Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1906-04-28
TIN TARIFF vs.. HUMANITY
New York Evening Post

IL was not logic, but the appeals OF
starving men. which gave England free
trade. The failure OF the potato crop
Of Ireland IN 1915 did what Cobden's
speeches and Brght's eloquence had not
been able TO accomplish. II compelled
| Sir Robert Peel and the Duke Of Well
ington-th that Iron Duke whom Golden
reminded that, despite all his victories,
he had "never yet entered into O contest
with Englishmcn in which he was not
beaten Ito repeal the Corn laws Privi-
lege and party and an historic policy
had all to 20 by the board when humanity
asserted itself against them. There might
be various alleviations Of Irish distress,
the Prime Minister wrote, but "the only
effectual remedy is the removal Of impedi-
ments to import
Protection in this country is now fac
ing a similar crisis Devastated San
Francisco is looking about Tor the ma
terial wherewith TO rebuild, and finds
the tariff prepared to exact the utter
most iarthing from her even in her eX-
tremity She needs lumber, and the vast
stores Of British Columbia are ready to
pour in upon her, but the Dingley tariff
thrusts itself between and says: First
pay the extra 81 thousand" San
Francisco needs steel and iron beams
and girders to make sure that the future
city shall be so far as possible earth
quake-proof; but the dead hand OF
protection first demands its payment OF
IS cent pound Cement will be re-
quired in great quantities, but before
San Francisco can get a barrel OF It,
the tariff tribute must be paid OF eight
cents per one hundred pounds, nclud-
ing weight Of barrel or package" In
] Nka
Apollyon straddle the path along which
San Francisco would walk to recovery.
The resulting sense Of inhumanity is
plainly futtering the dovecotes Of the
standpatters at Washington. This morn
ing's dispatch from the capital to that
most orthodox Of high-tarif newspapers,
} the Tribune, reveals an extraordinary
state of things The protected inter
ests are preparing to make a grudging
concession to the humane instincts.
The steel men and the lumber men and
the cement men are willing to remove
the duty on building materials destined
for use in San Francisco. but "Only for
a specific period" This they could put
up with, but what they fear is a "tariff
debate" and, above all, they "dread
the striking object-lesson which must
result from such Legislation" Indeed,
they see troubles swelling ahead of them
Immediately, since they consider IL
doubtful if exemption of Trust-con-
trolled building material from O removal
Of the duty would be tolerated at this
time, in the present temper OF the people
and a portion OF Congress toward tariff
revision"
This gives the whole case away de-
lightfully. Greed and monopoly, in
trenched in the law, are willing TO remit
portion Of their plumber temporarily,
for the sake Of aiding people in excep-
! tional distress or, rather, they dare not
refuse to do this-but they serve notice
on every other subject American that
there will be no let-up on him whatso-
} ever For the time being, they may
even be as kind to the residents Of San
Francisco as they arc TO foreigners may
!, sell to them at 30 por cent under what
they extort from sheep-like consumers
= Of their own. their native land; may even
= consent, il they find they cannot, on
account Of a glut Of orders, produce in
time the steel and lumber and cement
needed, TO allow commerce to flow into
Q the Golden Gate unveXed for year by
/ artificial hindrances but they want it
. clearly understood that this relaxation
of their grip on the country is only pro-
visional and heeting, and that they
- mean TO 20 on taxing all other Ameri-
4 cans without particle Of mercy or re-
morse.
What is the dreaded "obiect-lesson p
II is the demonstration, first Of all, that
r tho pretence Of protectionists that "the
foreigner pays the tax" is a hoary old
fraud. We saw it for what it is when
Congress made exemptions for burned
; Portland in the sixties and for burned
a Chicago in the seventies; but never did
3 it appear more of a hideous absurdity
than now, when even "A protection-rid-
den Congress is preparing to relieve the
' native from paying the tax simply be.
8 cause he is destitute and IL would bs
b, inhuman 20 make him pay IL. The OBJ
y ject-lesson next goes on to show exactly
what is the power which the protected
n interests exercise under the forms o
Q law. lt is the power Of taxation. Taxel
e levied by the government for the pub
4 lie are a necessary evil, often grevou:
to be borne; but a right OF taxation
corruptly acquired by private interests
and ruthlessly insisted upon through
v out the whole country is an outrage
:, which only needs TO be uncovered to b,
Q hated. Tariff exemption for San Fran
cisco does uncover the whole unjust
! system, and hence the fear and trembling
y Of its benefciaries. The teacher of the
n obiect-lesson will also not fail to point
! out that the alliance Of protection witt
politics sends to Washington men who
F" represent particular interests, not the
5 people. Look at the all-powerful Sena.
d tor Aldrioh az this moment. Il is to hil
c tender mercies, as chairman Of the fl
, nance committee, that the San Fran
ciscans have 70 appeal. lie will decid,
just what duties and for how long viii
O be graciously remitted by the tariff
y Trusts But on the question Of fre,
t alcohol, be il noted, Aldrich is firm. The
a bill which passed the House by a great
:, majority, he is going to hold up for thi.
y session. He needs to Investigate" il
II But it does not require much investigat
e ing to show that the Standard Oil Co Il
opposed to the free-alcohol bill, and that
Aldrich is doing the bidding OF his masters
IL is such aspects of tariff corruption
- that we hope the Democrats in Congress.
r will not fail 90 emphasize when the bill.
n repeating duties for the benefit Of Sar
y Francisco are put upon their passage
CURRENT LITERATURE.