Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1904-09-22

BlTuctlOn ana uprOOunB OF the tdrln, ana
therefore OF our business and Industry,
that they are pledged. When our oppo-
nents last obtained power 1t was on a
platform declaring protective tarin
unconstitutional" and the effort to put
this declaration into practice was one OF
the causes of the general national pros
tration lasting from 1893 to 1891. II a
protective tariff IS either "unconstitu-
tionaP or robbery" then 1t is just as
unconstitutional, Just as much robbery,
to revise 1t down, still leaving 1t protec-
tive. as 1t would be to enact 1t, In other
words our opponents have committed
themselves to the destruction of the pro-
tectiye principle in the tariff, using words
which II honestly used forbid them from
permitting this principle to obtain in
even the smallest degree.
Every class of our people Is benefited
BY the protective tariff. During the last
few years the merchant has seen the
export trade of this country grow faster
than ever In our previous history The
manufacturer could not keep his factory
running II 1t were not for the protective
tariff. The wage-worker would do we'll
to remember that II protection is rob
berry, and Is to be pdnished accordingly,
he VIII be the first to pay the penalty;
for either he will be turned adrift entire
ly, or his wages will be cut down to the
starvation point. AS concluslvely shown
by the bulletins of the bureau Of labor,
the purchasing power of the average
wage received by the wage-worker has
grown faster than the cost of living. and
this In spite of the continual shortening
OF working hours. The accumulated saw
ings of the workingmen of the country,
as shown by the deposits In the savings
banks, have increased by leaps and
bounds. At no time in the history of this
or any other country has there been an
era so productive of material benefit
alike TO workingman and employer, as
during the seven years that have just
passed.
The farmer has benefited quite as much
as the manufacturer, the merchant. and
the wase-worker. The most welcome and
impressive fact established by the last
census Is the wide and even distribution
or wealth among all classes of our coun-
trymen. The chief agencies in produc-
ing this distribution are shown by the
census to be the development of manu-
features, and the application of new in
ventions to universal use.
In the forty years ending In 1900 the
total value of farm property increased
twelve and a half billions of dollars: the
FARMER gaming even more during this pc
riod than the manufacturer. Long ago
oVer-production would have checked the
marvellous development of our national
agriculture, but for the steadily increas-
ing demand or American manufacturers
FOR farm products required as raw ma
terials for steadily expanding industries
Conditions, change and the laws must
be modified from time to time to fit new
exigencies. But the genuine underlying
principle of protection, as 1t has been
embodied in all but one of the American
tarin laws for the last forty years, has
worked ont results so beneflcent, so even
ly and widely spread. so advantageous
alike TO farmers and capitalists and work.
lnsmen. 10 commerce and trade of every
kind, that the American people, If they
show their usual practical business sense
Will insist that when these laws are
modified they shall be modified with the
utmost care and conservatism and by
the friends and not the enemies OF the
protective system. They cannot afford
to trust the modification to those who
treat protection and robbery as synony-
nous terms
:, In closing what have to say about
the system or promoting American indus
try let me add a word of cordial agree
ment with the policy of in some way in
Guiding. within its benefits, by appropriate
legislation. the American merchant ma
rine' IL Is not creditable to us as a ma
non that our great export and import
trade should be well nigh exclusively
In the hands of foreigners.
our opponents contend that the govern
ment Is now administered extravagantly
and that whereas there was IN siIrnlHs
of SSO,OOOOOO in 1907 there is "a deficit Of
more. than 100000" in the year that
has just closed.
This deficit is imaginary, and Is OBJ
talned by including In the ordinary cur
millions
which was paid for the right of way of
the Panama canal out of the accumu-
lated surplus in the treasury. Compar-
Ing the current or ordinary expenditures
Tor the two years, there was a surplus
Of nearly eighty millions for the YEAR
1900, and of only little more than eight
millions for the year that has inst
closed. But this dimlnution of the an
nual surplus was brought about design
eddy by the abolition of the war taSes
in the interval hntWaap he
The acts of March 2, 1901 and April ~
1902, cut down the internal revenue taxes
10 an amount estimated at one hundred
and hve millions year. In other words,
the reduction of taxation has been con-
siderably greater than the reduction in
the annual surplus. Since the close of
the war with Spain there has been no
substantial change In the rate Of annual
expenditures; AS compared with the fis-
cal year ending In June, 1901 for exam
pie, the fiscal year that has just closed
showed a relatively small Increase in ex-
penditure Excluding the canal payment
already referred to), while the year pre-
Vl0us showed a relatively small decrease
The expenditures Of the nation have
been managed In spirit Of economy as
far removed from waste as from niggard-
illness: and In the future every effort will
be continued to secure an economy as
strict as Is consistent with efficiency
Our opponents promise Independence to
the Philippine Islands. Here again we
are confronted by the fact that their ir-
reconcilabe differences of opinion
among themselves, their proved inability
to create constructive policy when in
power, and their readiness. for the sake
OF momentary political expediency, to
abandon the principles upon which they
have insisted as essential, consplre to
puzzle us as to whether they do or do
not intend in good faith to carry out
this promise II they are given control Of
the government
If our opponents came into power and
attempted to carry out their promises to
the Filipinos by giving them independ-
ence, and Withdrawing American control
from the Islands, the result would be
a frightful calamity to the Filiplnos
themselves, and In its larger aspect would
amount to an international crime. An
archy would follow; and the most vio-
lent anarchic forces would be directed
partly against the civil government. part
ly against all forms of religious and edu-
cational civilization. Bloody conflicts
would inevitably ensue in the archipelago,
and just as inevitably the islands would
become the prey Of the first power which
In its own selfish interest took up the
task we had cravenly abandoned
During the last five years more has
been done for the material and moral
well-being of the Filipinos than eve
before since the islands first came within
the ken OF civilized man. We have OPEN
ed before them a vista of orderly devel-
opment In their own interest. and not
a policy of exploitation. Every effort Is
being made to fit the islanders for self
government, and they have already in
large measure received II. while for the
first time in their history their personal
rights and civil liberties have been guar
anteed. They are being educated: they
have been given schools: they have been
given libraries; roads are being built for
their use; their health Is being cared
hnN Nrafu ala1.