New-York tribune., 1909-06-16
TARIFF AND BUSINESS
Il Protest Against 4ny Reuision
That VII Menace Prosperity.

| To the Editor Of The Tribune
Sir: Every who has industrial other
business interest at stake is impatient to have the
tariff bill disposed OF somehow oIher. at
| cost provided that the work be done quickly. The
reason is, that the view is entertained both popu-
| larly and by many public at Washington and
| has been seduIously cultivated. that.
| the new tariff Law is out of the way the United
States will enter upon a period OF business pros
perity such as hos never before been seem Amer
| leans are an impatient race; and il any kind of
! tariff law will unleash the business enterprise OF
| the country they want It at While proper
| tariff law will certainly have that effect, I assert
| that one heedlessly and impatently enacted will
| be public calamity whose consequences will last
| for years.
Enactment of the new law is being delayed by
| prolonged discussion in the Senate. which body is
| also raising of the duties which the House
| proposed TO lower. What the Senate is doing has
| few friends among the newspapers. A chorus of
| denunciation is heard Gn the press)- 1 am an old
| newspaper man. and say freely what might
not come graciously from layn1an. that there
have been times when the newspapers have thought
! one way and the people the other. Here in New
| York once saw a Mayor elected against the op
| position of practically solid press believe that
| in the present case the newspapers do not alto
gether represent the people. any rate, what Mr..
| AIdrich and the Senate doing has vast num-
Der of friends patriotic Republicans and the
! public large.
| It seems as If some one should voice the senti-
nent against undue haste in the matter of the
| tariff and against too much revision downward
I protest earnestly against any tariff law which
| will menace prosperity. II sort OF revision
downward would paralyze enterprise and bring
the business boom sudden and untimely end.
would any patriotic favor it? Every one
ardently longs and hopes for a few years OF good
times; but it is not any old kind Of tariff which
will bring them. Republicans are just as much
pledged to maintain the principle Of protection as
they are revise the tariff, where it can pru-
IDENTIFY be revised. This must not but sometimes
seems TO be, forgotten And unless there Is actual
genuine protection under the new law, there VIII
be no business boom. and the United States Will
again be filled with paupers. even II the Treasury
should grow fat with millions of money collected
duties imports
In response 10 public demand Congress has more
than once reduced the tariff. with frightfu con-
sequences. Never mind the historic instances be-
fore the Civil War Three recent cases may %
mentioned
In June. 1872 Republican Congress enacted a
general 10 per cent reduction on manufactures
Of iron metals, cotton, WOOL paper, leather, glass
rubber, etc. with the quick result Of an enormous
increase imports Of merchandise. persistent ex-
ports Of gold and depression IN business; and thai
tariff was distinctly of the of the terrible
panic Of 1873 general prostraton Of business for
several wears afterward Revival came only in 1875
with repeal OF the 10 per cent reduction Then
indeed ensued long period Of great prosperity.
In the new law Of March g. 1888. the Republican
marty again tried It's hand at tariff reduction. in
response TO its pledges 70 the people The iron
and textile trades were promptly deranged general
business sIackened. and again We ran into a period
Of smaller balances Of foreign trade IN our favor
with fresh exports Of gold and financial crisis 1
admit frankly that the tariff law Of 1888 was not
the whole cause of the trouble. but II was dis
tincty one contributory cause In every instance
on record so far a considerable reduction Of duties
on foreign goods has always been followed By
lamentabla consequences In 1890 the Mckinney
law brought better times.
Again in 1894 the country vas Favored WIN a
,ouer tariff this time OF Democratic manufacture
The Wilson law substituted ad valorem for speclh'
duties in many cases and in genera way
diminished protection all along the line That Ia"
brought on hard times Immediately and caused ui'
country az much unhappness In It's way an1 A
large loss Of capital and acoumula'el p, pIo--I
the Civn war did in it's Imports OF mercuan-
5se beran,e enormous gold went out. bitter stIAos
and outrages occurred. railroad buholhs 1iI'o0
.tonped and trade was depressed Again the coun-
trv was rescued from hard times by the very lnou
crate but distinctly protective Dlngley law.
Now are we going TO repeat the mistakes VI 4o'1
and 1881? 1t is to be hoped not And urge
patience considerate Judgment Of the acton ol 'ie
Senate on the tariff question. moral support 10 Nj
Aldrich and his colleagues ana hrln Sta'N io
r-otectIon under the pending bin. Criticlse' yes!
Condemn, no
Il the public really aware Of the extent TO
which duties have actually been reduced not only
from earlier times before the war but within the
last twenty years? Structural iron, duty SIS
ton in 1883. S11 90 a ton under the pinsIey law,
and SIS y a ton proposed ty the Payne Dill. steer
rails s17 a ton in 1858, 81 50 a ton under the
present law an1 50 20 a ton, proposed by MI
Payne. These only samples We have actualiy
reached the danger line in reduction Of duties ana
are almost on the verge Of purely revenue tarin-
This Is not at all what demanded by the Re
publican platform desired by any sincere 1rleho
Of American prosperity No one entertains hign-
or esteem for Serene z. Payne. +. j. Hill ana
other members of the WAYS and Means Committee
than the writer but must be said that scale OF
duties such as the House proposes would ten
or twenty wears ago have brought wholesale ruin
on the United States and have filled the land with
+rap,ns idle factories and bankrupt business men,
This alone ought suggest that duties are not ex
cessivoly high even now.
Times have certainly changed. snd the huge mills
and factories Of the present day produce goods
.t much lower expense than the widely scattered
small establishments Of former times Smaller |
protection is required now than then. But Vnat
am urging is that industry must have, even under
changed conditions. actual and genuine protection |
II the great blessing expected good times IS TO
be rea zed No Republican need fear the poliucal |
consequences of protective tariff. Give US pros
peritv and the country will ratfy what Ia done
Incidentally, let say that IL surpasses my |
con1prehension why there Is Yet so much talk |
about protection being the father Of trusts Eng
land the model of all fres traders, was fun OF /
trusts before Americans began To take notice
In only one way has protscton led TO the creation
Of trusts. e.. huge corporations. and thar was