The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1904-11-05

is proof of the futility of any hope for
tariff reformation by party tied hand
and foot in the bonds of sordidness and
reckless greed. Upon the evidence sup
piled by this incident, it is incompre-
hensible that the pretense should longer
be tolerated that none can be trusted to
justly relieve the people by tariff revis-
ion except the friends of radical protec-
tion.
1t was under the operation of this
disgraceful outcome of delusive show Of
tariff reformation by its friends, that
the battle of 1884 was fought. The av-
erage rate of duty on imports then pres
vailing was something over forty-iye
per cent, and this rate the people, by
their verdict at the polls, eondsuned as
unnecessary and unjust, and denounced
its exaetions as no better than robbery.
have ventured to remind you of these
incidents for an especial purpose desire
to direct your attention to the fact that
in the contest of twenty years
ago the tariff then existing was
condemned because in and of itself, with
out accomplices or vicious associates, it
was guilty of despoiling our people oin
their homes.
Trusts and combinations did not tnen
appear as its confederates. If the ex-
listed at all, they were infant industries,
too few and too young to be mentioned
in the platform of either Of the great
political parties, and too newly born to
be the companions Of such other infant
industries, as though still unweaned, had
actually grown gray at the breasts Of
sinfully indulgent tariff protection.
The multiplication of this new race.o
infant industries soon grew to be wols-
derfully in excess Of all other birth ra;e
records. In 1888 they had attracted at
Stention enough to be denounced in both
party platforms. The precocity of these
infant prodigies ran far ahead of the
most exaggerated ina gination Of parental
pride. Before they were day old they
recognized IN the policy of high protection
the way to growth and strength and
wealth. Though it is sometimes now
said that the tariff has nothing to do
with trusts, Mr. Havemeyer the most
competent of all men 10 give expert tes-.
timony on the subject has declared -
The tariff is the mother of trusts" and
the trusts themselves We're precocious
enough to know this at the beginning OF
their infantile existence.
They knew 1T tariff protection builds
high wall around American industries
which guards them against competition
or disturbance from abroad, and they
know that nothing prevents the raising of
prices to the full height of this wall ex-
cept competition among these industries
themselves, resulting in the underselling
of each other at home and with the for
tilted area of their operations. They
knew that this barrier standing between
our consumers and the exaction of prices
as high as the wall of tariff protection,
must be removed and the margin between
prices as modified by home competition
and the prices attainable without such
competition, be under the control of these
industries if they were to enjoy to the
fullest extent the fruits of Government
favoritism. They knew that home COM
petition could be eliminated by such
agreements among the industries inter-
ested as would regulate prices and pro-
duction and concentrate management;
but, above all things they knew that all
devices would entirely fail to accomplish
the result desired, if any breaeh in the
wall of protection against foreign inter
ference was permitted, and they knew
that the higher this wall was raised the
greater would be the scope for their ex-
ters achination
Nor IS it alone in this direct and pal
pable way that high protection is an es-
sential factor in industrial combination.
Those who manage these affairs take in
to account and consider as an asset of
their undertaking the increased profits
which must result when tariff protection
is coupled with the suppressing of home
competition, and counting this as money
in hand, they are enabled to venture con-
fidently upon the purchase Of similar
Independent enterprises at high yalua-
tions, paid in watered stock, or to force
their cooperation by threats of ruinous
attack.
Schemes Of this sort, secured against
foreign interference BY protective tariff
and shielded from domestic disturbance
by covenants of joint participation and