Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1907-01-10
E(DTEYSTIONEYA YAsbTAR
ss0ps the cough and heals lslngs
FRIENDLY REVISION?
TARIFF NOT LIKELY TO BE REVISED
BY PROTeCTlONlSTS

They Would Do Ii if They Could
when the Proper Time Comes, but
the Enemies of Protection Will Not
Wait For That Time to Arrive.
The tariff cannot be revised down
ward by the friends of protection. 1t
would be we'll if this fact were grasped
tightly and kept plainly in view by
those platform writer's who, while pro-
Tossing undyng devotion TO the policy
of protection, declare themselves ready
to take from the tariff more or less of
the protection which is now provided
for in the schedules.
Let us not be misunderstood. We
are not saying that the true friends of
protection would not If they could,
when the proper time should arrive
and when the work of revision could
be undertaken without shock or hurt
to business and to wage paying and
wage earning, rectify, amend and I'M
prove the tariff. They would gladly do
this if they had the power and We're
permitted to exercise it. But they will
not have the power
The power to revise the tariff down
ward: the power to punish the trusts
10y taking protection away from them
aud also from the nontrust producers;
the power to favor one section with
free raw materials at the expense of
other sections which produce such ma
terials: the power to install scheme
of reciprocity in competing articles "by
executive authority"-a despotic, dan
gerous and intolerabe power when in
the hands of a possible Bryan or Cleve-
land, and a power which ought never
II be placed in the hands of any one
nHn-all this power will not rest with
the friends of protection.
It viii rest with and be exercised by
q coalition Of free traders and reform
c"s;' of avowed enemies of protection
gladly cooperating with the theorists
tie uneasy tinkcrs, the free hides men,
the free sole leather men, the free lun-
hcr men. the free wood pulp men. all
lie trust busters, the advocates of
greater foreign competition as Il means
OF breaking down domestic prices, the.
advocates of Canadian reciprocity, the
advocates OF tariff reduction in the
shape Of general reciprocity
All these forces will combine when
the tariff is revised, and they will gov
crn the result. The friends of protec-
ton will be in the minority. They will
not have controlling voice when the
test comes.
The vote in caucus which decrees
that tie subject of tariff revision shall
be taken up will not he cast by the
friends OF protection The very fact of
such caucus decision will be proof
positive that the friends of protection
are no longer in the majority.
When tariff revision downward
comes, its edges embroidered with
maximum and minimum" au1 'reci-
pFocily"-aud all these things are sure
to come together when they do come
let no one suppose that the frienls of
protection VIII have the afair il
charge. The mischief VIII he Cose no
by but in spite Of. the frien s Of pro
lection.
The friends of protection stand rea ~
to revise the tariff Whenever tie nee
of revision shall become apparent
whenever revision viii do more goa,'
than harm to the greatest number
They will, when that time comes. hc
perfectly prepared to undertake the
work of revising the tariff in both dl
rections, up as well as down They
would if they could add protection in
some places and reduce protective du
ties in other places. They would, for
example, take cognizance Of the fact
that we are now importing each year
between $6oO,OOO,OO0 and S7OO, 0OO, 600
worth of d,1tfabIe md oompatitix-a