Charlevoix county herald., 1907-01-05
WRITES ON TARIFF
IDA M. TARBELL BEGINS SERIES
OF ARTICLES.
Worth That the Work Might Have
Promises to Be MARRIED by
Spirit of HostiIity-Careless
Handling of Facts.

ming or a series OF drtlcieS III 'hO
American Magazine by Miss Ida M.
Tarbell, entitled 1.-THE Tariff In Our
Times" 1t is announced that the
author "will attempt to make THIS
most difficult of subjects absolutely
understand able and entertaining to
hundreds of thousands of readers VINO
have realized it's Importance without
understanding it's meaning. mat
there are many hundreds OF thou
sands of such persons is not 10 De
doubted. Whether they will all, or
any very large portion of them, be
persuaded to read the serial produc-
ton just referred to, is, perhaps, an
other question.
The author in this instance starts
out with the advantage OF having
already obtained a wide public hear
ing by means of the History of the
Standard Oil Company" Will she
succeed in securing an equally large
reading constituency for her history
of the tariff?
Much depends upon the kind OF
history that shall be written. There
are histories and histories. In her
story of the Standard Oil Miss Tar
bell was dealing with a single instl-
tuition, with only one industrial en-
terprise In writing of the tariff her
scope must be enormously enlarged.
Now she is dealing with all indus
tries; with a total industrial produc-
ton of $4,000 100000 year; with
wages earned by, paid to, and again
spent by more than 100000 people;
with the American standard or living,
higher by far than that of any other
people ever known in the worlds his
tory; with a condition of national
prosperity so amazing as to excite
universal establishment and envy;
with the material welfare of $4,000
900 men, women and children. 1t is
stupendous proposition. How will
the lady deal with it?
The answer is suggested by the
opening chapter of Miss Tarbells his
tory of 1.-The Tariff of Our Times"
We find, first of all, spirit of hos
tility to the American protective tar
if system. That seems to be the
point of view. Wherefore some sa-
| lent facts are either overlooked. or
else colored by craftsmanship in their
presentment. We are asked to be-
! lieve that protection to American in
dustry was never intended to be more
than temporary; that the intention of
the Fathers of the Republic was to
protect industries from foreign COM
petition only until they should be
established, but no longer" that
But we are not told that protective
tariff was the second act passed by
the first American congress, and that
Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and
all the early presidents were in favor
of stimulating American products
through protection and of establish
ing the industrial independence of
the United States.
Miss Tarbell insists that the panic
of 1857 was in no way influenced by
free trade tariff legislation, but she
does not explain how it was that a
|
and having the largest gold produc-
ton in it's career up to that time
could be plunged into financial ruin,
it's banks wrecked. it's industries par
alyzed, it's labor unemployed, and a
condition of want and suffering
brought on without the greatly re-
duced tariff and the greatly in
creased inflow of foreign manufac-
lures having anything to do with the
disturbance.
We are told by Miss Tarbell that
an enormous imitation of prices was
caused by the Morrill, tariff of 1860
No mention, however, is made of the
effect on prices of the heavy pre-
MUM on gold in the period of 1868
80, when $3.50 in greenbacks was
required to buy a dollars worth OF
goods.
There are peculiarities in the story
which relate to the question as to
what kind of tariff history Miss Tar
bell has undertaken to write, and how
well equipped she is for the task
Judgment on the question may be
suspended for later installments. Fol
the present it is enough to say that
the lady seems to have started out or
an attack on the system of protec
ton very much as she attacked the
Standard Oil. Evidences abound Of
lack of studious preparation, of un
ripeness, of careless handling OF
facts and conclusions. The article
would have been better for a more
thorough and careful consideration
and, one is tempted to suggest, for g
more active employment of the edito
rial blue pencil.