The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-03-25

It i9 Quito o general conSction among men who know the inside his tory of events of 1880 that the elec- ton of Abraham Lincoln as President was due to the tariR and not the re- suit of slavery agitation. If such be true the civil war was more directly due to the tariff than to slavery. James G. Blaine took this view of the matter, and expresses 1t fully in his Twenty Years in Congress." He points out that the national excitement over "Bleeding Kansas" was much stronger In 1s5s than in 1860. and that in spite of this fact the country went Demo- cratic In 1856 and Republican in 1860. To Pennsylvania he gives the credit of having turned the scales. It was then said of Pennsylvania as it has later been said of New York, that as it goes in e national election, so goes the Union. In the .gubernatorial election of 1860. Curtin. afterward war Cover nor, made the tarin question the issue, and won on . high tarin platform. The same issue was believed to be the one that gave the vote of Pennsylvania 10 Lincoln, and if that be true. 1t was the Issue that rave Lincoln to the Union.
 In the presidential election of 1856 there was not much said about the tarin. Tho Walker tarin had worked so well, at least to outward appear ances, that the whole country seemed to acquiesce in It. But the following year found the strong boxes of the gov ernment overhowing with money to such degree that 1t became necessary to reduce the revenues A bill provid- ing the lowest tariff in the history of the country was then introduced. It was not long in reaching the point of consideration. There was much par liamentary manoevering in the House and Senate. The latter body dominat- ed the situation, and secured the pas- sage in practical entirety, of the meas ure introduced by Senator R. M T. Hunter of Virginia.
 One of the most rem arkable things about the tarif of 1857 was that many industries which were dominated by a thorough going protection spirit. did ali they could, and actually spent much money to make the bill as nearly a free trade measure as possible. It was shown that a single wooden mill had spent 487.000 in its campaign for free trade. These manufacturers knew full we'll that there was no chance of pro- lection for their products. Their next best course was to secure free raw ma terial. and their energies were spent in that direction.
 It was not long after this until the panic of 1857 came on. All protection- ists attribute 1t to the low tariff. All free traders do not. Most historians take middle ground and find causes not dissimilar to the panic of 1907. Be that as 1t may, the following year saw such deficits in the revenues that Jus tin 8. Merrill hit of the situation by saying that the government was lob iiged to go to bed without its supper every time imports fell sho ort a million dollars a the mort If NAw York. However. the low water mark of treasury receipts was reached just about the time the measure went into effect and from that time on there was & steady rally back to normal condi- tionk
 When the first session of the thirty Axth Congress met, Mir. Morrill,. of Vermont, introduced practically the same tariff measure he had tried In vain to have considered the previous year. His bill was really more satis- factory to the low tariff people than to the advocates of protection. It. was stated that 1t was but little more than 6 recurrence to the Walker tariff. the only difference of importance being that specific duties were inserted in- stead of ad valorem rates. The House passed the measure, but the Senate de- cided to postpone consideration until tAiC AeAk ooSSAohs SShokSth k<NfA1 ta vored the Morrill, bill, asserting that il was more Democratic tariff than the one of 1857. and adhered more closely to the rates of the Walker tariff.
 When the second session of the thir- ty-sixth Congress met, the Senate put 156 amendments onto the Morrill blll 155 of which were accepted by the House, and the measure went into ef- feet in April. 1861. After this came e A. funds for the prosecution of the war One was passed in August. 1861, and carried with 1t an income tax, as vel as a direct tax Of s20.000.000. Another placing a new rate of duty on tea, su. gar and coffee. was passed during the following December. In 1862 the tariff was raised even higher, and only nine ty-nine articles were left on the free list. In 1884 still further increases were made and the free list curtailed | even below the ninety and nine arti. could suggest new subjects for taxa | ton was regarded as a patriot.
 Immediately following the close oi l the civil war the burdensome interna revenue taxes were repealed, and Jus. | tin s. Morrill, led a movement for a re | vision of the tariff-upwards. He fell | that wool and woolens especially need | ed additional protection. The House passed his bill. The Senate thought the matter too important and tht weather too warm to consider the l measure so late in the session. so they put the bill In cold storage. The fol | lowing winter, the Senate amended |
 and passed 1t after midnight on Feb | ruary 1, 1887. In the House, mean 1 time. Morrill, had drafted new meas
 ure and presented 1t as a substitute fol | the one already passed. But at tht critical time he withdrew his substi | ute, and through an effort to settle | the matter through suspension of th'
 rules, everything was lost. A bill passed under a suspension of the ruleI l requires a two-thirds vote, and Mir Morrill, had reckoned without his hos 1 in presuming that he could get such { | majority.
 In the course of the debate upon tn,
 measure Thad Stevens said that it sa | vored too much of free trade for him Another member remarked that If tha l was free trade bill, "by the Holy 1 Sailors he would hate to see one tha
 was a protection measure" Another
 man objected to the repeal of the dut!
 on coffee. Why" said he. we neet 1 protection for coffee. Do we not makt
 great deal of IL? There are man, worthy manufacturers of coffee in tn,
 United States. They make it of chic
 ory, beans, peas. rye, wheat, dandeliol
 roots and many other things The!
 need protection"
 Although the general tariff bill wa
 defeated the woolens schedule, agains
 the wishes of the wool producers ant manufacturers associations, was seg
 regated in separate bill.- and afte
 much complicated procedure in tn,
 Senate and House. was passed in sub