or among the great agricul-
tural lands of the west, whether they
are growing vegetables or grain, their
only cry from one end of the land to
the other is for sufficient help to enable
them to grow and harvest their crops.
Never in our history were our farmers
so well off as they are today. Many
of them are now to be numbered
among our wealthy class; many of
them are lenders of money, stockhold-
ers In corporations and investors of
capital outside of their own immediat te
interest
The factory and mill laborers Of the
east are or could be employed almost
every working day of the year at
larger wages, both individual and col
lectively, than have ever been before
known previous to this beginning of
the twentieth century. Our profession