Evening star., 1905-10-29
Mr.. Shaw's Address.

1.-THE opposition always insists that we
| must invite importations II we wish 10 IN
| crease our expectations. They urge that III
we will place the tariff of some articles
sufficiently low to insure an influx OF Tor
| eign goods. the doors of trade viii auto
matically open to us and we VIII have an
abundant outlet. 1 do not understand their
| logic, though | have heard it from the days
| OF my childhood.
I have examined the record and ! find
nothing therein to justify the claim Never
! in recent years has there been period OF
| low tariff that has not resulted In lean I'M
portations, nor a period of high tariff that
has not resulted in large importations. rms
seems paradoXical, and yet II Is logical
When our people are prosperous, as they
always are under protection, they puy eN-
erything in sight and send abroad for more;
When they are suffering from the effects OF
a tariff for revenue only they are unaple 10
consume. and therefore import little.
The logic Is easily stated and ought 10
be easily understood. Whenever the Ameri-
can people buy their woolen goods, their
iron and steel manufactures and their ar
ticles of common everyday consumption
abroad, American producers OF these aru-
cles are necessarily out of employment ana
our consumptive capacity is reduced to the
minimum.
The Proof Furnished.
II expect to be called to account for these
utterances and must, therefore, furnish the
proof The Wison-Gorman bill went into
effect July /, 1894 AS soon as 1t was known
that we were to have a lower tariff law,
and especially as soon as 1t was enacted.
importations under the Mckinley act fell
off materially. Nothing was imported that
could be deferred. Importers refused TO
make purchases for delivery prior to the
date when the lower tariff went into effect.
Again. after the Dingley law was enacted.
the rate of duty being on the average some
what higher, merchants imported all tney
could pay before the higher rate went into
effect. The record, therefore, Of the years
Immediately preceding and Immediately
following a change in tariff rates is mis-
leading. There is always a great flood of
mportations Immediately following low
rate, usually enough to paralyze our IN
dustries, but thereafter importations fal!
off. for our people are no longer able to
buy.
Importations Under Mckinley Act.
"Prospering as we did under the Mckin-
ley act, we imported, during the fiscal year
1852, $3.50 per capita, exported S15.61 per
capita, and consumed. within very
small fraction, six bushels of wheat per
capita Two years later imported So
less per capita, exported S275 less per cap
ita and consumed two bushels and q half
less wheat per capita. while the average
price of live stock sold in Chicago suffered
an average loss of 500 on every horse,
cow, steer, calf. sheep and pig.
I'm 1899, the year the people became so
dissatisfied that they voted republican pro-
lection a fraud and robbery, the average
price of live stock sold in Chicago was
S25I 30 per head, but only two years later
the average was only S16 loss of 30 per
cent. Under these conditions We have
neither money nor appetite for foreign
goods. ~.
Secretary Shaw left Washington shortly
after the meeting dispersed. He will speak
at Columbus November =.