New-York tribune., 1908-02-28
UtRkt FROM THE TOHBS.

There has come TO US recently, ike A NhtcS
from the tombs an appeal from once taniiiaC
and influential political agency. the 'atih it
form committee of the New York ReioFm Cluo'
In the golden era OF CleveandSm, Wheh III.
cleveland and the Northern Democracy iia"
taken ND the South's traditional demanu Tor =,
free exchange of cotton ana othef aSf'Cu''" "''
stapIes for European manufactured GooaS' 'n'
poform ClpS was Il focus of free trade aSlta-
lion and a nursery for Cobdenlte orators anu
economists In those days. when the South was
carnestlv irving TO set back the hands o. prog
r,ss and 10 re-establiSh the primitive induStrlai
stains of the 30's and 40s. no summons WIS
Iouder than the Reform Clubs for the raz'hs OF
the custom houses and the ftooalh@ OF lili9 i""
ket with the cheaper manufactured prou"''c w
tro,1 Britain aud the Continent buf iu' INV
trade agitation fell into desuetude IN MI i'N'
lands second Presidential term. Wheh lht 1"u'i'
cut loose from the Northern ana Easter" ~
.,,o.r,,.,- and cast IFS fortunes on the money
iss11o with the pr0tectoniSt Far west we sup
nosal that the Reform Club had long ago i'h""-
donad its lahors aud lapsed into sonnpiehcr,
The circular which it issues proves that !. St'"
Iip.,a-s and still huSies its Imagination WIN 'i0
memories Of the past -.
we gather from the statements III 1hf On,
Ier that the Reform Club is still mrecoIiSuu'''"
-,ua l1Iiroconstructahlc 1t adhertS 10 '"'
or,.b,i. progr9fnme of demoliShng the pro
toctivc svstan root and branch The appear
says:
Seeing in =o-caUed protection 80 much OF evil
-F7is committee faYors the total a9"ltloh o. "'S
! .D+ir. system. II has no telth IN Inc 'hisa'4
f ..,7i,7sir,at- h, reciprocity. or by preferential
maximum ana minimum or dual taTliiS or o9
tariff commissions
Tho raforlncrs e. tn" Reform Club will tol-
crata no falteriu- or palterng. 10 halfway
cures ar compromises. They are net Wiling ~
make haste slowly or % iai.e down the tarIH
,,-aIl bricl, hv brick. They vii be satisfied with
notfin., else than the immediate Taln@ Of the
entire barrier. tue mastering out of our little
army of crstcTis officials and the dedication o.
1be custom houses 10 purposes not in themselves
= menace to international order ana an on
s1aclc to universal peace" The Reform ! I"'
still .IincS 10 its old-fashioned ideas Of Wi'"'
,,,-St constitute the millennium. ana - pre-
nared 10 see that beatiic era uShered ID a. >oo'
AZ the United States stops levyinG import taxes
on foreign made goodS
q1,osa fdeas are interesting chiefly because
+ba- indicate the distance the country mas IdN-
aIled in the last twenty years There Is TO-DAY
. -, s,,io,,s ~. rpsponSihe leader in the Demo
,-.,+f, Marty who would commit himself 70 such
, ,,r,noeftio0 rs the total abolition OF TIE pro
4ac+f,-a tariff system. ~ we have often had oc-
,.asfon 10 sav the old yindictive hostility OF tne
South and part of the West ana SoulhNtN' ~
1,roto,.ti0n has practically passed away N''h"-
far771rinc has spread South ana West ana uIc
lanefifs Of protection are much more WldeiF
.ifsnarsed than they were twenty or forty years
ago. The great majority of the American peop'r
i satisfied that the protective system has served
ma till serves = 1!Seflll economic purpose. ana
,,opId lee unwilling 10 abandon that system
aItbouob fully prepared 10 modify it it the ao-
! ...,.-. If q, modification are clearly shown.
O,7r foreign commerce has doubled IN ten years
under the present tariff thus accomplishing "
rs,lt which the free traders bad declared 10 "e
imnossihle Our own Industries nave '#'eH ="
1,sr,ad and strengthened, and in she last thfef
months Of business depression the balance IN
/ rorcfou trade in our favor has hccn enormously
and o,mortuucly increased The pr"t'euF'
tboo1, has. in fact so far INDICATED itself that
It. ,ozy differ only as 10 the extent 70
which If shall he applied The Reform Club
cannot have noted this change in public sent
norf If il had it would not have issued us
natheticalIv reminiscent Rip Van NnRie "n-
! 7la24