Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-07-06

he who would attribute an Increase Of In
policy attempting vitality to obstruct t. A
perfectly ideal protective policy would be
one which did not admit a single possibly
competing product OF another country to
the protected market. In so far pro-
lection falls short of that result IL Is
failure from a protectionist's standpoint
Our Foreign Commerce.
1.-THE admission of others into your
own market. and the refusal to purchase
from others certainly does not tend TO make
them purchase from you, whatever else II
does. AS Mr. Mckinley said. we cannot
always continue to sell without buying
Plainly our foreign commerce has grown,
not because of. but In spite of the obstrlIc-
items which have been placed In the cur
rent of trade. How ridiculous the boast is
too. in connection with the fat-footed re-
fusal of the republican party in the Senate
to approve the reciprocity treaties insti-
tuted and completed by Mr.. Mckinley and
sent to that body by him for approval. es-
pecially the highly beneficial reciprocity
treaty with France. and In the teeth of the
refusal of the republican administration &c
take any initiatory step looking toward the
reconvenfng OF the joint high commission
Tor the purpose OF establishing reciprocal
trade relations between our northern neigh.
Dor. Canada, and our children there and
ourselves.
have gone farther than 1t has gone in max
ing this statement? There Il a succeed
ing statement. however, which will vie with
II. 1t Is where the platform favors COM
mercial reciprocity wherever reciprocal ar
rangements can be effected - without In
jury to American agriculture. American
labor or any American industry The word
any Is good In that connection. What a
Stop cog 1t Is to the turning of the wheel
of commercial reciprocity. Think of its
full import. Injury is good in that con-
nection, too. 1t all depends upon what Is
meant by the word If the audience will
excuse me for quoting myself. 1 will read
what an interview contained on that sub
tect: IF the phrase means anything IL
means this: That the republican party Is
not willing to secure immensely larger mar
ketS for the products of our farms, mines
forests or even manufactures abroad II In
return for them II shall be compelled to ad-
NIT into competition with even the least OF
our industries any articles of foreign
growth or production. Judging by Senator
Lodges record in opposition to the French
reciprocity treaty. which was initiated
completed and sent to the Senate by Presi-
dent Mckinley it would mean that the
publican party would refuse. II they were
offered, greatly extended markets for wes-
tern produce and southern and middle
states productions. IL thereby 1t were
threatened to cut down ) per cent of the
possible charges of a Massachusetts cotton
knitting mill
This construction of the plank is in keep
ing, too. with the utterances of Mr. Dalzell
of Pennsylvania, perhaps the most highly
accredited floor leader Of the republican
party. who. amid an outburst of repubii-
can applause, said. on the floor of the
House that the republican party would not
have reciprocity except in non-competing
articles He and his colleagues upon the
republican side were then challenged to
name a single article produced anywhere
in the world that either was not produced
or could not be produced somewhere in
of hn tot fArr Ar.A
tinent appendages under the stars ano
stripes. OF course this. IL 1t means any
thing, means that there is to be no sort
of reciprocity at all. | venture my head
Ship Subsidy.
"Then there is cunningly concealed in the
republican platform the hydra head Of
yet worse form of special legislation
namely, by direct subsidy. taking money
out of the treasury and handing it over
bodily to a special in this case, the class of
ship builders and ship owners.
1T will be noted also that the republican
party was not quite brave enough to say
out loud what it wanted and intended to
do. This ship subsidy plank is bolstered by
the usual false statement. this time in iunu-
endo, that the English merchant marine
the most prosperous of aii-is dependent
upon subsidies. Every dollar paid by the
English government to owners of private
ships is paid for carrying the mails and is
paid to the lowest bidder, and foreign ships
are permitted to bid.
How plain tale doth put them down
1 say it is the worst form of special legis-
lation because II is naked and without
hypocrisy. and hypocrisy is the reverence
which vice pays to virtue.
IAN indirect subsidy like protection Is al
least yelled with the pretense of being nee
essary taxation, and that hides its enormity
from the public view. Things have almost
reached the old decadent days of the Ro-
man republic when government consisted
chiefly in distributing bread and giving cir
cuses. The worst of all this is that it is
sought to be justified. like protectionisn
upon the pretext that 1t is done for the
benefit of American labor II you want to
give labor by legislation-panem ct cir
censes-why not give it directly? IL you
are going to take money out of the trea sliry
in order to increase the remuneration, why
not do 1t frankly and honestly? If your
object in a ship subsidy is to increase the
wages of sailors, why not decide upon the
percentage of increase advisable make the
appropriation and pay ii over to the sailors
themselves. 1t would be far more justifia-
BILE to pass law to give every sailor and
man and woman in the United States earn
ing less than one dollar a day an increase
of 90 per cent than it would be by protec-
tfonism or ship subsidy to pretend to have
that end in view. while the money raised
from consumers by taxation instead of be-
ing paid directly over to the laborer who
lated through the hands of others to whose
fingers most of ii, and sometimes all of it.
sticks. Republicans say that the law will
make the corporations able to pay higher
wages. Who is to intercede effectually
with the Almighty to make them willing
to do it?
Chinese Exclusion.
Then our friends the enemy speak of
the republican policy of Chinese exclusion
and boast of recent legislation upon that
subject as a reason for longer stay in Of
flee.
Again no mention of salient facts to
wit: That the votes of the democracy were
unanimously cast for the proviso presented
by Mr. Hill to continue by legislation the
exclusion policy OF the Chinese treaty, about
to expire, nor of the fact that Mr. Hill
yielded to the democratic leader on the
hcor to speak in its advocacy. The differ
cree between the two parties when they
vote for the Chinese exclusion is this:
Dc mocrats vote in accordance with the ira
ditions and principles of their party. Dem
ocrats, as a rule, make no disguise of the
fact that they want to retain this country,
as far as possible, as home for the white