Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1909-06-02
"PRoTEcrIoNIsTs.."

s.aelsa n,,as - - " 1oN. ian who Is l.,
called upon to tariff
question. He is to IT,. x his
district, of course, but before, dem.
ocrat can justify vote in favor of
a protective tariff he must decide,
first. that the principle of protection
is right, second. that the policy OF
protection is wise, and third, that
the protection asked for is necessary.
II 1t is not right to tax one man for
the benefit of another, then protec-
tive tariff can not be justified, even
through the benefits of the. tariff on
particular schedule might go into
congressman's district. If the prin-
ciple of protection is wrong, no dem
ocratic congressman can afford to
vote for it. AS rule the industry
which demands protection is owned
by a comparatively few and the pro-
lection given them Is not only at
the expense of other districts but 1at
the expense of majority of the peo.
Pile of their own district. But, even
If majority Of mans constituents
would be benefited by a tariff law,
that in itself would not justify the
vote II the principle Is wrong.
Can democrat defend the policy
of protection? Sometimes a member
of Congress deludes himself with the
idea that he can oppose the principle
of protection, and yet secure for his
district part of the benefits of pro-
lection. A number of congressman
have been led away by the seductive
argument. II will oppose the bill on
its final passage, but during it's con-
sideration will get all the tariff l
can for my district" If the policy
Of protection is wise one, 1t ought
to be dealt with upon broader lines.
and the protection ought to be
given where 1t will do the nation mos
good, not where 1t will help the con-
gresham who supports it. No one
can logically oppose the principle
of protection and then claim part
of its benefits, for his district, and
the reverse is true, that no one
who is claiming part of the bene-
fits of protection is likely to make a
strong argument against the protec-
tive principle. The democrat who
tries to get some of the protection
for his district will find that in pro-
portion as he slice eeeds he is likely
to make protectionists out of the
persons benfitted, and they will
threaten to defeat the congressman
and his party unless the protection is
continued. A congressman who fav-
ors reduction of only those sched-
ules which do not affect his district
is a crippled soldier and will be
found in the ambulance or hospital
whenever the battle. for tariff reform
Is on.
I Even If the principle of protection
We're admittedly right and the policy
admittedly wise. no effort is made
by the .protectionists to show that
We need the tariff rates for which
they ask. A large portion of the
value of lumber, for instance, is in
the, stumpage, and reduction of the
tariff would not reduce the labor
cost. but merely the value of the
pine lands. What argument can the
owner of timber lands make in sup
port of law designed to increase
the value of his land by putting
tax upon all other kinds of land-for
1t must he remembered that the tax
on lumber must be paid by somebody
and the burden falls upon those who
buy the lumber. Aside from the argu-
ments made against the duty on other
lecessaries of life there is an addi-
tional argument to be made against
the tariff on lumber, namely, that it
encourages the destruction of our
forests. 1t is criminal folly to offer
a bounty for the destruction of our
forests at the very time when we are
frightened at the climatic and other
evils which follow in the train of
this destruction.
The average labor cost is, but
little more than one-half of the pres
ent tariff. and this means that the
proteotionists, instead of asking for
tariff just equal to the difference in
the cost of production here and
abroad, are demanding tariff of
more than the entire cost of produc-
ton. The democrat who votes for
the endorsement of the protective
principle may as we'll make up his
mind to swallow the entire republi-
can program, for he will soon find
that in order to get the protection
that he wants for his district, he
must agree to protect the trusts and
to permit predatory wealth to have
all it demands, for the favor-seeking
interests stand together and make
trading material OF the legislators
whom they control.
The only safe position for a demo-
crat to take is that the tariff should
be levied and collected for the pur-
pose of raising revenue and not for
the benefit, of any particular interest
or industry. Whatever protection
there is should be incidental; as
soon as protection becomes the pur-
pose, then the legislative session is
given up to log-rolling, wire-pulling
and combination of interests. ID