Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1905-09-14
The Reciprocity Convention.

When General Winfield Scott Han
cock, while candidate for president, de-
clared the tariff question to be local
issue he was laughed at almost as much
as was the great soldier for whom he
was named for declaring, while he was
a candidate for president, that he had
just risen from hasty plate of SOUP
mortal truth, which aided in keeping
him out of the White House. The tar
1T Is a local issue pure and simple,
especially in q country so large as this,
with such varied resources. The Scot
fish red herring fisherman who wrote to
Sir Robert Peel urging him to secure
free trade in everything except red her
rings was the typical man and express
ed the whole philosophy of the protec-
tive system-special privilege for some
at the expense of others. That he was
ridiculed for his pains does not mat
ter. When Minnesota Republican
delegate to the Chicago reciprocity con-
vention declared that he was against
the Dingley bill because it does not
protect Minnesota interests he was
simply repeating in inverted form the
Seotchman's remark. If everybody in
vision as the Minnesota delegate Pres
ident Roosevelt's message to congress
in December would be devoted princi-
paily to urging a revision of the Ding
ley tariff rates. The stand patters may
whoop it up all they please, but the
tariff will be revised People learn
slowly, but they learn at last. There
is no school equal to the school of ex-
perience. Certain persons, SOFT is said,
will learn IN no other, but it is surely
percolating through their heads that
tax of 81 per cent on everything used
by an American citizens is not such a
blessing as it is cracked up to be by the
stand patters.
Our Tariff and Germany's."
AS frequently stated in these letters,
the Washington Post is an independent
paper with strong Republican leanings
and a consistent advocate of protec
tive tariff, but the stand patters cause
its gorge to rise. Under the above cap
ton it recently contained this vigorous
and luminous editorial:
The German agrarians correspond to
the American stand patters. They are
resolved that the German farmer shall
have the monopoly of the German mar
ket, while our stand patters are deter
mined that the American manufacturer
shall have the monopoly of the American
market. Our present tariff is declara-
ton of commercial war against the Ger
man manufacturer; the new German tar
iff, which will go into effect next March,
is declaration of commercial war against
the American farmer. In Germany the
man who works in the shops has no rights
that the man who works in the field is
bound to respect; in America the man
who works In the field has no rights that
the man who works in the shop Is bound
to respect. The German tariff is for the
German farmer; the American tariff Is
for the American manufacturer.
The German chancellery is subservient
to the German agrarians the American
administration is obsequious to the Amer
lean stand patters When a greater i'm
petus is given to this commercial war
next March American farm products to
the value Of sao,oO0.e00 will be shut out Of
the German market. That VIII derange
every market In the world where the
products of the American field are bought
and sold, including the sacred home mar
ket Who will foot the bills? That Is
easy. They will be apportioned between
the artisan of Germany and the farmer
of America,
The president of the United States is
said to be much concerned about the thing
and IL contemplating a reciprocity treaty.
What will lie do with his treaty when he
negotiates IT. What chance viii such a
treaty have IN a congress dominated In
one house BY tae senate finance commit
tee, while the other house is powerless in
posed Of Joseph q, Cannon. John EaIzels
ana Charles II. GrosVenor2