Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-04-23
AMERICAN TARIFF LAWS
THE MORRILL, TARIFF.
BY FREDERIC j. HAsKIN.

II is quite a general conviction among
men who know the inside history Of
events Of 1850 that the election of Abra-
ham Lincoln as president was due to the
tariff and not the result of slavery agita-
ton. IL such be true the civil war was
more directly due to the tariff than 10
slavery. James G. Blaine took this view
of the matter. and expresses II fully In
his Twenty Years in Congress He
points out that the national excitement
over Bleeding Kansas" was mucn
stronger in 1856 than in lS60. and that In
spite of this fact the country went Dem
ocratic in 1856 and Republican in 1860. To
Pennsylvania he gives the credit Of hay
ing turned the scales. II was then said Of
Pennsylvania as IL has later been said Of
New York, that as II goes in national
election, so goes the union. In the guber-
Material election of 1850. Curtin, afterward
war governor. made the tariff question the
issue, and won on a high tariff platform.
The same issue was believed to be the
one that gave the vote of Pennsylvania
TO Lincoln, and If that be true, it was
the issue that gave Lincoln TO the union.
In the presidential election of 1856 there
was not much said about the tariff. The
Walker tariff had worked so well, at
least to outward appearances. that the
whole country seemed TO acquiesce in
il. But the following year found the
strong boxes of the government overflow
ing with money TO such a degree that
IL became necessary to reduce the reve-
nues. A bill providing the lowest tariff
in the history Of the country was then
introduced. II was not long in reaching
the point of consideration. There was
much parliamentary maneuvering in the
and Sanafa The latter Indy dOui-
mated the situation, and secured the pas
sage. in practical entirety, of the meas
ure introduced by Senator r. NJ. 7. Hun
ter. OF Virginia.
One of the most remarkable things
about the tariff of 1857 was that many in
dustries which were dominated by a
thorough-going protection spirit, did all
they could, and actually spent much mon
ey TO make the bill as nearly a free trade
measure as possible. 1t was shown that
a single mill had spent $4,000 in its cam
paign for free trade. These manufacturers
knew full we'll that there was no chance
of protection for their products. Their
next best course was to secure free raw
material and their energies were spent
in that direction.
1t was not long after this until the
panic of 1851 came on. All protectionists
attribute il to the low tariff. All free
traders do not. Most historians take mid
die ground and find causes not dissimilar
TO the panic of 1907 Be that as IL may,
the following year saw such deficits in the
revenues that Justin S. Morrill, hit off the
situation by saying that the government
was obliged to go to bed without its
supper every time imports fell short a
81
New York. However, the low water mark
Of treasury receipts was reached just
about the time the measure went into eff
feet, and from that time on there was
a steady rally back to normal conditions.
When the first session of the thirty
sixth congress met. Mr.. Morrill,, of Yer
mont, introduced practically the same
tariff measure he had tried in vain to