Perth Amboy evening news., 1907-01-03
Miss TarbeIl's New Historical Series,
''The Tariff i'm Our Times

A new historical series by Ida M.
Tarbell is an event of real imports
ance. Without doubt this author can
hold a larger number of readers to
continued and serious consideration
of a public question than any other
writer. She car take a subject that
looks dull and difficult, and, by clear
expression in story form, make it in
teresting and easy.
Take Miss Tarbell's first article on
''The Tariff in Our Tines in the De-
cember number of the American Mag
azine. Here, as usual, this writer's
appeal is to m sense. Without
prejudice or passion she goes straight
to the telling of a great story-a
story which she herself evidently sees
looming big-a story which from the
earliest indications seems likely to
prove far more exciting and import
ant than the History of Standard Oil.
The new history begins where
THE Tariff in Our Tines bagin-
at the opening of the Civil War. Here
was Il country, with a depleted
treasury and an expensive war on
hand. On IN income of 200, 900
a year, we were spending 100000 a
day. AS a country, we were getting
beyond our depth-inancially.
So, in distress, our government the
sudden requirements of AN emergen-
cy by departing from a low tariff pol
Icy, on which the minds of the people
were settled, and raised duties on i'm
ported goods. But these high tariff
laws ere not all passed at once; nei-
thef were they passed without combat
and excitement. There were great
congressional battles, in which legis-
lative generals were developed. There
was Salmon P. Chase, the secretary
of the treasury-face to face with the
awful necessity of raising money, and
Of raising it quickly. There was Lin
coln-too absorbed in other things
to give attention to the details of tar
iff legislation. There were John
Sherman, Justin s.. Morrill,, Thaddeus
Stevens and William Pitt Fessenden
congressman and senators who
were leaders in the various fights to
get the bills through congress-. Men
ike Horace Greeley and James Cor
don Bennett were interested-all of
whom Miss Tarbell describes in her
first chapter.
There were men who took advan-
tage of their country's predicament
to further their own interests by Sc
curing higher and higher duties IN
order than they might charge more
and more for their goods. Several
important men are, in this article,
discovered in unexpected and unfa-
vorable lights: But there were men
conspicuous for their devotion to the
public good at The expense of tleir
private interests. Not the least i'm
portant thing about this serial, there
fore, is the historical perspective ii
will furnish-the perspective that
equips the everyday American better
to understand the men and move
ments of the present time. The
forces of good and evil in our public
life were contending forty-five wears
ago, much as they are now. The fight
-world-old-is always interesting.
To this new subject Miss TarbelI
has applied the patient, sound, i'm
partial methods of a conscientious
writer of history. She has adhered
to the fine and temperate treatment
of facts shown in her History of
Standard OIL" joined with the kindly
human sympathy that made her Life
of Lincoln" so admirable a ref1ec-
tion of her subject. 1t is entirely
reasonable to predict that she has un-
dertaken a piece of work, which,
when completed, will be of great
value to succeeding generations.