The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1904-07-21
A Tariff Talk.

IL mas been said that any fool can
stand adversely, but it takes a wise
man to stand prosperity. A man has
to stand adversely, but prosperity
presents to him many attractions that
ne may or may not "blow' himself
on. 1t is only the strong that can re-
sist the attractions. Law cannot make
man sober, Industrious, intelligent,
or rich, but it can help to make him
either of these. Law does not create
wealth, but it may encourage the
creation Of riches. The protective
tariff encouraged manufacturing in
this country, and vast aggregations OF
wealth have been accumulated in our
country by encOura cement of this law.
The manufacturers have become rich.
and millions of people have found en-
| ployment at wages which enable them
to build up happy homes and live in
comparative afluence. So successful
has employer and employe become
that each has piled up money as money
was never piled up before in any coun-
try in the world. The employers
wealth is represented by huge fnan-
cial concerns, and the employees by
savings banks deposits so great as to
be almost incalculable, though many
employees become owners of independ-
ent lines OF business. By the aid of
law the country has enjoyed unexam-
pied prosperity. But prosperity has
It's drawbacks. Comparatively few
people can stand it. When they be-
come prosperous they want to 60 the
pace that kills and then they look
around for the cause of their trouble.
OF course, they are not to blame for
their trouble. Adam wasn't. and why
should any of his descendants be?
Adam was enjoying unexampled pros
perity, but, like many Of his descend
ants, he couldn't stand it: and, having
fallen, he took his medicine like man
and didn't try to kill Eve or the SER
pent, nor did he try to detroy every
thing in the garden. It is recognized
that the protective tariff has aided in
building up the great wealth of this
country. With this wealth has come
the disadvantages of prosperity. from
which many people, including innocent
ones, have suffered, and because of
this many people want to do away
with the law that has built up this
prosperity. This is the wrong remedy.
Laws should be made to regulate the
management of the accumulated
wealth, and not to destroy the encour-
agement given to the accumulation.
We should not destroy the source of
wealth but should seek to regulate the
wealth after we have it. The states
man who is needed now is not the one
who hopes to rectify everything by ad-
vocating tariff reform, but the one
who will leave the present tariff
alone and devises laws to regulate
our much-needed large aggregations
of wealth. When we advocate leaving
the present tariff alone we do not
mean that it is a perfect tariff law. A
perfect tariff law cannot be enacted.
and the present one is about as good
as can, in all probability, be enacted.
We have done we'll under it. The
craftsmanship of the future has to deal
with the regulation Of corporate wealth
and corporate labor. and the states
man who devises laws for their regu-
lation and gets them enforced will take
his place beside Washington, Jeffer-
son, Lincoln and Neutrality-suspicious.
| Gazette.